Just came back from the hospital. My grandpa was admitted last night. It looks like his long illness is coming to an end, and life is slipping away. I find it interesting that my last entry said "Life is good and I am glad to be living it. Praise to the Giver of Life."
I wrote that Friday night after coming home from an amazing worship event and hanging out with a good friend, (sipping tea and putting up Christmas decorations).
This morning, knowing that the doctors had estimated only a handful of hours for my grandpa to live, I taught my students on the spiritual discipline (a.k.a. means of grace) of celebration. At first glance, this seems completely at odds with my life's circumstances.
But actually it wasn't hard to talk about purposely setting aside a time of celebration even in the midst of sorrow. I think it has to do with perspective. If you choose to trust God - that He cares and that He is going to do what is best - then you can have joy and celebrate the blessings He has given you. There's a time to mourn of course (Eccl 3:4), but even in mourning, you can still have peace and delight in the Lord.
So I say it quietly this evening instead of shouting from the rooftop like last Friday:
Praise to the Giver of Life.

What do you do when you spot a celebrity?

On Sunday, I went with two girlfriends to the Dizzy Feet gala. It was basically a dance show charity benefit featuring people from reality dance TV shows "So You Think You Can Dance," "Dancing With the Stars," and "America's Best Dance Crew," plus a bunch of talented scholarship recipients. Very entertaining. It was up at the Kodak Theater, and after the show, we went to Johnny Rockets to eat and wait out the crazy traffic from the sold-out show + the Hollywood Christmas parade.

So as we're munching on burgers and fries, two guys from Quest (I think they actually won the competition, so they get to be called "America's Best Dance Crew") stand outside our window, deciding on where to eat. Girlfriend #1 LOVES these guys. Girlfriend #2 has no idea who they are but loves having her picture taken with celebrities. I continue munching while they go and have their picture taken with the Quest guys.

I've been thinking about this for a few days. I do NOT like meeting celebrities. I like spotting them, (like in a "Where's Waldo" way) and identifying them (like in a "name that tune" way), but then I pretty much ignore them. Maybe it's leftover insecurity from being awkward around the popular kids in junior high.

I'm hoping a few people would take the time to answer this question:

In your experience, what's been more difficult
a) not knowing what you want
b) knowing what you want, but having obstacles that frustrate your pursuit