Home

There is a song by Michael Buble that I have always really liked. It is called "Home" and it is a beautiful song! This morning I woke up to that song playing on the radio...

"...and I feel just like I'm living someone else's life

it's like I just stepped outside

when everything was going right"

That line really hit me this morning because I truly feel that way when I think about the course my life has taken over the last few months.  Last year at this time I was preparing for my last semester of college without definite plans for after May 17, 2008.  Now I am enjoying a couple weeks home for Christmas and heading home to DC to continue living in a dream come true.  Except that the dream I'm living is better than any dream I've ever conjured up on my own.  You may have noticed that I said I'm home and that I'm heading home...confusing?...well, I've been really thinking about what "home" is.  I have heard that home is where the heart is and if that is true I have a few homes.  Rochester, NY (or wherever my family is) will always be a home for me and now Washington, DC is home for me.  It's great to be able to say that I feel like I'm home here as I sit in the living room of my family's house in Greece, NY.  There are so many memories here and I am content to be here.  However, when I think about flying back to DC I feel content as well.  Life is different there, but I now consider my row house full of 5 girls a home along with NCC and my family there!  How blessed I feel to feel at home whether "home" in NY or "home" in DC because pieces of my heart are embedded in each place!  

If I take a moment to think even deeper about the subject of "home" I am drawn to the idea that if home is where the heart is my home is ultimately not on this earth.  How awesome though that God gives us people and places that we can call home on this earth...I believe it gives us a better understanding of how much greater our home in Heaven will be like.  Even if our physical homes disappear we will never be homeless and that's something to thank God for!

The Day after Christmas

For most people the day after Christmas consists of left overs and sleeping off the events of the day before.  For the Holahan family the day starts bright and early going to mass at Mother of Sorrows, filling almost a whole side of the sanctuary we all sit thinking about Grandpa Holahan in our hearts.  Thirty-two years ago today my dad's father passed away.  This morning I listened o my dad unpack the events of that day and after 32 years his whole family still gets together to remember his life.  A lot of people don't understand this tradition, but I think it started as a way for my grandmother to not be alone on that day and continued as a tradition to celebrate who Grandpa was. Even though I never had the chance to meet him I still love this day of hearing stories and thinking about Grandpa Holahan.  My grandmother is no longer with us either and our family still finds joy in getting together the day after Christmas.  We always go to mass at her church, have breakfast as a family, go to the movies as a family, and have dinner as a family.  It is a full day and one of my favorite days of the year.  I'm so blessed that our family still wants to get together after so many years.  My dad is one of 6 children and each of them remember different things from that day so I always look forward to learning more about my grandfather. I know that Nana Holahan is looking down and smiling in the arms of her husband so happy that her children and many grand children continue to remember each of them on this special day!  

Love you Grandpa and Nana!

the attack of strep throat

Well, I found out shortly after my last post that I had strep throat! I was down for the count for about a week and it was probably the sickest that I've been in a long time, if not ever.  I was able to lay on the couch for about four days straight and the medicine started battling the nasty virus, but it took awhile for me to be back to healthy again.  I had waited so long to go to the doctor that the strep had actually been in my system for about three days prior to the diagnosis.  I'm just glad that I went because it could have been a lot worse if I had waited even a day.  My mom was a hero because I was so sick that it was difficult for me to call around and find a doctor to go to...from NY my mom took care of that for me! She's amazing! 

I am all better now! In fact, I was in NYC this weekend visiting Jack and Jenny! It was so awesome to see them in their new place living their life together as newlyweds! I had a great time and it just got me even more excited to go home for Christmas and spend some quality time with my family!  While in NYC I tried sushi for the first time and Jack and Jenny got their first Christmas tree together! Here are some photos:

In other news...Christmas is around the corner! There are so many organizations out there that offer unconventional Christmas catalogs for giving presents and National Community Church has put out their first Christmas catalog.  NCC is taking 10 mission trips to 10 different countries this year and the Christmas catalog is a way to leave a lasting impression that goes beyond the 10 days that teams spend in the country! There are some great opportunities to bless complete strangers for Christmas and it's a beautiful thing! A lot of us have a lot and don't really need anything more, but there are people in other countries that need basic things to survive from day to day! Maybe think of them while giving this Christmas! How cool would it be to add a complete stranger to your Christmas list? Check it out

ONE WEEK UNTIL CHRISTMAS! I love this time of year...for all it means.  In celebrating the birth of our Savior I think it should cause us to ask ourselves how we can be Christ to others in this time of year especially! What are you doing?

