My holiday season is going well. I’ve got most of my shopping done already. I think I’ll go shopping tonight and then again Saturday morning and that should wrap it all up (no pun intended). If you want to know what I got you—too bad! You’ll just have to wait until Christmas. 😉

Work has been kindof exciting lately. I’m now working full time hours to cover for co-workers who are sick or on vacation. Karma’s got me on the phones, too. It’s a nice change of pace from answering emails in the evenings. I can see how I could get tired of it very quickly, so I’ll probably be glad when I can go back to part time, but for now I’m having fun. The hours mean more money, but it will all go on the paycheck I’m scheduled to receive on December 27th, so it doesn’t help much for the holidays. Of course, I’ve never been one to turn down money!

I hope and pray everything is going well for my friends and family. Know that I’m thinking about you all this holiday season. Merry Christmas! 

I have a few files on the site that were getting neglected in all the clutter of my archived journal entries, so I’ve added a new Articles section. As time goes by I’ll probably add current news articles and other things, in the same way people keep newspaper clippings of significant events in their journal. Should be interesting to see what kind of things turn up in there, eh?

I finished Fall semester last week, my last final being on Thursday. I did so much better than I thought I did on all of my finals. I know I couldn’t have done that without the Lord. It seems like in all three finals it came down to one question I couldn’t answer. As I would pray about it, the concept would come back to me clearly enough that I could answer the question and feel confident about what I had written. I haven’t seen any of my grades yet, but (depending on how good they are) I’ll post them here when I do.

So I’m kinda floating until next semester. I’m still working 20-25 hours a week at ContentWatch, but I have to continue working evenings since someone else uses my desk during the day. Of course, she doesn’t work on Fridays, so I think I’ll have the weekends pretty much clear. That’ll be nice.

I don’t know if I’ve said this on the site yet (it may have been down at the time), but I registered for classes next semester. I’ll be taking General Psychology, World Religions, and Calculus III. I’ll also be taking Symhonic Band with Janene. All my classes are concentrated in the mornings on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Symphonic Band is my only Tuesday and Thursday class. That should help a great deal with homework. I’m looking forward to next semester being much better than this one was. 

I want to wish my friend Jason a very happy 23rd birthday. Jason: I don’t know if you read my website regularly anymore, but I just want to let you know I’m thinking about you today. I hope and pray that this day finds you in good health and that you can rejoice in another year spent with good friends and family. Happy birthday, bro!

I heard a good story in church today. The story takes place around Christmas, and is about a man who works at the post office. His wife had passed away a few months earlier. He was going through all the letters written to Santa Claus, and he came across one written from his own address. He immediately realized it was from his daughter. He opened the letter and this is what it said, “Dear Santa, my mother passed away two months ago and since then my dad has cried himself to sleep every night. He says that only eternity can heal him. Could you please send a little eternity to my dad this Christmas?”.

I like this story because sometimes I feel like I could use a little eternity in my life. I think we all can. What’s amazing to me is that Christ was not only a little eternity, He was all of eternity, and He gave himself for us. That is what Christmas is about. His life, sacrifice, and resurrection should be the focus of our thoughts year round, but especially this month. May we all be awakened to a new sense of wonder this Christmas season. 

Today, Janene and I have been together for a year and six months. It seems like I have known her forever, yet the first time we held hands still feels like yesterday. I’m still every bit in love with her now as I was then, and so much more.

Janene: I want you to know that I love you very much. This last year and a half I’ve been having the time of my life. You have taught me so much about who I am and who I need to become. You have set such an amazing example for me of a person who is close to her Heavenly Father and really strives to do the things He requires. You truly are a beautiful person, and I think some of that beauty is due to an inner peace and the glow that comes from knowing who you are and who He is. I love you very much, sweetheart. Happy Anniversary! ❤️ 

As many of you probably noticed, Qangaroo.com has been down for almost a month. My site hosting provider, Go Daddy Software, does not accept checks. Since I no longer had a valid debit/credit card, I was unable to make my monthly hosting payments. In the November 1 entry (a little way down the page) I mentioned some of the trouble I was having with my fine financial institution. Note: I throw the word “fine” around very loosely.

I finally received my debit card after five calls to the credit union. After the site went down, I started to get really mad. I don’t have any big bills to pay that require a credit card, but if I did, my credit could’ve been seriously damaged from missed payments. A few weeks ago I went to a new credit union to open an account and see about transfering my car loan. They were very friendly and helpful, and they’ve been able to refinance my car loan at a very low 6.15% interest rate (on my own credit—I’m so proud of myself 😀). They sent me a debit card and it actually arrived two days before the one I’ve been expecting for three months from the other credit union! As soon as the new loan goes through I’ll be closing my old account. Boy, will I be happy when that’s over with.

I saw the ENT last month about my sinus/throat/ear problems. He says I’ve got a deviated septum and recommends corrective surgery. It would be outpatient, which I guess means I’d be in and out rather quickly and that I should only experience discomfort for a few days. The idea of getting surgery doesn’t sound very pleasant to me, but I’m willing to accept it if it will help me get better. I would like to see another doctor to get a second opinion, and I should have plenty of time to do that on account of our insurance company. They won’t pay to have the surgery done until at least March. It’s a long complicated story involving my dad switching jobs last year. I won’t bore you with details, but suffice it to say, there is a whole list of specific procedures and medications that the insurance company won’t pay anything on for the first year of coverage. I’m thinking of waiting to have the surgery after Spring semester, seeing as how it will put me down for at least a few days, and that won’t work whilst I’m in school.

Well, that pretty much wraps up everything that’s happened to me during the month that the site was down. One thing I should mention is how grateful I am to my Heavenly Father for the blessings He gives me everyday. I feel bad that I didn’t get to put in a Thanksgiving entry, because I really do feel thankful for my life, the people in it, and the experiences I have that make me who I am. It seems like everywhere I look I can see God working.

I’ve been praying about my finances a lot this past week because I was very afraid I wouldn’t be able to pay some of my bills. The money simply was not there and the bills were coming due fast. I prayed to the Lord and expressed to Him my frustration about a situation that was completely out of my hands, and placed my complete trust in Him that He would help me. As it turns out my first car payment on the new loan won’t be due until January 15, 2003. That means I won’t have a car payment at all in the month of December, which will allow me to pay all of my bills and have money left over to go Christmas shopping. I truly see this as a blessing from the Lord—grace and mercy where no amount of effort on my part could have possibly rectified the situation. He is an awesome God. Of that I am certain.