My Thoughts on Holidays

First of all, I hope that everybody had a wonderful Christmas and I wish you all a happy New Year, or en espanol, Feliz Navidad y Prospero Anos Nuevo... I think...

Now that we have the obligatory holiday greetings out if the way, I want to share my thoughts on such Holidays. Before I begin, I would like to say, I am not trying to be a Scrooge, so don't be angry, please. 

First, the origin of the word "holiday". The word we use to describe a day of celebration stems from the term "holy days", which were days set aside in the religion of the Old Testament Israelites. These were days that were set aside for specific offerings, such as yearly blood sacrifices, and the releasing of the Scapegoat, both of which symbolized the washing away of the Isrealite's sins for another year. Nowadays, "holidays", means any day set aside for a day of rest, remembrance, or celebration. These don't necessarily have to be "holy" days, set aside and ordained by the church, but some are.

Many holidays that are celebrated around the world include Christian days, like Easter and Good Friday, Muslim holidays, such as Ramadan and Eid Al-Adha, Jewish holidays such as Lent and Hanukkah, and others, such as Kwanzaa, Boxing Day, and national days of thanksgiving. The most popular holiday, though, is without a doubt Christmas.  

Now, for the part where you can not openly hate me if you want: I don't like Christmas.

Hear me out, I love being able to celebrate the birth of my Savior with my family, but the older I get, the more commercialized it seems. I don't like that the last two months of the year are pretty much completely dedicated to shopping for things, for stuff, for this holiday. What is the point of that? You give somebody a thing they may or may not like, and get things that you may or may not like. 

When I was little, I used to love getting presents, and toys, and stuff. I liked stuff. Now, being older, growing up, I look around and I see too much stuff. It's not just too much stuff in my home, in my community, but in my country. America is a country built upon a dream. The American Dream is based on the idea, that you know you are successful when you have obtained a certain amount of stuff, or a certain status, or you have reached a level of excess. And today's view of Christmas only emphasizes that. The more presents you give, the more compassionate you are, giving out of your excess, which is in reality, out of the massive amount of imaginary money given to you by the credit card company which then leads to a massive amount of debt. The more presents you get, the more stuff you have to use to flaunt your excess. That's all that Christmas seems to be about when I look around.

Of course, I must say, my parents have been very smart and careful of how they raised us children to view Christmas, and it is very family-centered. Every year since I can remember, we have gone to my mom's mother's house, then to my dad's parents house, every Christmas. Then we would leave the day after Christmas to either my mom's dad's house in Tennessee, or to her sister's house to see them. (I'm currently writing this at my aunt's house, by the way.)

The past few years, we have been trying to change the way we do Christmas, which has been working, lay off presents and give money or gift cards and a few actual presents instead. But, this year, I did something that I thought would have been detrimental to our family dynamic. I specifically asked for nothing. It was met better than I thought, but I was still given some stuff. I did ask though, that if people felt that they absolutely had to give me something, that it be money for my mission trip, and I did get a good amount of money, all of which will be going in my savings account. 

Another thing I've noticed as I got older, is when I look around to the rest of the world, and I see the amount of excess we in America have compared to even other Industrialized countries, I truly do get appalled. No wonder the world sees Americans as fat, rude, and spoiled. That is exactly what we are. Here in America, Christmas is everywhere you look. I can't stand it, it aggravates me. We get so caught up in our revelry and expectations, that we don't look to the world around us, even in our own cities. I have noticed a lot more homeless people this year. They don't get Christmas, most of the time. Even though our spirit of giving and hospitality does seem to grow a little bit during the holiday season, it doesn't effect others the rest of the year. Why can't we just get over ourselves and be helpful and giving every day? It really bothers me when people get so caught up in themselves and they forget that most of the world has it a whole lot worse than they do. Of course, I tend to forget that, too, but that doesn't mean I don't think about it. 

