It's been a year....

Wow! A lot of stuff has been squeezed into the past 366 days, and a lot of stuff has just been there of its own accord too. It's been good, it's been fun, it's been challenging and there have been heartaches, but so many joys as well...

I'm not a hugely goal-oriented person, as I've mentioned before, but I do like to think ahead and plan. This year the Lord has worked some amazing things in my life... some were things I knew I wanted to work on and others were a suprise. I'm glad to be able to look back at 2008 and see that He really has grown me in so many ways and that to me is so much more than being able to check off a list of goals!

Christ has drawn me closer to Him this year through some difficult personal times and I'm thrilled to be where I am. He continues to pursue me and show me how much He loves me and I'm blessed for it. I've also been able to gain some self-discipline with His help and have done much better this year with spending time in His word, and with being more moderate in my eating habits. As a result of both of these, I've lost about 20 pounds since June, and continue to eat less and in a much more healthy way.

I've been blessed as always to do some traveling and even managed to keep up my stint of international travel (once a year for 4 years now) with my Thanksgiving trip to Mexico. I enjoyed a beautiful week with my parents out in Utah and Wyoming - always love being in the mountains. And have just returned from a long-awaited week with the whole immediate family for Christmas - the last time all 6 of us were together was Thankskgiving 2005.

God has blessed me with expanding my "Nashville Family" by placing me in the best (IMHO) singles Sunday school class in the area. We have an unusually close group of folks who would do just about anything for each other and we function more like a family than any group I've been part of in a long time. We grow, serve, live and laugh together throughout the year and it's humbling to be part of this giving group of folks.

And certainly not the least of my blessings this year has been having my parents back stateside! It was really hard to believe when they returned in February that they had already finished 3 years of foreign service. They've been traveling the US since their return and begun planning the building of their house (to start next fall). It's been great to have them in and out here, as well as being able to go out and meet them wherever they happen to be. I've enjoyed being able to introduce them to my new "family" members too. If you want to check in and see what they've been doing you can connect to their blog (Twotravel) in the margin to the left.

I hope you too, have had a great 2008 and can look back and see all the blessings the Lord has given you. It brings to mind this little verse by Rick Warren that I keep posted on my bulletin board by my desk at the office...

"Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.
Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.
Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.
Painful moments, TRUST GOD.
Every moment, THANK GOD."

And when you look back...
it all comes down to that...
memories...
of moments...

Thank Him for your "moments" of 2008 and submit to Him the "moments" to come in 2009 and may He bless you richly for it.