Merry Christmas!

¹Now in those days a decree went out from ^A)">(A)Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of ^B)">(B)all ^a]">[a]the inhabited earth.

²This was the first census taken while ^b]">[b]Quirinius was governor of ^C)">(C)Syria.

³And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city.

⁴Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because ^D)">(D)he was of the house and family of David,

⁵in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child.

⁶While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth.

⁷And she ^E)">(E)gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

⁸In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night.

⁹And ^F)">(F)an angel of the Lord suddenly ^G)">(G)stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.

¹⁰But the angel said to them, "^H)">(H)Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people;

¹¹for today in the city of David there has been born for you a ^I)">(I)Savior, who is ^c]">[c]^J)">(J)Christ ^K)">(K)the Lord.

¹²"^L)">(L)This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

¹³And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
¹⁴"^M)">(M)Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace among men ^d]">[d]^N)">(N)with whom He is pleased."

¹⁵When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, "Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us."

¹⁶So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger.

¹⁷When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child.

¹⁸And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds.

¹⁹But Mary ^O)">(O)treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.

²⁰The shepherds went back, ^P)">(P)glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

In the hustle and bustle of the season it is so easy and tempting to forget why we celebrate Christmas. Christmas is such a wonderful time, especially as a college student. It gives me an opportunity to spend more than a day and a half at home with my family. This Christmas is especially special since it may very well be the last Christmas I get to spend a few weeks at home with my family. Christmas traditions are so much fun with my family. We start by celebrating Christmas Eve at my grandparents with my aunt and uncle from Goldsboro. Then it's back home with my parents and my brother to watch A Christmas Story. It is by far the best Christmas movie ever. We love it and laugh the whole way through. Well, my mom hates the movie, but she watches and laughs with us. Christmas morning it's up at 7 am to open gifts at the house and then it's back to the grandparents for fried oysters for breakfast and to open a few more gifts. We come back home to straighten up (especially today, we have a house viewing tomorrow!) and rest before heading to my dad's moms to eat lunch and celebrate Christmas with his side of the family.

You can see why it's so easy to take Christ out of Christmas. Not only is my Christmas packed full of time with family but it's the shopping and busyness that occurs before Christmas. Rushing around trying to find the "perfect" gift for friends and family. I am sad to say but I can forget that the perfect gift has already been given to us in the form of a baby in a manger. Christ's birth is so amazing. We often think of Christ as this all powerful man who had the strength to persevere a crucifixion to save the world from sin. We rarely think of him as a baby. Ponder that for a second. Christ was a baby. He didn't have the comfort of being born in a warm inn room. He was born in a manger, a pig's trough. Today, if a baby was born in a manger it would be in the headlines. Take time today to be thankful of Christ's birth. If he had never been born, he would have never died.

Shootin' Guns & Drivin' Trucks

The past few weeks have been crazy. School is coming to a close, so you know that means teachers just pile on the work and cram all your due dates for the last week of classes. I had three tests last Tuesday before Thanksgiving!!! Crazy, huh? Hopefully I did well and will get my grades back tomorrow. Since I last wrote, I had my last Crusade Semi-formal. The theme was Masquerade. Alex came up and accompanied me. We had a wonderful time. We went to dinner with Mark, Kara, Brandon, & Emily at The Twisted Fork. Dinner was absolutely amazing. We then went to The Church of the Good Shepherd for the dance. They had a band this year, which was good, but it would have been nice to have more than just wedding-ish music. Here's a pic of Alex & me.


A few weeks prior to semi-formal I went home with Emily for the first time and stayed with her and her family. I wanted to practice my photography skills so she took me to Old Salem. She was amazing and let me take pictures of her. This was by far my favorite of the day. She climbed in a tree and I handed her Bible to her and told her to open it and read. This was the picture that came out and I love it.
This picture was taken with a Minolta 35 mm film camera using black and white film. I love the anticipation of waiting to have my film developed to see how the images turn out. Hopefully after Christmas, I'll have a digital SLR and I can see my images after I take them! So excited!!