Presents and giving is good and stuff, but that's not what Christmas is about. Christmas is the day set aside to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ 2,000 years ago. And while we give presents because God gave to us, the amount of commercialism that comes with the holiday makes me sick. God gave us His Son, nothing we could ever give to anyone else, and nothing we are given from another, could ever be as fulfilling and wonderful as the gift of Salvation and spiritual life. 

Now that I have succeeded in making myself sound like a complete fool, I think I will be done. None of what I wrote will make sense, most likely, but maybe I'll do another post on more thoughts on holidays. If you have any suggestions of what holiday you want me to write about, please leave a comment on this post.

Celebrating the true Gift,

Emily E.

Looking in the Mirror

I've been doing an awful lot of mirror gazing in the past week or so. Not because I have suddenly become vain or I just can't help but look at myself, but because I can't get over the fact that I am the young lady in the  mirror.

But, Emily, haven't you seen yourself in mirrors and pictures your entire life?

Well, yes, I have. But there have been quite a few changes that have been apparently overlooked. For one, I got my hair dyed, and I got it dyed dark. Not black, but very dark brown. It is a color wash, which means it is not completely permanent, but with how dark the dye was, and how light my hair was, it will probably stain it a little. So that was an intentional change, even though I was a little apprehensive about it at first. But with all the complements I have been getting about it, I think I'll keep it this color.

It also helped that when I got it colored, I got that really annoying piece of longish hair cut down to fix the angled side of my hair. For those of you who haven't seen me in the past year, I have an asymmetrical cut, where the back is stacked, and the right side is longer than the left side, and it angles down until the front. So I got my hair trimmed as well, which helped it frame my face more, which in turn helped me see how much my face has changed.

One thing I noticed, thanks to my new hair color more than anything, was how pale I really am. Now, I have always been pale, always. I inherited my skin color from my mother for sure. When I was younger, I didn't like being pale. I wanted to be tan like all my friends when they came back from summer break. As I got older, I came to terms that in order for me to gain some color, I actually had to go outside for an extended period of time. Now while I do enjoy going to the beach or sitting in the yard reading, I can't just sit there, I have to be doing something. Which makes it hard for me to tan. Also, I don't tan; I burn. So, eventually I just gave up trying to be dark. More recently, I came to embrace my pale skin. I like it. I think pale skin is beautiful, not just on me, but on other people as well. (I don't say that to be some white elitist Nazi, it's just a personal preference.Other races and colors are beautiful as well, but I think everyone should embrace their true color and stop trying to make themselves darker or lighter or oranger than they are.) So all in all, I like my skin, I like that I am extremely pale. It is the color that I am and anything else looks weird on me.

But after getting my hair colored. I looked really pale. You know how it is, when you put something dark against something light, the lighter thing looks lighter, and the darker thing looks darker. That's kind of what happened when I looked in the mirror the day after. I looked extremely pale. And I liked it.

Then, on Tuesday (12/18), I had my Senior pictures done. I know I'm talking about physical aspects of me in this post, but I just have to say, getting my pictures done was one of the most fun things ever. So, Tuesday was a busy day all in all, starting at nine in the morning. I went with my mom to get her hair done, and our hairdresser went ahead and styled my hair (for Free!). I honestly still do not understand how she managed to get my really short, really straight hair to curl, but she did. It turned out amazing, really. So after our hair, we went to lunch, then to set up the places in my church where I wanted my pictures done. Then, it was time for pictures. I had four different outfits, because it was a special day, and I wanted to be a high maintenance diva. Honestly, all of the pictures are going to turn out beautiful, but my favorite outfit was this vintage red lace dress, that was just absolutely stunning. While I was changing into this outfit, my mom was helping get stuff pinned right and put on jewelry and stuff. Then I looked in the mirror. I honestly did not recognize myself. At all. I think, in all retrospect, that was the first time I looked in the mirror and not only felt beautiful, but I said to myself "I am beautiful."

