Out with the old and in with the new...

What has 2014 taught and/or reminded me?

Listening more and talking less isn’t as easy as it sounds. We give our opinions WAY too freely…especially when they’re not asked.

There are a lot of hurting people. Everywhere.

Every day we have the opportunity to be one of two things…a lesson or a blessing.

No matter your race or political stance, what is going on in our country right now is sad, hard, and unfortunate.

Watching someone you love fight cancer is hard, and wanting to change things, lots of things, for them is harder.

Friends, true ones, are hard to come by.

To have a friend you have to be a friend.

Sometimes the answer is no. No I can’t come. No I don’t want to. No I won’t be there. No I can’t help you. No I don’t have any extra money to give or time to share.

But sometimes the answer is yes! Discernment will tell you which is which. That is when God whispers in your ear…so listen!

Family is a treasure. Whether they are blood relatives or whether you meet together on Sunday evenings over a bowl of cereal or a plate of whatever you brought that night, if you have them, you are blessed.

Family is also another word for friendship. 

To be successful, accountability is key.

Success is a relative term.

Chris and I are not normal. We’re not. We’ve known this for a while now, and the older we get, the more evident it becomes. We like not being normal…it’s who we are and we don’t make excuses for that. Not anymore.

I love my job and the people I work with. They give until there is nothing left to give. They are Jesus in skin, and even we argue over silly things, at the end of the day, lessons are learned and blessings are earned.

Exercising and eating right is hard. It’s a choice. A commitment. If you don’t, you gain weight and feel like…bleh! If you do, you don't. Sounds like a no brainer.

Discipleship is one of my most favorite things that our church offers. Closely followed by our ladies nights out, and life group! Getting involved and feeling a sense of belonging is a choice. The opportunities are there, sometimes you just have to take them.

Taking pride in what you have and in the things God blesses you with is different than being prideful.

When you have a devotion time with your little boy at night and pray together, you learn way more than he does.

Talking to people from your past that you aren’t close friends with will prove to offer encouragement, challenges, and perspective. For this reason I am very thankful for Facebook.

If you have to tell everyone how great you are chances are you're not

Praying is a privilege, not an obligation.

So…bring on 2015. Ready or not, here it comes, right? Whether you believe in setting goals, or you just take life as it comes, (Stephanie Welch) another year is coming. For me, God willing, 2015 will end my 11^th year teaching and begin by 12^th. It will send my kindergarten son to the 1^st grade and my little one to Head Start. It will be the year I celebrate 15 years since high school graduation and 10 years of marriage. I pray it also brings an end to cancer for my brother and sends him (and many others) into remission. While those are just a few things that may or may not come to pass, this next bit I know for a fact:

God was, He is, and He is to come. Nothing surprises Him or shakes Him. He doesn’t have to defend what is going on in the world or why things happen to certain people the way they do. He loves us, oh how He loves us. We cannot mess up His plans. We cannot rush them or slow them down either. He is enough. Period. He wants us to be more that we could have ever thought possible…not for our good…but for His glory. He was born to die, and we are alive to tell it. He will always provide. Always. He loves our boys more than we could ever dream, and He loves us that much too. 

Make no mistake though; contrary to popular demand, He is not all butterflies, sunshine, rosebuds and fluff. He. Is. Just. If you are His child He will discipline. If there is a wrong, He will bring conviction.  Following Him will not make your life easy. I know that doesn’t preach well on TV, but it’s what His word promises. Hard times WILL come, but greater is He that is in us that he that is in the world. Because He loves us, He cannot and will not leave us to ourselves.

So, Christian friends, we believe this or we don’t. I personally believe that talk is cheap. I grew up under the belief system of “people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” People want to believe something, why not give them a true picture of the God we serve. Get your hands dirty, serve others, pray, and walk it out. Life is short. We get one chance, and we have today.

Dear 2015…let’s do this!