I've been doing a lot of driving this semester going back and forth from Lexington, Raleigh, and home. I catch my self looking at old pack houses and tobacco farms and just wishing I had a digital camera to pull over and take some pictures and I'm really looking forward to that. I'm not real sure what sparked my interest in photography. I think it would be the fact that after having many discussion with Alex about his passion for hunting and being outdoors, I realized that I didn't have anything like that. My dad was a photographer when he was younger and has been teaching me some about film photography and letting me have his old Minoltas, which have been tons of fun to learn on. Since my dad is my favorite person ever, I figured this is something I could get into. I plan on using his old neck strap from when he did photography. It makes me so happy to think I get to use the same thing my dad used and have the same passion my dad had.

For Thanksgiving this year I spent time with both sides of the family. I had lunch with my mom's side of the family and then I spent the afternoon and evening with my dad's side of the family. It was great to see family that I haven't seen in a few months and spend some time catching up and enjoying the Holiday.

Now, for the interesting title. My boyfriend is absolutely amazing and over the past eight months (WOW! I can't believe it's been 8 months) he has taught me so much about life and myself. Alex just has something about him. He's always so positive. Surprisingly this created some interesting conversations when we first started hanging out, he had this "Utopia World" where everything is perfect and nothing is ever wrong. He is constantly encouraging me and sees the best in everything. He has taught me that there is no need to constantly worry about life and the future; what happens happens. Ce la vie. He has also taught me some tangible things. About a month ago he took me hunting for the first time. Now I know that was difficult for him because I know I was loud and yes, bored (sorry babe!). It makes me so happy when he teaches me stuff and I know I'm not the easiest person to teach things to. Last time I went to his house he took me out in the back yard and taught me how to shoot a 22. I did pretty good for my first time. Hopefully I can move up to something a bit bigger next time. Also, Alex taught me how to drive his truck which is a stick shift. I definitely stalled out the very first time, but I kept trying and eventually got the hang of it! I have to say driving up a hill is rather difficult. We were able to share quite a few laughs during our time together and I'm going to miss him this week while he is in Florida.

Sure why not?

A
- Available: no
- Age: 21
- Annoyance: Talking when someone else is talking, I think it's a teacher thing
- Animal: Dog, specifically Great Dane. I will own one someday :D

B
- Birthday: January 31
- Best Friend: Jesus
- Best feeling in the world: being in God's presence
- Blind or Deaf: blind
- Best weather: Fall
- Been on stage: yes
- Believe in Magic: Um duh, Harry Potter is my boyfriend.
- Believe in Santa: Absolutely

C
- Candy: sour patch kids
- Color: Red
- Chocolate/Vanilla: Vanilla
- Chinese/Mexican: mexican!
- Cake or pie: Funfetti
- Continent to visit: Europe, specifically Sweden
- Cheese: Yes please

D
- Day or Night: night
- Dancing in the rain: everytime

E
- Eyes: blue
- Everyone has: the ability to love
- Ever failed a class?: No, but i've come pretty close.

F
- Full name: Georgina Nicole McLawhorn
- First thoughts waking up: I don't want to get up
- Food: Salmon

G
- Greatest Fear: Not living life to the fullest
- Goals: May 15th
- Gum: any
- Get along with your parents: yes
- Good luck charm: Bible

H
- Hair Color: brown
- Height: 5'7
- Happy: for the most part
- Holiday: Christmas
- How do you want to die: i dont wanna die...i want jesus to come back

I
- Ice Cream: butter pecan
- Instrument: guitar

J
- Jewelry: wellll.....
- Job: none, Student teaching in the spring!

K
- Kids: two, deux, dos, how ever you want to say it.
- Kickboxing or karate: kickboxing
- Keep a journal: I have many

L
- Longest Car Ride: PCB, Florida
- Love: is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. (1 corinthians 13: 4-8a)
- Letter: G
- Laughed so hard you cried: a lot

M
- Milk flavor: no preference. I usually drink 1% though
- Movie: Dirty Dancing, Pretty Woman
- Motion sickness: nope
- McD’s or BK: Bojangles?

