Celebrating Quite A Few Years!

After a full weekend of celebration we gather around the lunch table, hearts full. Some of the offerings we share are verses memorized from the past year.




They culminate and preach a message of their own.







I had prepared my own offering that was bubbling over from the weekend birthday celebrations. But as they shared theirs, mine made even more sense.

I think I had a smile a mile wide all weekend. Even though I enter into this new decade with a sense of reverential fear; meaning I believe that the God of yesterday is the God of today and tomorrow, and He will carry me through whatever comes, I was just plain excited to celebrate.

This weekend, full of love and celebration, was a gracious reminder of what is most important; to love God deeply. To love Him more than self, more than riches, and to express that love in genuine affection for others.

I am overwhelmed with love for family and friends.










I have had my fill of Italian entrees and amazing cake (Thanks Megan!) Mmm, mm, mmm!



It's time to shout praises!

Sure, there are more gray hairs, I wake up more often with sleep lines on my face, and notice more wrinkles...but today I celebrate for all the years of God with us and trust Him for the ones ahead!

Cue Travis Cottrell's, Just As I Am...

A Nagging Theme

As you may be able to tell from the timing of this post, the New Year took me a bit by surprise this year. As it turns out we spent the crucial countdown minutes into the New Year in line at the train station waiting for an overdue train. In the waiting, the moment could have passed by unnoticed, unspectacular. There were no flashy lights or big count down. There were a lot of tired people, crying babies, a quick celebratory kiss and a whoo-hoo and the moment was over. (We probably haven't kissed in front of that many people since our wedding!)

As the scenery whisked by the next morning my mind wandered through the events of the previous year and slowly chugged into the new.
How had last year gone? What were the highlights? The surprises? Areas of growth? Areas of failure? Habits formed? New friendships? Favorite foods, movies and books?

Would I make a resolution this year? Did I have a goal? A dream?

I am invigorated by fresh starts and am motivated by goals. The older I get (I'll talk about that another time!) the more I realize that moments are the important character defining opportunities in my faith and relationship to God. I need intentionality in my life to stay focussed. The New Year is one of those natural times that allows for creative, deliberate direction. So, true to myself I did make a resolution. I also have a goal I'd like to meet, several in fact.

I enjoy hearing about others perspective on the New Year. One author I follow picks a word for each year and contemplates that idea for the year. I really like that idea and wondered about a word that I might ponder. Only the longer I thought about it the more I realized that there is one that has been nagging me for awhile. It has been spoken into me through prayers, people and quiet times.
The word?

Perseverance.

I suddenly didn't want a word, especially one so difficult sounding. However, it is the word that fits right now. When I rolled other words around the stories of my life they seemed peripheral just like trying to climb into someone else's life or dream. Knowingly waiting for the wrong train won't get you to the right destination.

At the outset perseverance doesn't seem very *exciting*! However, Romans 5:3-5 says that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character hope. And hope does not disappoint us.
It appears there is a gift to seek in this word; perseverance. By passing up this word, I miss my present reality, my God given opportunity for now. There are enough disappointments in life, and it looks like perseverance isn't one of them.

Hebrews 10:35-36
Don't throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised.



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Mercy Triumphs

For those of you living in the area, Eastview is hosting a Beth Moore study for women from the book of James starting this Wednesday, January 25th. We would love to have you join us. Here are some details:

January 25th to March 14th
8 sessions, 7 weeks of homework
Wednesdays, 7pm - 9pm
$25 registration covers book and refreshment and teaching DVDs

Please contact ontomaturity@eastview.org to register.




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The Afterglow

Today I finally got the decorations off the Christmas tree. The family convinced me to leave the tree up longer than I wanted during holidays. Although I knew that meant I wouldn't get the tree down till school started again in the New Year, I obliged. We all love the ambiance of the tree lit room.

I have been enjoying the afterglow of Christmas in our family life as well. In an earlier blog I had commented on our family tradition of picking names and buying relational gifts and giving away "saved" money. I have been enjoying seeing this tradition grow and take roots in our lives. The authentic excitement that's growing to give gifts and the desire to use them together makes me giddy just thinking about it.
One of the gifts I gave Megan was the cookbook, "Mennonite Girls Can Cook". She loves being in the kitchen and in fact just tonight as I was tucking her into bed she said, "I think I'd like to make the supper meals for a whole week!" I'm feeling like there is no such gift as a selfless one as I ponder the benefits...

I have been enjoying the rewards of "doing gifts" together and the anticipation of it.




I've been enjoying the huge smiles, you know the kind that you can't suppress even if you try, when I hear requests for using a shared gift, like sitting together under a cozy throw for a snuggle and hot drink.

Early in January we decided as a family how to spend the money saved through cutbacks in daily spending throughout the season. We kept a running list on the fridge during the season and each child was able to pick something from the World Vision catalogue, something they had wished for at the onset. I think my favorite moment was when one of the kids said, "you know, it wasn't really that hard, we should keep doing that".







In the beginning of new year when resolutions and hope are abundant, we dream of more, of how we can give more and be more. We contemplate our dreams, our spending, our daily actions, our habits and our free time.
I think about my fitness videos and how fitness guru Jillian Michaels encourages us to give it all we've got especially when our energy is high at the beginning of a workout. And how really all it takes is a bit of focussed time each day. A commitment. It may hurt for awhile while when we're in it but all of a sudden it's over and we've grown stronger from it.

In the afterglow, I'm hopeful because of God's faithfulness to change and grow hearts.


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