Ooh Chloe

Whew! What. A. Year. It’s hard to believe that 2016 is over. I know a lot of people have negative feelings about this year, and maybe rightfully so. But 2016 was absolutely amazing for me. In fact, the only reason I’ll be staying up tonight is to cherish every last second of this year. As any year, it had its low points, but I know without a doubt that this has been one of the best years of my life. I knew it was going to be a good year when I made a new friend and grew closer to another at the very beginning of the year. These two have since proved to be two of the best people I have ever known. (No offense.) It couldn’t be all good, though. Mid-February landed me in the ER (the first of three times this year). I had been dealing with health problems, but it was at this point that I took a turn for the worse. Early March was an exciting time for me. For the first time, I felt like God was really asking me to do something – lead a Bible study! Starting this was a little scary for my s

Emmanuel: God with us. I’ve been familiar with this name of Jesus for years. I led my church in worship with a song with the word in it, and sang several others as a member of the congregation. I once went to a church called “Emmanuel.” I’ve even thought about what it means. I’m no stranger to the term. Right in time for Christmas, I had a perspective change. A few nights ago, I was listening to “ The Truth is Who You Are ” by Tenth Avenue North when they referred to Jesus as Emmanuel. I have also heard this song before. Dozens and dozens of times. But I realized something. All the times I heard and thought about it, I was wrong. I had always thought that it was cute that Jesus had a special name for his thirty-three years on Earth – the time when God was really with us. I didn’t mean to, but in my mind, I had left “Emmanuel” in the tomb even after Jesus left it. But as I heard Mike Donehey’s beautiful voice singing, “Emmanuel, God with us,” the truth sucker punched

This week has been a rather rough one for me. I know, I know, it's only Wednesday. It hasn't been all bad. "Bittersweet" is definitely a word I would use to describe it. Yesterday, I had a "diagnostic laparoscopy." A few people have asked how I'm doing. The selfish part of me wants to say, "I was just diagnosed with a endometriosis, a lifelong illness that hurts like hell, causes internal bleeding and scarring, and has the potential to prevent me from ever having kids; I have two incisions that feel like they're on fire; my throat hurts from a tube that was stuck down it; my doctor pumped me so full of air I have to wear clothes three sizes too big; my insides have been mulled over and some of them even cauterized with a laser; and my medicine makes me so tired that the only time I'm awake is because I'm in pain. How do you think I feel?!?"  I do not like talking about this. I only told about five people that I was having su

Here's just a handful of the invaluable lessons I have learned the past seven months. Until now, I never missed anyone strictly because of distance. Anytime I missed someone, it was because they left. Forever. I didn't know what to expect, and may have initially took things harder than the average person because I felt as though moving was a death sentence to the first friendship I've had in two years. (See, " Lessons " and " The Word with Friends .") Now, I understand that's not true. It's an obstacle, not the end. For music's sake, Jason Aldean's " See You When I See You " is a fantastic song, and is very relevant to this post. More than time exists. There comes a point when you realize there's more to friendship than being together. I once read something to the effect of, "Don't confuse those who are with you with those who are there for you." I cannot stress that enough. Do I miss the days when di