12/31/09

My last post for 2009. Hard to believe another year is gone.

I always take this time to reflect on the past year. I always want to look back and see where I may have grown or changed in some way.


I know I continue to grow in my walk with the Lord. That is a desire I have every year. I have learned new things that I always *knew* but am now learning them on a deeper level. I guess the biggest thing is that the Lord is always there and nothing takes Him by surprise. In my "controlling Type A" personality I am learning that HE is in control and I am but a small part of this world. I have learned deeper meanings this year for forgiveness and faith. I am learning that the older I get the more I realize just how much I need Jesus as my Savior. Childlike faith accepts Jesus as your Savior when you begin the journey of knowing Christ. Once you move forward in knowing Him you realize just how much you do NEED Him.... every hour of every day. There have been days of utter joy in the Lord feeling I had a perfect walk with Him. Then there have been days when I have felt at the bottom of the lowest valley and those have been difficult. Even though some have been hard, I am thankful for the lessons learned and the grace of God to help me as I learn.

It has now been 16 years and counting for Steve and me to be married and almost 19 that we've been together! I am constantly amazed at the things I have learned about Steve this past year. To know someone loves me so much, other than Christ, is beyond my comprehension. (Parents are *supposed* to love you... ha! ) He sees me at my best and my worst and yet loves me the same. I have said this so many times before, but I am SO BLESSED with Steve. He completes me in ways I never thought possible.

In parenting I continue to learn that life gets more and more busy which causes Wesley and Mikayla to slip through my fingers even faster. Each day brings different challenges as a parent and how I react to them show Wesley and Mikayla a picture of their Heavenly Father. I have reflected a lot on this in recent months. Oh, that I may be the right example before them to show what a loving Heavenly Father we do have and how He loves us in spite of our mistakes. One thing I have learned to say to the kids this year when they make a mistake is "OK... what did you learn from that?" Again, the older I get the more I realize I am still as a child in the eyes of my Heavenly Father and if He gives me patience and understanding, then I should reflect the same with my own.

I am looking forward to a new year. I don't sit and write down a ton of resolutions that I know will not be kept. Instead, I continue to learn that I need to take each day, hour and second and give them to the Lord to help me through them. I don't know what the Lord has in store for any of us in 2010, but He holds the future in His hands and I will trust in Him.

Here is one of my favorite verses I gleaned from Scripture in 2009:

Deuteronomy 33:27 a
The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms:

Here is what I wish for all of you in 2010:

Numbers 6:24-26
The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:
The Lord make his face to shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.