This one is always challenging, because I never know where to start. To sum it all up, 2012 has been one of the most growing years for me personally. When I say growing, I mean spiritually and emotionally. This year unlike any other, I have felt like each day is a gift, a gift that you can’t just take for granted. I turned 31 this year and it hit me hard, because I have realized that years are flying by and I have not done all that I want to do. I have just touched the tip of an iceberg. I also have huge hope for the future and that God has some amazing things in store for me and our family. He has been nothing but faithful and loving. This year He gifted us our son Joshua, who has been nothing but joy and pure example of love and innocence. He has a great spirit about him, definitely a busy little bug. Oh how I love my children! God has gifted us the most precious gifts and watching them bloom has been the most amazing and breathtaking experience. We pray constantly to keep us focused and equip us with the right tools to teach them what is the most valuable in this life. He has blessed us abundantly with health and the growth of our business. Just when we get a little weary, He picks us right up with a miracle and we can’t help but smile and know that He is always just right there by our side. Why oh why do we so often forget that? This year Barry ran his first marathon. What a huge accomplishment for him, I am very proud of him for sticking with his plan and desire and finishing strong. Barry also started working with Fellowship and Market Place Christians and it has been nothing but a blessing to watch my husband grow and mature in his faith. Our princess had her first ballet and swimming lessons and loved both. Of course swimming involved a little bit of fear of the water but she was able to overcome it. Now that I look back on it, I think we could have handled it a little differently, but hopefully there will be other swim lessons 🙂 Barry and I had an opportunity to volunteer at church side by side for the first time and we loved it! We also committed to give above tithing 10% and have stuck with it, even in some doubtful moments. God has showed us over and over that He has our backs and never lets us down. It has been exciting to watch our church grow and change this year. We have fallen even more in love with it and the direction it’s headed. We are both extremely grateful for our families and that God has blessed us richly with gifting us our parents and grandparents for our children. There are many people that do not have parents or grandparents to visit and spend time with. I would call this year, a year of relationships. We have made some new ones and closed some chapters on old ones. It’s always exciting where God will take us next.
As for resolutions, we often times don’t set those, because it seems as we fail half way through, but if we don’t try we will never succeed. This year our goal is to be much less critical of people, nobody is perfect and never will be, all we can do is our best and be grateful every day for gifting us His Grace. Another big one is keeping a tighter leash on our money and evaluate where and why we spend. There are necessities in life and there is foolish spending on things we already have and want to simply upgrade. At the end it’s all just stuff but unfortunately we only notice hundreds and thousands of dollars later. The last goal is to cease every opportunity to serve, whether it’s making a meal for someone, baking something for your neighbor or letting someone in line to go ahead of you. It does not matter how big or how small these acts of service are, I know and believe that every single one counts. Often times it’s as simple as smiling at a perfect stranger.
Happy New Year!
