Christmas came and went so quickly. I find myself reflecting on Christmas all the way to New Year's. I think on Christmas day and the week leading up to it can be filled too many things going on (visiting and traveling, entertaining family and relatives, buying last minute gifts, different parties and events, christmas programs at church) to be able to really think about Christmas for what it is.

For the past two days, I didn't have much to do except to hang out at the apartment and catch up on some reading. I'm up to the part in "Blue Like Jazz" where Donald Miller's talking about how he dislikes institutions, how Christianity can be difficult to accept but that there's something about Jesus-- who He is, what He did and what He taught, what He was/is like-- that draws and attracts people. It got me to thinking about how we represent or misrepresent Christ in our world. If people are attracted to Christ but not attracted to Christianity, what does that mean?

I've found that in many ways I am less passionate than when I was younger. But every so often I'll find my heart beating a little faster and a fire in me reignited when I read about or meet an individual who seems to possess a special quality of peace and kindness that comes out naturally. It's rare which is what makes it so special. And in that moment, I feel inspired to imitate that kind of quality so that I could also possess it and be like that. I know that this kind of quality comes from God and is something spiritual, not something that the person mustered up on their own or learned in college. It's the feeling that this individual "gets it" because he/she is close with the Lord and the feeling that he/she knows something I don't because it's been too long since I've spent some good quality time with my God.

When I saw the video of Aaron Shust (above) playing Silent Night, I felt like he's one of those individuals who "gets it." I know I'm being biased cuz I like his music, but that's fine. We're all biased.

So I think the key to the restlessness and antsy-ness I feel has to do with God. There's got to be an answer or the key to peace through His Word. It's a very basic thing, really. And I am very basic. Simple. It's just not a simple thing to apply in action for some reason.