2012 Inventory

This year was a big one. And it just seemed right to create some sort of memory inventory of the ways God showed up, how I grew, what went down. This will likely become an annual tradition, so prepare yourself. Here's a glimpse of how these things were displayed in my life in 2012:

- joy: our wedding day :)

- peace: the feeling we got when we decided to move to SLO - grace: Jarred's love for me, I never knew human grace so deep before I had a spouse

- mercy: the rescue over and over and over of a sweet friend and colleague, Marina, who was ALL God's mercy poured out on me over the course of moving, engagement, wedding chaos. so. much. mercy.

- discipline: the physical discipline for training for the wedding, really great, but really tough to stay that committed - strength: through the transition of moving and everything changing

- growth: holy smokes, the whole year? marriage, moving, a program we tried in Haiti - answered prayer: my husband and faith that changed the lives of my little brother & his wife

- friendship: my best friend of 21 years whose weekly honest phone calls and emails keep me going and who absolutely blew me away by her generosity and love as my matron of honor

- beauty: living this SLO life, pinch me, for reals

- rest: 4-day weekends away with my love are making for a delightful first year of marriage

- perseverance: it's hard to be new in town... making friends is hard, finding a church is hard, starting over is hard - still working on this - pura vida (true, full life): our Young Life community (namely my Thursday night college gals) and speaking at a high school camp breathed full life into me this year

- love: Jarred's ridiculous love for me and the way our parents have showered blessings and pure love on us this year

- the Gospel: my husband has been a gospel of truth & grace for me as well as the insane amount of unconditional love & support we received from SO many in this year of celebration and newness - it's been a tangible showing of Jesus in our lives

Honestly, I re-read this list as my eyes well up with tears. I am deeply moved because God is SO good. Truly. Why me? No one deserves this much grace, this much life, this much joy in one year. But that's the gospel - over and over and over again, He gives what we don't deserve and in return I can just humbly say, "Thank you, please use my life to draw people to Jesus." Cheers to a life of overwhelming grace and a year of overwhelming joy!

Our First Christmas Card

MERRY CHRISTMAS - from our little family to yours. 3 days late - that's what happens when you go home to Texas and spend 8 days with incredible nieces and nephews and then come home stuffy-nosed and sore-throated. You need a few days to recover.

This is the first Minefee Christmas card!!! Well, if I'm totally honest, we sent ONE card last year because some of our best friends in Peru were feeling lonely. :) But it was a weird thing to make a decision on which Christmas card to send. I remember 2 years ago being at Lesley's house and talking to her about how Christmas cards can send you off your rocker and I got a little stressed trying to make the "right decision." One great wedding picture with an elegant background? Pictures of our lives and not just our wedding? A collage? How do you choose just one? What do you write? I was honestly overwhelmed.

So I quit trying.

I came back to it a few days later and in 30 minutes I had completed our card. I chose to be very decisive and not look back. I don't regret it. I may have seen a few other people's cards and said, "Dang it. I wish I'd have done __________." But no regrets. I'm happy with it. And there's always next year... and the year after that... and the year after that... So here's to Christmas cards - one of my favorite parts of this season. I'm thankful for the time friends and family take to share life and photos with each other. It matters.

Advent

Come Lord Jesus, Come.

In this season of "Here comes Santa Claus," Santa Baby" and "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree," I've decided I want our lives to be about so much more. I've always felt that way about Christmas but somehow it means more now that I'm married. Somehow it's been this turn of events that makes me want to revolt against the American Dream all together and make "our life" one that's defined by things other than what the world tells us is important. We tried to do alot of our shopping in a way that gives back - through organizations that friends of ours run - like Krochet Kids and 31 Bits. We don't want it to be about us.

We are mid-way through Advent. If you're unfamiliar with Advent, it's simply a tradition that's been in Christian churches for hundreds of years and it literally means "coming" or "arrival." It is during this four-week period that Christians everywhere dedicate themselves to remembering what Christmas is about and celebrating that with anticipation and intent. You may have seen an Advent calendar at some time in your life. I made one with my college girls this year and we are LOVING it. Basically, you turn the card over each day and read something that reminds you of Jesus coming to earth and how it changed everything.

During this season, we look at four different pillars of what Jesus coming to earth means for us: peace, hope, love and joy. We look back and remember how his life changed everything while at the same time we look forward to the fact that his kingdom will come and sin/death/evil will win no more.

I've been meaning to write this post for a few weeks now and had a little bit of time today. Ironically, this morning there was a tragic event that happened in Connecticut where the innocent lives of children and faculty were taken at a school - the most intense evil imaginable. So today I say, "come Lord Jesus, come." Come in this Advent season and invade our world in a different way. Turn the evil upside down and bring peace, bring hope, bring love, bring joy. Make us your instruments of those things in our own communities and lives that are so broken.

"Christmas is Your light breaking into the darkness. We confess that we are sometimes blinded, not by Your glory, but by consumerism, greed and the oppression of packed schedules. Help us this year to see and respond to Christmas differently. Strengthen us to resist the lure of getting more in a world where so many have so little. Equip us to use this time to remember Your birth and think about how we do Your will here on earth, as it is done in heaven. Break into human history, You showed us a different way - the way of reconciliation, redemption and resurrection. As we celebrate how You came, help us remember why You came - and live differently because of it. Amen."

(taken from the World Vision Advent Study Guide)

RED

So today's post is a tribute to my dear friend Cindy. Her most recent post is about red lipstick - about the experience of wearing it, giving back to an AIDS organization and giving girls the permission to have their own "Movember" or "No Shave November" of sorts. I'm into that... and Cindy's writing. Here's my experience with it: I chose today to wear it because I didn't want to cheat. Many days I work from home in my pajamas and I didn't want to wear it on one of those days because that's a total cop out. I'm going to share 3 different thoughts on the day. I did this before, with a friend, but this time felt different.

1) I felt weird. I was self-conscious about it altogether and I was so not into going out in public. I assumed people were going to be wondering who the heck I was thinking I could sport red lipstick. I thought it was on my teeth so I used my phone obsessively to double check. I don't like red lipstick. 2) The reactions were polar opposite/hilarious. I work in the same building as a coffee shop on a large college campus. I know many of the students and call them friends. One of the 20 year old guys walked into my office and stared at me. I smirked and said, "I'm doing a red lipstick experiment." Taylor responded with, "I can see that." Awesome... clearly I pull it off really well in the eyes of a 20 year old male. Disclaimer: my husband has not yet seen me in it yet, will post a P.S. 3) The women in my life were totally into it. No lie. I hung out with a few friends this morning who first thought my hair looked darker because of it (little did they know, I'd recently died my hair). And then the college gals I regularly chill with were TOTALLY into it. They thought it contributed to the overall "fall look" I was going for with boots & a scarf. They liked it with my hair. They were overall complimentary which gave me a confidence I didn't anticipate. Thanks chicas...

It doesn't change me being me. I'm thankful for that about this red lipstick experiment. Sure, I didn't feel like myself, but it also gave me a greater feeling of contentment knowing that I am who I am - with or without the lipstick. In my pajamas, at a coffee shop, on a date night or in the office. I like me. And I think I'll stick with the the non-red lipstick version. Cindy - thanks for the challenge. Would I do it again? Ask me tomorrow.

blog facelift

Can we talk about how I LOATHE giving my blog a facelift? Anyone else? You feel like nothing you do looks good... like it's not going to help no matter what little widget you fix or how wide you make your right hand column. So. Over. It. You may be living with this business. Sorry I'm not sorry bout it.