Merry Christmas to you all! This is the time of year when cards and letters fill my mailbox and I actually enjoy going to get the mail! Thank you all for sending your best wishes to us and filling us in on the happenings of your precious lives!
This year has been very hectic but very lovely too! I thought that a month or two of respite after my graduation a year ago would be nice… hmmm, oh well maybe another year! This year later on would be dubbed “the year of events”, with a smile and a sigh of course.
My graduation was the start of the whole shabang, then Olivia’s graduation came and soon on the heels of that fun event was the official opening of The Jonathan Project (a Biblical Counseling Ministry) click here for the website, then off to Lauren’s bridal shower (my house is too small for one of those) and then the big day for Ike and Lauren. How lovely they were and how joyous to have so many of our friends and family at our sides!
That took us through eight months, but the Lord did not stop there! Then came the adjustment of Olivia being home full time and helping her settle into a routine that was not school, but not being a couch potato either. She will begin volunteering at the YMCA soon for a few days a week. We are hoping this will turn into a small part time job in the near future. Charles and I traveled to SC for our first national conference for Biblical counseling, what an amazing blessing that was. A true soaking in of God’s Truth and a desire to be used by Him in the lives of others was reignited.
Soon after that Charles’s oldest, Zach, moved to FL, into ”the pad” to be more specific. He is enrolled at Daytona State College for the spring and currently looking for part time employment. Then little Miss Miria turned the big ONE! What a cutie she is! Her parents (Josh and Megan) are working hard to eventually have a home to call their own.
Where is Brenton in all of this you might ask? Well, maybe hunting when he’s not working! Seriously, with all of the changes in our lives and the ups and downs that go with them, Charles and I have felt that Brenton has been the one to hold ”steadfastness” as the banner of truth all year long. He is a steady force in the family. His presense brings cohesiveness, clarity and calm to each situation. Wow, what a really cool eldest he is!
Visits with my sisters and Charles’s, as well as my mom, have been sprinkled throughout. Although it has been a tough year for Mom she remains true to her spirit of “boot strap~ pick yourself up and keep moving” mentality. She will begin her third round of chemo next week, but says she will not continue if the side effects leave her as debilitated as the last round. Please keep her in your prayers! Her girls and son love her dearly and want to have as much time with her as the Lord allows.
The verse I chose to share this year in my cards to all of you is packed with applications for the heart that is open. “Then the sheperds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, as it was told them.” Luke 2:20 Dear friends and family what a blessing we have to hear and hold the very words of God and to in faith act on them as He wills us to. What a challenge it is to turn our hearts away from our busy lives and sometimes our very own self-focused mentality, to glorify Him and praise Him with all of our hearts. To declare to others as we “return” to the busy~ness of life ALL that He has allowed us to see and to hear ….as it was told to us. God speaks to us and tells us of His mighty love, of the provision for us as sinners in need of a Savior, of His Holy Spirit which comforts and teaches us exactly how to glorify Him. To whom is He asking you to declare His glory? Will you sing praises to Him of all he has done, as He said He would? May God bless you and keep you as you endeavor to declare His glory!