Never too old for a snowball fight!

Well another Axis semester done. We finished up work this week and I am flying back home tomorrow afternoon for Christmas. I am excited to see my family! (and hopefully not eat too many cookies) Almost everyone from Axis is home or heading home in the next day or so. It's bittersweet in a sense because there are a few people that are not coming back next semester. One of the full time staff got an amazing new job in TN and another intern was only doing one semester and is going to spend the next few months shredding up the mountains of Colorado. I love how we have become a family. We work together, cook together, live together, and just do life together and it is awesome. God really has blessed me with some amazing co-workers and friends!
Last week in downtown Colorado Springs they did a downtown stroll where a bunch of the shops downtown had lights up and food samples and a few of us walked around and had a ton of fun! We also found a little set up with dance moves mapped out on the ground and I learned the fox trot! The sign said "Dance like no one is watching!" And we did just that! With snow covering the ground we slipped and slid all over! People walked by and smiled at us but we kept dancing and we even met a guy named Timothy and got him to dance with us too!

photo curtesy of Hayley ;)

We walked around a bit more and one of my friends and I wanted to run across the snow covered park through the center of town. So we took off trying not to slip and laughing the whole time. Oh, did I mention the temperature was in the single digits?!? Yeah, it was pretty chilly out. We ended up having a EPIC snowball fight! We called it the 76th Hunger Games. Hayley was Finnick, Alisa was Joanna and I was Katniss vs the guys, Sam and Colin, and they were the careers. Of course we won! (Although they may tell you otherwise)  

I have mentioned in previous blogs I have talked about how I have struggled this semester with being myself. I was having a tough week and that night just running across a park, laughing, sliding (I had a pretty epic fall) and freezing while throwing snow at friends was something I needed. The way things work out sometimes makes me smile. I was talking to one of my friends the other night and he was telling me how God had just answered a few of his prayers in ways he didn't expect. That's how is works I think. God likes to surprise us in the smallest ways. Either by a clear day to view his amazing creation in the mountains here in Colorado, random encouraging words from your boss, good conversations with friends til 2:30 am, and even through snow ball fights. It's easy not to see God working in my life because sometimes...I know I get distracted. But when I can step back and just laugh and dance I can see God working through everything around me and it makes me....speechless. So, I dare you, go dance, run, or throw snow like no one is watching! I promise it will be worth it. :)

Axis Banquet

With pretty lows temperature the past week or so about 150 people braved the cold and were able to make it out to our banquet! It was so much fun and Axis broke a personal record with having 13 people speak during one presentation! It was a BLAST being able to present with all the full time staff and all the other interns. We were all dressed up and looked quite spiffy ;)
Check out this short promo of the banquet! I am not in it presenting but you get to see many of the beautiful faces of Axis!!
http://vimeo.com/81542115

Do you want to dance?

Happy December! I love Christmas time! Between celebrating Jesus, the music, good food, snow, traditions, family, festivities, and lights there is just so much to look forward to! I absolutely love Christmas lights. I feel like it makes everything look magical! I worked up at camp this past week before Thanksgiving and I was able to cut down a tree before I came back down to the springs. My team made me wait until they got back from their Thanksgivings with family to decorate it so I waited, very impatiently, with a very naked Christmas tree in our basement. We finally got a chance to decorate it the other night. It was so much fun! 

We had ornaments and music playing while we decorated. Colin was in the corner stringing popcorn and the others were decorating ornaments and the tree. As soon as we turned on music one of the guys from Axis, Sam, started dancing. Sam is a great dancer and he was having a lot of fun twirling around our basement. He started teaching Hayley and I some dance moves. Which included a bit of swing dancing, waltzing, and the cha-cha.
I have never danced like that before. The only dance experience I have is a hip-hop class I took one summer, the cupid shuffle and wii Just Dance (which I am pretty good at ;]) It was fun learning the steps and trying to navigate in my slippers around the basement while trying not to step on Sam's feet. I never new there was so much technique when it came to dancing. The guys kept telling me to stop looking at my feet, because I kept tripping, and Sam was teaching me how to hold up a good frame with my arms. He was telling me that with my hands I need to push a bit back on his so he is able to lead me easier. Colin was giving tips from the side talking about how dancing is harder for the girl because she has more complicated steps and all the guy has to do is lead her. It was hard trying to remember the steps, let Sam lead me, and not trip as he would randomly spin me around the room.
I had to focus on putting pressure in his hand as he led me. It made me think of something. I have been hurt by people before, whether its through relationships or friendships, and it's hard letting myself open up and letting my feelings known so I am very guarded. Guarded so much that I never open up and I struggle with letting people know how much I care about them even after they make theirs feelings known. I learned that for relationships it is a give and take and you cannot just take and not return feelings. I have been struggling with this lately. Both giving too much and, in some relationships, not getting anything back and also not giving anything for fear of rejection.
So in something as simple as learning how to waltz with one of my friends, I learned a lesson as well. The same thing is with God. He is mighty and powerful and He can do all things. There are times in my life He takes over and there are times where I know He wants me to do something. Like dancing, one person has to lead. If I were to try and lead Sam while he was trying to lead me....it would be a mess. (especially since I had no idea what I was doing!) In life God is the one leading me through everything. There are times, a lot sometimes, that I try and lead as well and that is when life gets messy. I know I need to step back and let Him lead but sometimes I do not know what is going to happen and it's scary.
So I guess you can say life is a dance and you just need to let God lead through all the dips and spins and just enjoy the dance. 'Cause...come on who does not want the best dancer to lead them through life?!