Saturday, December 26, 2009

thinking ahead

This time between Christmas and the new year always draws me to evaluate the current year and look forward to the next. This year I want to try something new. I want to set goals, not make resolutions. And I want to set them individually and with my family. My thought is that if we hold each other accountable for our goals, we might actually manage to reach them. Goals seem more concrete than resolutions. Be assured that Christ will play a large part in our goals. Being able to give back and participate fully in life with Him is so important to each of us. Other goals will include specifics for each child, plans for our home, plans for our company and plans for us as a family (health, finances, etc...). I am working on how we will keep track of our goals and not let them slip by us. Calendars and regular check ups will have to be the rule! I will try to take of picture of these as we get going forward.

Feel free to join me on the journey into 2010. I would love to know how you plan to celebrate the new year and what plans / goals you are making for 2010.

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Silent Night

Christmas Eve is upon me again! That means staying up into the wee hours to wrap the gifts for the children and stuffing stockings for the 5 of us. It also means going to a candle light service (we went to the 5pm service!), a special dinner (homemade pizza) and spending time together with the people I love most in the world! