At The Close of Another Year

What a crazy past 6 months we have had...after a mighty leap of faith, I have found myself living such a life where I can truely say that I am full of not just happiness, but PURE joy.

So much has happened....after much prayer and consideration, I put in my resignation at Ginghamsburg Student Ministry, the place that I spent most of my waking hours at for 3 years in September. It was such a hard decision, but the reason it was so hard was I was living into all of my fears. I let those fears cloud my judgement and get in the way of the powerful, compassionate God that Matt and I try to serve to the best of our ability. I absolutely love my church, but there were some things that I didn't love, and still don't love to this day when I think back on it. It came to a point where those things got too big, and took over the way that I felt about myself and ultimately how I felt that God felt about me, which is a sign that things need to change.

The month of October was spent celebrating our two birthdays, having my first independent craft/art show, celebrating family birthdays and focusing on continuing to work at the library. I felt a big rush of relief as I thought about the possibilities for this new life. Many times I was discouraged, just wondering what would be next, but then I snapped back into reality with the thoughts that "anything" could happen. What a unique and blessed place to be.

With the start of November, there were some rumblings at the library of a position becoming open with the "moving on" of another staff member. On Nov. 18 I was offered a permanent position at the library. I was offered full time, and almost jumped at the chance, but I realized quickly that this was once again an opportunity from the Lord. Matt and I decided that since the time we got married, I worked so much. Usually working between 40-55 hours a week, every week--this was the time to make the decision that I wanted to make, and I knew that God laid before me. I accepted working 25 hours a week with the option to add more hours on a sub basis.

December was full of much anticipation and excitement. This Christmas we were going to do things a little differently. We didn't want to fall into the trappings of spending too much money, having a much too high credit card bill due in January and eventually making Christmas all about US, instead of Jesus. We set a limit--try to find items that conveyed thought, many things handmade from others. And creating things by my own hand. This Christmas we were able to give to others much more what was desperately needed, while also spending less. This Christmas was the first Christmas where we felt that it was truely about HIM. And our memories are much different....in a GOOD way.

So today, December 31st, I look back on 2011. What started out as a year that felt like it was going to be miserable, in a job I honestly hated, less confident in myself than what I ended with in 2010-------- turned into a year that was simply...magical.

As this year comes to a close, I'm very grateful for what GOD has done. He's changed my family, my home, my husband, and..... me. I have so much to be grateful for and my heart overflows.....