A Glimpse...

I love being the oldest.

I have a good number of siblings-- 3 at my moms, Kelli (14 going on 26), Haley (12 going on 17), and Jeffrey (10... he's a boy; no drama). Then I have Katie, who's also 12, at my dad's. It's really interesting going from living with one other person who I'm not responsible for to living with 5 other people! For those who don't know, my mom just got married, and this is the first time all of us have lived under the same roof. Surprisingly, there wasn't really a big adjustment. I absolutely love it, although it gets stressful at times with a two teenage girls and a typical 10 year old little brother (farts and teases fully included) all picking at each other, fighting over the computer, and constantly leaving a trail of half-full Coke cans and other miscellaneous trash behind them! I don't see how my mom does it. She's amazing. 

The positive side of all these kids is the wonderful benefits that come with all of them! There is nothing that can possibly compare to the feeling of unconditional love and acceptance that only a child can bring. When I walked in the door the first night I was home, Haley and Jeffrey met me before I could even put all of my stuff down with huge hugs and screams of joy-- what a neat feeling to know that someone is that excited to see you! I can only imagine how a mom feels when she picks her kids up from school, hearing "Mommy! Mommy!" and watching her child's face instantly brighten when she comes into view. That love is so unconditional, so pure and forgiving. 

I absolutely love the time I get to spend with my siblings. My parents had to go to a work Christmas party tonight, and we have just been hanging out. The cool thing about having preteen/teenage younger siblings is that they honestly are more like friends than anything to me. Kelli and I have long chats and watch Law and Order together, Haley and I love to dance and sing together, Katie and I play games and watch movies, and Jeffrey loves to tell me all about hunting and wrestling and teaches me how to play video games. Sounds like a big party to me. :) 

On a Jesus note, I finished a book I've been reading for a while; The Secret Message of Jesus by Brian McLaren. It was really thought-provoking; he's more of an English scholar than a theologian (although he definitely does his research), and I really enjoyed the way he wrote as well as what he wrote. It was all about the kingdom of God-- what exactly did Jesus mean when he said, "Your kingdom come, your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven" and all of the other kingdom references throughout Jesus' teachings? I think the main point I got from it was that the kingdom is at hand... it's here now. I feel like so many times we're just waiting on God to "come back" and rescue us from this fallen world, when in actuality God is calling us to make an effort to fix it. It was so encouraging to see so many of the questions I've had written down and confronted, and I really learned a lot, mainly that this world isn't beyond fixing. We have to work tirelessly to do just what that famous prayer says, to allow God's kingdom to come, and his will for his kingdom, which encompasses all of us, to be done here on Earth as it is in Heaven. If we think like our unconventional, radical, revolutionary Jesus, perhaps we can really make not just a difference in this world, but a whole different world!