sick

To explain my lack of postings in the past couple of days...I have the flu! :(

I will update soon! In fact, I have a list of things I want to blog about when I'm feeling better! For now...sleep it is!

returning to my mountain

Each month I am assigned a book to read for the Protege Program and this month it was Called Simple Church by Thom S. Rainer and Eric Geiger.  It was a really great read and I took a lot out of it just about the process of church and keeping the message and vision simple so that people are able to understand and get involved easier.  In our group meeting we talked about how the word simple does not mean easy and that may be why we don't see the words simple and church next to each other in our mind...church is not easy, but it can be simple.  We all need to simplify our lives...defining core values and convictions and making sure everything we do aligns with them.  The same goes with church...if we know why we exist and what the vision is every aspect of the church should be in line with that vision.  I recommend reading it...there is obvious tension throughout it because it's not an easy process, like I said, but it's worthwhile to evaluate life through the eyes of this book even if you're not working in ministry per say.  

My favorite part of the book is when they talk about Moses and how he always went to the mountain to hear from God and be transformed. They were addressing this in context to providing a place for people to have their own mountain top experiences...offering various options and atmospheres as to bring people through the transforming process.  It really hit me personally though and challenged me to find my mountain.  During school I always woke up early because I had class early usually and for my last year because I wanted to get a good parking spot...but it provided an awesome opportunity to spend time with God before people were awake and bustling around the campus.  I often went outside and sat meditating in the morning.  With my job here and having different hours of work I don't always wake up at the same time and I often stay in bed as long as possible.  However, I have made a decision to return to my mountain, setting my alarm for 6am daily and waking up no matter what time I need to be at work.  For the month of December I am going to make sure this happens everyday...waking up at 6am gives me time to go to the gym and have extensive quiet time before venturing out on the streets of DC.  I love when God uses one sentence in a book to affect change in my heart!

So far so good...I love being on my mountain again! Obviously it's not a physical place for me...it's a time! Find your own mountain whether it be a certain time of day or a place of importance to your relationship with God! Join me in the goal of visiting that mountain daily this month!  It will condition you to remain there long after this month is over!

story of my life...

I HATE BUGS A LOT! It's fairly easy to figure this out about me and I am so grateful to have a roommate who will wake up in the middle of the night and A. kill a big bug in my room or B. let me sleep in her room.  Granted I haven't had to wake her up in the middle of the night yet, but I KNOW that she would do it in a heart beat!

Anyway, the other day we were talking in my room and I look over at my wall to find a HUGEEEE and NASTYYYY bug crawling around! Immediately she knew I saw something, walked out of the room and came back with a magazine to kill the intruder.  Not only am I too short to reach the ceiling to kill a bug (even if standing on a higher surface), but I just can't do it.  Well, Crissa hit the bug with the magazine and it fell onto my bed, then into my laundry basket and then finally on the floor where she killed it for good! At that moment I was completely thankful to have such an awesome roommate who knows my limitations and rises to the challenge in order to combat my fears.

sometimes I forget the President lives here

Sometimes I forget that the President lives here.  I've been here for about 3 months now and I'm still in awe of all the monuments and history here, but it's moments like today that I will never forget.  The opportunities here are amazing! Today I volunteered at Saddleback's Civil Forum on Global Health.  Reverend Rick Warren (author of Purpose Driven Life) and his church, Saddleback, hosted the forum at the Newseum in DC.  There he presented President Bush with the first ever "International Medal of Peace" for his work in fighting HIV and AIDS through Pepfar and Malaria prevention.  380 people were invited to this event and it was invite only so it was pretty cool to be a part of it.  I was greeting people in my business suit (I knew that would come in handy some day) and Rick Warren thanked me and gave me a hug for helping out.  Rick had asked Mark if some NCCers could come and volunteer at the event...it was neat to be there and help them!

After I hugged Rick Warren I was on the look out for the President, but the secret service kept a close eye on him.  We were able to go inside and watch the forum though and I was about 10 rows away from the President.  It was so awesome to see him in a more natural setting. He was really funny and you could really see that he loves his wife (he called her 'baby' at one point).  President Bush also talked a lot about his perspective on helping others and he quoted the Bible a few times.  It was obvious that his Faith plays a huge role in his decisions. All in all, it was awesome! I'm pretty sure Bush smiled at me at one point and he may have even winked! I could be wrong, but all I'm saying is that we're pretty tight now! What a great opportunity! Oh yea, and it didn't hurt that the African Children's Choir performed and they are AWESOME and so PRECIOUS! It got me excited to go to Ethiopia! :)

I couldn't take any pictures because I wasn't technically allowed, but check out some shots that Joe Portnoy got...he's a great photographer!