Now you're probably wondering, Emily, really now? Are you one of those shallow, insecure teenagers who doesn't think she's beautiful? But hear me out. I have known for most of my life, that I am beautiful because God made me, He gave me a purpose, and I have been redeemed by the blood of the Prince of Peace. I know I' beautiful, but knowing and feeling are two very different things. You can know that you're going to Heaven because you accepted Gods' gift of salvation, but that doesn't mean you feel like you should go to Heaven. And it's the same kind of thing here. I knew that  I am beautiful, but that doesn't mean I felt that I was beautiful.

Let me rephrase that... I knew I was beautiful, I felt I was beautiful, but when I looked in the mirror, I didn't believe that I was beautiful. Why? I don't know why. Maybe it has to do with the fact that nobody ever told me that I was beautiful until last year, when my dad told me for the first time.(The sad thing isn't that it took sixteen years for him to say it, it was that it took me having feelings for a guy, and he have those same feelings for me, too.) But that moment, in the bathroom of an old house turned museum, turned my perspective around. I am beautiful, and as long as I know that, nobody's opinion matters. I honestly almost started crying, because that was what my mom likes to call and emotional breakthrough.

Also, standing in front of that mirror, with my mom helping me, made me realize, moments like those are far and few between. The only other time I will have a moment like that, between me and my mom, is probably going to be on my wedding day, whenever that is. Those sacred moments, where the air is filled with nervous tension, and it's quiet except for nervous chattering, where subconscious reflection takes place, are the moments when your life change.

My life changed Tuesday,  maybe not in the way most people's lives are changed, but I saw an adult in that mirror. I didn't see a teenager, or a student. I saw a young lady, the princess, the daughter of the Almighty King, chosen to take on the world for her Father's Kingdom...A young lady not held down by worldly conventional standards, by her own desires and longings, but who is led along by her Father's Spirit, who leads with a steady hand and a clear mind, and the knowledge of the King's Will. A young lady willing to put aside her own insecure thoughts and second guessings, and follow her Father's directions.

Growing as He helps me,
Emily E. Meadows

I am not the same girl I was before,
nor will I ever be.
But there along the distant horizon,
I know somebody waits for me.

I know he's watching me right now, 
waiting for me to come back home,
He waits as long as God allows,
He knows I won't be alone.

He knows the Man that walks by him,
Is the same one who walks with me.
And though I'll travel on a whim,
I know he steadily waits for me.
~ Emily E. Meadows, 12/21/12

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

O come, o come Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here,
Until the Son of God appears.

Rejoice, rejoice,
Emanuel shall come to thee, 
O Israel!

O come, thou Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits with Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death's dark shadows put to flight.

Rejoice, rejoice,
Emmanuel shall come to thee,
O Israel!

O come, thou Wisdom from on high,
And order all things, far and nigh;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And cause us in her ways to go.

Rejoice, rejoice,
Emmanuel shall come to thee,
O Israel!

O come, Desire of nations, bind
All people in one heart and mind;
Bid envy, strife and quarrels cease; 
Fill the whole world with Heaven's peace.

Rejoice, rejoice,
Emmanuel shall come to thee,
O Israel!


This hymn was written in two parts; in 1851, and in 1916, yet now, in the wake of the shootings in Portland and Connecticut  as well as the stabbing of twenty-two children in a school in China, these words of prayer could not be any more appropriate. We look round our world at the violence and the sin and the horror of reality, And we as a nation, and as Christians, turn to God, and cry out "Why, God? Why has this happened?" People in the United States turn to the President, and say, "What will you do about this? This needs to be taken care of." I can only imagine what the rest of the world sees when they look at us. "Well, that's what America gets for embracing violence, and not having firearm regulations."

People, this is not about politics, this is about a spiritual war going on! When will the country wake up and realize that this isn't about your personal political views, but about the moral degradation of this country, of our country? This should never happen.

We as Christians know, we live in a sick, twisted world. But what are we going to do about it? We yell and join the uproar of commentators in a storm of riots in outrage, but eventually the hype dies down, we forget our anger, and replace it with sorrow.

