that's a wrap

Well... my time in DC has come to an end, and I am back on Southern soil with the friends, family and casseroles I have so dearly missed. I have had dozens of blog posts in my head for the past few weeks, but I can't bring myself to write them until I update this blog in a chronological order. I also have this crazy, irrational idea that if I don't document an event, then it really didn't happen. Like I said... irrational. So here is my feeble attempt to compile some highlights from the past month into one post. Get some snacks and buckle up, kids. It's gonna be a long one.

Here goes. Ahem.

My family came to DC for Thanksgiving. (Yep... we're going way back.)

We watched the parade,

went to the Norman Rockwell exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery,

ate Thanksgiving dinner at Old Ebbitt Grill,

saw A Christmas Carol at Ford's Theatre,

and saw some landmarks.

It was glorious.

You know what else was glorious? Having my friends Alison and Ann Elizabeth come to visit the next weekend.

We ate cupcakes in Georgetown,

whipped our hair back and forth by the Potomac,

sadly, we sang this clever Willow Smith song the entire weekend

galavanted around Eastern Market,

sipped cider and took some 18th century dancing lessons at Mount Vernon,

and watched the SEC championship game on an iPhone.

War Eagle... there, I said it.

It was oh so fun, and I'm so thankful they were able to come join me in the city I've grown to love.

The rest of the month was spent celebrating my roommate's birthday,

doing Christmas stuff around town,

and convincing my fellow intern to participate in a live nativity at our office Christmas party.

Not many people realize that the original manger was an outgoing mail box.

And yes, Joseph's staff was actually a yard stick.

I even got this sweet surprise on my last day in DC. The snow was beautiful, but it sure did make for some difficulty getting home.

Speaking of home... I discovered that while I was in DC, my family was hard at work making our house look festive for Christmas. This is what I came home to:

Santa can be so clumsy sometimes.

We may now be known as the Tacky Todds, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. I'm so grateful for the past three months. It felt great to be stretched, challenged and ultimately strengthened. I loved every minute of the experience, and it's a season that I will always treasure.

But right now, on this Christmas Eve Eve, as I look at our classy Christmas inflatable decoration, I realize...

It's good to be home.

And that's a wrap.

monuments

I'm surrounded by memorials and monuments these days. Some are larger-than-life marble statues. Others are unpretentious plaques that tell us how someone was important for doing something somewhere some time in the past. They're all reminders. They tell us where we've been, where we're going, and the price that has been paid so we may prosper in this life.

I was going to write a post about all of this, but then I came across this blog entry from Lauren Chandler (wife of Matt Chandler). It's exactly what I want to say. So why mess with it? I'll let her do the talking...

Have you ever anticipated an event, got there, experienced it, knew something monumental was stirring in you throughout it but were left with just a vague impression of all that had just transpired?

Maybe I'm the only one.

In my walk with Christ, there have been times when the Lord has whispered, savor this. In the moment, I can cognitively acknowledge its preciousness but my heart hasn't quite wrapped around it. I can tell myself, okay, one day, this is going to mean something beyond what it's meaning to me right now.

In the Old Testament, the Lord had His people, the Israelites, set up memorials to remind His people of all He had done for them. You'd think they'd just remember if it was such a big deal. But, not unlike myself, they got distracted by needs, wants and a deceitful heart that would lead them astray into trusting men instead of God. They forgot how perfectly the Lord delivered them from their enemies and provided for all the needs and wants. Since He knew them and knew that would happen, He was adamant about constructing a memorial as a physical, tangible evidence of His faithfulness.

The Lord gave me a picture: a road, not so level in some places, winding, well-beaten with monuments marking every quarter mile or so.

It was as if I heard Him say, that's the way you've come, that's the life you've lived, and the monuments are distinct evidences of My faithfulness to you...see what I've done? ...see how much I love you?