N
- Number of Siblings: 1
- Number of Piercings: 2 in each ear
- Number: 18

O
- One wish: to live a life in accordance to God's will

P
- Perfect Pizza: meat lovers
- Pepsi/Coke: pepsi

Q
- Quote: "Therefore, go and make disciples of ALL nations"


R
- Reason to cry: who says you have to have a reason?
- Reality TV: not my fave
- Radio Station: 94.7
- Roll your tongue in a circle: yeppers :D
- Ring size: 5

S
- Song: Right now? You make me Smile :D
- Salad Dressing: ranch
- Sushi: eel is my favorite
- Skipped school: me? NEVER!
- Slept outside: a couple of times
- Sing well: Yes, according to Jesus
- Sing in the shower: only if the radio is on.
- Strawberries/Blueberries: strawberries
- Starbucks: Grande White Mocha/ Grande White Mocha Frap

T
- Time for bed: hopefully before 11 most nights.
- Thunderstorms: best for cuddling
- Tattoos: I wish I had the guts

U
- Unpredictable: spontaneous?

V
- Vacation spot: Anywhere away from home. Sweden.

W
- Weakness: A man who loves the Lord.
- Which one of your friends acts the most like you: Lauren Sink, no doubt.
- Who makes you laugh the most: Anyone in the Greer family.
- Wanted to be a model: when I was little.
- Where do we go when we die: to live with Jesus
- Worst Weather: cold and rainy

X
- X-Rays: not my fave

Y
-Year it is now: 2009
-Yellow: Avis

Z
- Zoo animal: ??

LAST PERSON WHO…
1. Slept in a bed beside you: Colleen
2. You went to the mall with: Alex
3. You went to dinner with: Alex
4. You talked to on the phone: Alex
5. Made you laugh: Lauren D
6. Hugged you: Lauren D
7. Said they loved you: Alex
8. You kissed: Alex
9. You spoke with: Avis
10. You cried over: Euclid (Euclidean Geometry)

The Beginnings of Fall!

I've decided that fall is definitely my favorite time of the year, at least until it becomes freezing cold and I can't feel my own face. Not much exciting has happened since I last wrote, which was way too long ago, sorry bloggers! I'll try to update you on what I can though...

Sweden Project Reunion
Back in October I got to go to Black Mountain, NC for Project Reunion. It was an opportunity for all the Midsouth international summer project teams to reconnect and reflect on the amazing weeks we spent in our various countries. It was so amazing to be able to see my project friends and spend time with them. I got to see Emily & Mindy again which was absolutely great! We got to hear from the Traveling Team about what to do next, whether it's return long-term, financially & prayerfully send others, or return short-term. Saturday we had pretty much all day to hang out with the team so most of us went and climbed a mountain. It was beautiful and well worth it to be at the top and I got to take some great pics. Sadly enough, I won't see these amazing people again until Winter Conference.

Last weekend I decided to go to Lexington for the weekend. Alex has this new job where he is traveling Tuesday through Saturday so my original plan was to just stay with his family Friday night and hang out with them on Saturday until Alex got back home. Well Emily, my roommate, invited me to just stay the night with her family and Friday afternoon we could go to Old Salem. I jumped on the idea because I had never been to Old Salem before and it would give me the opportunity to practice taking some pictures and I had a beautiful model for the evening. We took a couple of rolls of film and I got some amazing shots of Emily and Old Salem. She also grabbed a few of me. I had the ever talked about pizza and wings for dinner with her and her parents. The next morning we went to breakfast and I had amazing french toast. Then I headed to Lexington.

When I got to Lexington I spent the afternoon working on some school work and then went to the church that night for Trunk or Treat. Alex's dad picked him up and he met us there. It was so great to spend some great time with him this past weekend. Sunday we went to church and then he had planned a surprise for us for that evening. He told me to wear something comfy and I figured out that he was taking me to the drive-in movie! After he confirmed the plans, I bundled up, grabbed some blankets and we were off to the drive-in. We saw Law Abiding Citizen and Saw 6, both were very good. Monday I got to go hunting with Alex. I have a lot of work to do on my hunting skills. I'm definitely not the quietest hunter in the world, but I'm definitely willing to work out to do something that my boyfriend enjoys!

School has been crazy busy and I'm so ready for Christmas break. I'm looking forward to a break. I'm somewhat excited about the opportunity to student teach in the Spring but I'm definitely nervous about what kind of teacher I'm going to be. I know I just have to continue to trust in the Lord to get me through the next couple of months until I graduate in May!!! I'm super excited about graduation but also somewhat depressed to think about it. More to come on that later...

