Happy New Year!!

As another year comes to an end I start to think about this past year and the upcoming year.   2010 was not a bad year for us.  There were a lot of ups and downs.  But the most important thing is our growth as Christians!!  My husband is almost finished with his BA in Christian Studies with a minor in Christian Ministry.   We signed the legal papers along with 5 other people to start our church in our town.  Charity Bible Church....we are beyond excited about the work the Lord is doing with us and through us.  We have met amazing people through this journey!!  All in all I have to say 2010 was a very good year.  Full of blessings from the Lord.  He provided ALL our needs.  Financially we struggled all year....just can never seem to get ahead.  BUT we are blessed and thankful for my husband's employment.  As many are out of work.  We struggled as a family over our 16 year old's diagnosis...BUT with the Lord guiding us we are slowly walking down that path knowing He is in control.

Looking forward to 2011....

this coming year is going to be a good one!!  I just know it!!  I'm excited to read through the Bible at a slower pace this year.  I learned so much doing it in 4 months.  I can only imagine what I'll learn going slower.

January 17 I will begin my studies at Liberty University.  I'm working toward my Bachelor's degree in Religion with a minor in Biblical Counseling.  I'm counting the days!!

My husband will graduate from Grand Canyon University with a BA in Christian Studies in May.  In June he will begin seminary at Liberty University.

Our church (Charity Bible Church) will hold it's first service in mid January.  

I'm participating in The Made to Crave online Bible study starting in January.  I am so excited about this.  If you have not heard of the book "Made to Crave", written by Lysa TerKeurst, you really need to read this book.  Come back soon as I'll be doing a review of it.  It's about craving God and not food!!  Something I desperately need.  

That leads me to another goal I'd like to complete this year.  Loose weight...I think I've had this on my list every year since I was a teenager.  My weight has always been a struggle for me.  But this year I'm not going to stress so much over the number on a scale, but about being healthy.  Eating better, exercising ect.   I have not talked much about my weight here.  But it is something I struggle with every day.  In March I joined a weight loss group...Take Off Pounds Sensibly.  I did very well and lost 40 pounds in 4 months.  But as fall approached I stopped going, life got busy ect ect.  I'm planning on going back and getting back at it.

In December of 2011 we are taking our very first family vacation!!  We are taking a train ride to Orlando FL.  I have a friend who lives there.  I have not seen her in YEARS and am looking forward to seeing her.  We decided to take a train because we want to spend sometime in New York City as well.  We will have a 3-4 hour layover there.  Then on the way back we will probably spend a couple of days there.   Also, the train will be a great experience for us...we are looking forward to it.  Our daughter Hannah is convinced it will be like Polar Express...except we are heading south.  LOL!

SO what plans do you have for 2011??

 

When life throws you lemons you make lemonade!

Boy do we have a great and wonderful God! He is always watching out for us. We have been replacing tires on our car as we can afford them. We have replaced 2 and had 2 more to go. Since we really do not drive a lot during the week, this was the most practical way to go about it. With the price of tires approaching $100/tire! Replacing all 4 at once was not even an option. Anyway, I went out last night with a friend of mine to dinner with no problems at all. Then this morning I was taking our children to spend sometime with my Mom (Fridays are my free day) and just as I was pulling onto the street that my sister lives on the tire just went flat. No pop. Just down. I managed to get it into my sister's driveway and my brother was dropping off his children and said he would put the doughnut on for me. That got me thinking, boy God sure protected us, I could of been going 55 (with the children in the car) when the tire went. OR it could of happened last night after dark when I would of been on a back country road. Also this week my husband was offered 5 hours of over time. More than enough to pay for the new tire. So instead of getting upset (which I normally do) I just praised out wonderful God for allowing it to happen when it did.

This verse came to mind today: Matthew 6:34

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is it's own trouble."

This has been a very big break through in my Christian life. I have always worried about everything. Today was the first time I can remember not worrying. I amazed myself, but mostly I think I amazed my husband!

My brother said he thinks this tire was damaged when a drunk driver crashed into our car this past winter, in our driveway. Which is another great post about how God works in our lives, maybe I'll post about that next week. You can see the flat part in the tire where he said it looks like someone slid the car sideways, which is what happened when he hit our car. But PRAISE GOD we were not injured in either incidents. God is so GOOD!