Do NOT be overcome with sorrow. This is a WAKE-UP CALL! We can no longer sit on our rears and believe that our prayers will simply change the nation for us. We must do something about this. Don't ask the President, the Congressmen, or the lawmakers to fix it, because they can't. Humans, no matter what kind of power they hold, will never be able to fix the gross sin problem of this world. Only God, the perfect King and Righteous Judge can do that...


O come, o come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here;
Until the Son of God appears.

Oh God, come down to the nation You have blessed, that You have allowed to prosper. Come, live among the hearts of these people again, and save us from the exile we have brought upon ourselves through our immorality. Save us, change our hearts, and guide us until the day You send Your Son back for Your children.

O come, o come thou Day-spring, come and cheer,
Our spirits by thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death's dark shadows put to flight.

Come, give us a spirit of peace about these tragedies, and help us to remember the joy that came with Jesus's birth on Christmas.Remind us that You allow everything to happen for a reason, and that the victims shall be missed, yet give us a glimpse of your hope and mercy in these dark days, and comfort us with knowing that You are always with us, even in the darkest of times. Allow those who have lost loved ones and children, remember the good of them and be thankful for the time they had with them, and not bitter about losing what was only Yours to begin with.

O come, thou Wisdom from on high,
And order all things, far and nigh;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And cause us in her way to go.

Lord, give us and the leaders of our nation the wisdom to fully understand the situation and take the appropriate measures  Let us not forget that all wisdom comes from you, and let our leaders turn the nation towards Your Light in the midst of this darkness.

O come, Desire of nations, bind
All people in one heart and mind;
Bid envy, strife and quarrels cease;
Fill the whole world with heaven's peace.

God, let this time of sorrow and anger not tear the country apart, but bring us together as a whole for once, to make it better. Let us not throw our anger upon others, but comfort those around us, though we do not see their battles. Do not let us argue aimlessly, but ban together to take action. Fill u with peace that we might one day understand why.

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. ~ Plato.

Local Missions: Operation Christmas Child

This past weekend, 12/7 and 12/8, I went with my youth group to Atlanta, Georgia to the Operation Christmas Child processing Center, where they collect all of the boxes sent in from the entire Southeast and sort through them and stuff. We went to help with the process and ended up working for eight straight hours. There were several different jobs, several of which I ended up doing, but I mainly unpacked the shoe boxes out of the bigger boxes (the workers called them cartons). I would take out the boxes, open them, and check for any money placed in the box for shipping purposes. As a result, I was able to see the letters and notes from the people who packed the boxes. Almost every box that came in had a note. We had one carton that was completely filled with boxes from one elderly lady. In the last shoe box, though, she had put a check for shipping, and it was for 39 boxes. Thirty-nine. That's a lot of boxes, not to mention $273 to be paid in shipping.

I didn't keep track of how many boxes I looked through, but I think I unpacked somewhere around 20 cartons or so. So, let's think about this mathematically. If there were an average of 26 shoe boxes in a carton, then:
20 x 26 = 520 shoe boxes,
520 shoe boxes = 520 children,
all who are going to be given the hope of Jesus. And if the children subsequently share the Good News with their family, specifically their parents, that's:
520 x 3, child, mother, father.
That's potentially 1,560 people reached through theses shoe boxes. And that's just the boxes I unpacked for my group. There were at least 20 other stations going through cartons, if they went through 20 cartons each as well,
20 x 20 = 400,
400 x 26 = 10,400 shoe boxes,
10,400 shoe boxes = 10,400 children
10,400 x 3 = 31,200 people who could potentially hear the Gospel.

That's only in the eight hours we worked on Friday. They have been sorting boxes for several weeks before and will be sorting until Dec 17. That's a giant amount of boxes from the Atlanta center. if I remember correctly, there are five (six?) other processing centers in the country. That equals a whole bunch of boxes  which equals an even bigger bunch of people.

