Heilig Abend aka Christmas Eve

When I was growing up Christmas for me was always Christmas Eve. Christmas Day (and Boxing Day) were just days off to play with your toys you just got.

But Christmas Eve was THE day. We would get up in the morning, decorate the Christmas tree, listen to Christmas music, split off and wrap presents and then in the afternoon or early evening we would go to church.

There were 2 churches we could go to... The more modern, but small one with heating! (You were at least warm, but if you didn't come an hour before, you'd have to stand!) Or the 800 year old church: more seats, but NO heat. So I still associate church at Christmas with sitting in a freezing cold old building.

After church we'd go home and have dinner. Something easy, since my Mum is a firm believer in hanging out with the family instead of with the pots and pans. So sometimes we just had potato salad and bratwurst. But that's Christmas.

After dinner we'd wash up and then all go upstairs. Except for Mum, but I never questioned that. It was amazing to have some Dad time. He would totally play with us some crazy games.

And then the bell sounded. Our cue to come downstairs. So we'd grab the presents we had for the parents and siblings and ran down. The door opened and we would see the Christmas tree lit up for the first time (with real candles... It's not just that I'm old. Nowadays I still know a lot of people who put real candles on their tree for Christmas Eve. And lights for the rest of the time)

There was a little pile of presents for each one of us (we weren't into huge piles) and we would wish each other Merry Christmas and then open our presents. It was quite the magical time. :)

Let's fast forward to now... I've had quite a few Christmases without my family and that's fine. It's a choice I made. Oh, and let's face it... In my little story there I left out all the frustrations and tears that happened as well.. Family is no picnic and you know it.

Anyway, to this day Christmas Eve can be a little shaky for me. There might or might not have been some times when I ended up being a blabbering mess on Christmas Eve.

On Christmas Eve I like having people around, eating together and having a good time. It helps keep me sane and happy. And it's fun as well.

So now I celebrate Christmas Eve with church and then food and friends. It works amazingly well for me and I have these great friends who invite me over to their family Christmas Eve dinner (me being the only one who's not related to anyone) and they even let me come late and un-showered from a gig and they feed me.

I get to sit there and enjoy all the good things about families and have a smile about the not so fun things in families (believe me, the not so fun things in family can make for pretty good entertainment when you're not related!)

Well, that is my Christmas Eve. How do you celebrate?

If you know me and like me...

Last week I was hanging out with a couple friends and some dude walked in. Now, I knew that dude and had spent some time together with that dude. Which meant I knew that he's really fun to hang out with, but that's about it. 

After said dude left both my friends got all weird and talked about 'sparks flying' and that 'he likes me'. 

I was ready to rip their heads off! (for realz)

I guess I get it! These friends are super happy with their significant others and want that same deal for me. 

BUT....

Just because some dude in the right age group walks in who appears to be single is NO reason to go all gaga over this.

And I am serious in this matter. 

I LOVE JESUS! And I don't want to be together with a dud who doesn't. So the next time you're around me and some dude walks in, would you PLEASE ask the most important question:

Does he like Jesus? Will that dude lead you closer to Jesus? 

And if I go 'Uhm, yeah, well... I think so' please do something! Because that is a crappy response. And I probably know deep inside that he's a dud. So do something! Get me out of there! 

And please know that I am actually happy in my current state of being. I'm totally ok with it. Jesus and me have talked about this. Extensively. We are cool! 

Thanks! Now keep being an awesome friend. 

Men's prison... For the first time.

In September 2011 I joined God Behind Bars with the plan to reach youth for God. It's a very general plan, but since I had never worked in prisons before it was probably a good thing it was so general.

We are talking youth in prison or youth who have a parent in prison and need a little help staying out (statistically they are 84% more likely to end up in 'the system' themselves)

So I worked towards that goal:
* Once a month I joined another group that already goes into a youth prison
* Once a week I go to a youth court and offer services as a mentor for youth that is in trouble.
* And once a week I share the God Behind Bars youth version at the jail, hanging with 16 and 17 year old's

Those youths in the jail are being treated as adults before the law and some of them will be sentenced to prison.

Since the beginning of December now I am able to 'follow' these youths to prison and continue to share with them about Jesus! It's one of the most exciting things ever!

In jail they have nothing to do and are quite happy to come to my program. But in prison this 'church thing' is part of their free time. And so far I still had more than half the unit show up to our program every week!

Would you pray with me...?

* Some of the youths in jail and also in prison are only there for a short time. I keep on telling them to find me at church, but they are unsure of church and other Christians. Pray that they come and we can help them on the outside.

* Some of them want to help their families. But they have some really crappy ideas that will get them right back into jail. Pray that they can find a legal job!

* The most repeated question I get is 'Can Jesus fix murder'. And while I have the best answer ever, it takes a while for that truth to settle. Pray for them to find Christ and be radically changed on the inside

* And a prayer request for myself: I need lots of prayer, clarity and strength! I love what I do, but you can never relax when you're inside. Also, a practical request: The prison is outside town and adds 100 miles weekly. That's a bunch more on my car, but also my gas money budget. Pray that God would provide for me!! :)

It's not your fault...

It's not your fault. 

But it is your problem. 

Let me explain:
You are booked on a flight. The flight gets cancelled due to mechanical issues with the plane.

It's not your fault. But it's still your problem. 

Now translate that into the life of an 'average' student here in Las Vegas. Let's just look at ONE aspect of their life. Are you ready?

Parents are split up. 

What's the big deal? Well, let's look at that situation (which is NOT AT ALL their fault, and yet it is still their problem.

These students often have to deal with moving twice every week to a different house and neighborhood.  

They have to deal with 2 completely different set of rules in each house. Most likely one is more relaxed than the other. 

They also have to pretend that these aspects of their lives are fine. If they don't, they run the chance of losing whatever contact they had with one parent.  

They have to deal with the fact that most likely the parents are not able to hide their anger and disgust with each other well. 

I reckon that these students have to deal with a lot. And yet, none of this is actually their fault. 

So it comes with no surprise to me that some students are not that good at dealing with all those issues.

While we can't fix all the problems in the world, we could do well in helping students understand that there are things in their lives that are not their fault and then help them navigate through their problems.

It just means we are there for them. 

We do life together. 

We encourage them when things are hard 

and cheer for them when things go well. 

In the words of a famous show manufacturer: Just do it!

Inspired

I am blown away by people who care for and love students. 

There are those that care for and love students by volunteering their time (energy) at youth groups, Boys and Girls Clubs and all kinds of things. These people are amazing. They want to hang out; pass on and just give to students who are still in the process of navigating life. 

Then there are those that care for and love students by *volunteering* their entire life. That's called Foster Care these days. I know a bunch of people who do this and it takes a lot of commitment. It's about finding the balance between being a parent (that you're not) and being a friend (that you shouldn't be). 

Can you see the potential awesomeness if you mix and match the two? Can you see that ALL students would benefit from having some kind of non parental mentor person in their life. Not a friend and not a parent. 

And every student would benefit from living in a stable environment with loving guidelines and disciplines and some sort of structure. 

It's not that one is better than another. It's about actually doing it! Just taking the time and caring for someone who hasn't yet learned how to ask for help. 

In the end it's all about giving back in the area that you're most passionate about. It's always about giving back...

And yes, I totally googled awkward family photos. :)