Passion, Resolutions, the Hunger Games, and the End of the World

What's up everybody? Gosh, it feels like the last time we talked was last year or something . . . oh wait . . .


We're only at January 21st, but a LOT has happened this year already! Here's a little summary:

FIRST: I went to Passion--probably the BIGGEST thing that's happened so far. For those who don't know what that is, it was a conference in Atlanta during the first week of January. Over 44,000 young adults all gathered together at the Georgia Dome to worship God, listen to some AWESOME speakers, and raise money for Do Something Now (donating money to organizations that help stop human trafficking). It was the most beautiful week I have ever experienced. I went with a group (pictured below) from the Chick-fil-a where I work.

That large hand behind us was built during the week, and it represents freedom for the 27 million slaves in the world (that's right--27 MILLION, which is more than ANY other time in human history). Our goal was to raise $1 million over the course of 4 days for Do Something Now. On Thursday (the final day), Louie Giglio (he's the one who started Passion) told us that our grand total was $3,066,670. It blew us away. How great is our God!

I'll spare the details, but there's a lot more to tell (and more pictures to post)! I'll probably devote an entire blog post to the Passion conference in the near future. So you'll just have to wait until then to hear the other good stuff. ;)

Second thing (somewhat related to the first), I figured out my New Year's Resolutions! :D I have three this year:

• Most importantly, I want to be FEARLESS in telling others about Christ. I want to spread it around my college campus (which is very big and not a Christian college). I want to give God all the credit and not let myself be puffed up with pride (as in "I love Jesus, so that makes me better than you.")
• My goal is to eat only ONE dessert a week. Just one.
• (Not sure if this is gonna happen, but I will definitely try) I want to have a flat belly by 2013.

These are probably the hardest resolutions I've ever had, but they will all have good results if I stick to them. :D

Third thing that's happened this year: I started reading the Hunger Games. Technically I started them in December, but whatever. The point is these books are the bee's knees. I finished the first book in 2 days and I've got two chapters until I finish the second. They're SO GOOD. I could go on and on and on, but I think I'll leave that for another day since I have more than an entire blog post's worth of stuff to say on the subject.........but I love Peeta. OKAY. That's all I'm saying.

Also, with this being the first blog post of 2012 n' all, I figured now would be a good time to address the "End of the World" thing. Now I just KNOW that you woke up on January 1st and started freaking out because you thought the world was ending, then you remembered it's supposed to happen on December 21st, then you started freaking out a little less than the first time (but freaking out nonetheless). Well, to ease your mind, I found this charming little video by a British fellow with a beautiful smile. Please watch and be comforted (both by his words and his smile):

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to finish those last two chapters....

P.S. You may have noticed a few changes to the blog recently. . . if you have feedback, I would love to hear it. Or read it, rather . . .