What I'm trying to say, is even if you don't feel called to go on a mission trip to another country, there is always something you can do to help grow the Kingdom of God.These shoe boxes you make in your own home go all around the world to give a child a Hope they have never known before. One day, someone is going to come up to you and say, "You packed a shoe box, and I was given that box. Through your gift, I accepted Jesus. Thank you." That makes it so worth it. If you feel that you can't help spread the Gospel where you are, think again. There is always something you can do.

Serving as He calls me,
Emily E.

Second Thoughts

So, for the past week or so, I've been having second thoughts about going to Canada this summer. I don't know if it's because it's almost winter, and it's bland and cloudy outside, which just leads to an overall I-don't-want-to-do-anything-but-just-sit-here mood, or if Satan is just trying to bring me down.

I noticed sometime last year that he'll do that. I'll be really confident in my plans for the future and with the direction that my life is going, then satan comes along and whispers in my ear, "What do you think you're doing? You can't do that, you'll never make it there. You're not good enough, you don't have what it takes." And I believe for a while. When I believe it, I falll into a depression of sorts, I have no motivation be productive, it gets harder to laugh, and I don't find things I would normally see as funny as amusing.

How long it lasts varies. Sometimes, I'll be stuck in that rut for days. Sometimes months. Those longer periods of time really get to me. I find myself not wanting to go to church or listen to Christian music, and eventually, I get to the point where I no longer have a quiet time with God. Thankfully, somehow God always shakes me out of my slump and says, "Listen to Me. Listen to My voice, to My teachings. Don't get sidetracked. You are worth something, you are good enough." And He picks me up, dusts me off, and sends me back on the Way.

Sometimes, I find myself realizing what has happened, and I fight it. I look myself in the mirror, and I say, "You have absolutely no reason to be thinking those thoughts. What has God ever done to mae you believe that you are not good enough? You are a child of God, and that makes you worth it." Then I open my Bible, and I read until I'm satisfied.

A few of my favorite verses include Jermiah 29:11-14, which if you haven't read the verses after "I know the plans I have for you, for a future and a hope, for your well being not your harm" then you should read them. Not only does God say, "I know what is going to happen to you, I know what my plans are for you," but He says, "In the days when you call to me, I will come to you and bring you back to the place I promised to you." He makes a promise, that when we do get lost, and we stumble, when we get to the point of crying out for Him to help us back up, that He will be there to pick us up. He never leaves, He never says, "You made that choice now live with it," He says he will pick us up, and put us back in the goodness of His perfect Will.

Another verse that I have more recently discovered, is Genesis 1:31 "God saw all that He had made, and it was very good. Evening came and then morning: the sixth day." in every verse that describes the end of one of the Days of Creation, it says "And God saw that it was good," But if you notice in verse 31 it says "and it was very good." This was the end of the sixth day, after he created man. Everything up to that point had been only good, but man, God said that man was very good. I read that, and I unde4rstand that I was created intricatelly and delicately, and I would not have been made if God did not have a purpose for me. I am very good.

Just by writing this I have felt better about leaving. I don't feel as confident as I did, but I have that peace back, that everything is going to work out fine.

Going where God Sends me,
Emily E.

My To-Do List

As this blog was made to keep people updated about my mission trip to Canada, I think it is fitting to let you know what I have to do at this point in time to be able to go.

Things that need to happen to complete my registration:

• Must complete my background form
• Must have the other 3/4's of my references complete their part and turn it in to the NAMB
• Must have parents finish consent form
• Must begin passport application process 

Things that I would like to get done somewhat soon:

• Must get support letters stuffed and sent
• Must buy postage for said letters
• Must begin finding ways to raise money

Things I would like to look into once I know where in Canada I am going:

• Economic stability of mission area
• Census numbers of mission area
• major industries of the area
• Education levels of citizens
• Majority political and religious views of the area

So, that was an official update as to what I think needs to happen. Please stay tuned for more updates and inspirational speakings.
Going Where He Sends Me,
Emily E.