I hope everyone is enjoying the fall! Tomorrow is homecoming at NCSU and hopefully we can pull out a WIN!!! Next weekend is Crusade's Annual Semi-formal and Alex is coming to Raleigh to take me. I'm super excited and very appreciative. I'm truly blessed to have Alex in my life. I understand the huge sacrifice he's making this weekend by taking me to semi-formal and passing on Opening Day to spend the weekend with me. He truly is amazing.

Barn Party

This morning as I walked outside to head to the Student Health Center to get my TB test for student teaching, the only thing that brought a smile to my face was the BEAUTIFUL weather. I caught a chill when I walked out my door and I was so excited. The weather is cooling off, there's a breeze in the air, leaves are starting to change color and they are continuously falling to the ground. You know what that means, it's finally FALL and with fall comes BARN PARTY!!! This Friday is Campus Crusade's annual Barn Party. I have to tell you I am extremely excited. Not only because this is seriously my favorite event of the year, but my project roomies are coming to visit, and it's been WAY too long since I last saw them.

So what is Barn Party you ask? Barn Party is a huge event at Adcock's (I think this is right) Farm. Hundreds of students come out to enjoy grilled corn on the cob, mini corn dogs, root beer, a *non*mechanical bull, Bob the line dance caller, great music, good friends, and awesome fellowship. It's definitely bitter sweet since it's my last Barn Party, so I plan to make the most of it.

Well I have to head to class, but before I leave I was pretty excited this morning when I was crossing Hillsboro St and a man in a truck stopped to let me cross the street and I smiled and thought of Sweden.

Have a WONDERFUL Fall!!!

Single Babies

Thought this was pretty cute.

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Holy Moly

Wow...it's been quite a while since I've blogged. Since I last blogged, I've moved back to Raleigh for my Senior year at NC State. I'm pretty excited about graduating in May, but the school work is intense right now as I'm sure student teaching will be as well. I've moved into my new home in Camden Crossing with Emily, Avis, and Elizabeth. I've loved living in a town house and sharing a room with Avis. I enjoy the fellowship of these Godly women and I'm really going to miss that once I graduate.

Before school started, I was visiting in Lexington with Alex and his family when my mom told me our house at the river had been hit by what they believe was a tornado while they were at dinner one night. They came home and the house was flooded and part of the roof was missing. It's been a blessing that we haven't yet sold our other house so we have somewhere to stay until we can build a new house at the river.

The House after the Storm

Inside of the House after gutting some Walls.

I also got the privilege to visit with my project roommate Emily and hear her speak at her church Fika about Sweden. It's always great to see Project friends and tell others how the Lord is moving in Sweden.

Emily & I at her Church Fika.

Since I've been in Raleigh I've been pretty busy with school, Bible Study, Crusade, and seeing Alex when I get the chance. School is definitely no fun and very busy. I'm taking 17 hours and a couple of my classes require site visits and community service hours outside of the class so it really amounts to about 20 hours each week. Bible Study is going extremely well. LD and I decided to go through the book of James this semester with the girls and so far it has been very rewarding. I'm also trying out D-Groups this year. Providence is inductively going through the Bible in a year. I've only been once and it was intense, but I know it's going to be rewarding as well.

After a very disappointing football game last Thursday against SCU, I headed to Lexington to spend the weekend with Alex and his family for Labor Day. Friday Alex & I went to an outfitters store, God's Country, and looked at kayaks. Alex got a great deal on a kayak and I got a fabulous deal on a pair of Keens and pair of Chacos! I was very excited about my purchase. Later that night we went with his friends James and Lindsey to the Comedy Zone in Winston (I think) to hear some Comedians. It was a lot of fun.

Alex and I in Lexington.

Saturday we took Alex's bike and went to his cousin's house to see their new kayaks and then we just went riding some. Saturday night we went to my first Auction! It was interesting to say the least. It was great to spend time with Alex and his parents.
Sunday we went to church and then to a cook out with his dad's side of the family. His family is so friendly and I enjoyed getting to meet them. We got to shag a little bit after coercing from his mom and dad to show his family our moves.

Alex & his new Kayak.

I'm looking forward to this weekend. Crusade is having our annual fall retreat at Camp Dixie and this year JD Greear is speaking. I'm excited about him delivering the Word and being rejuvenated for the upcoming year.

This is the Rocking Horse that stopped to rest in front of out house the first week of school.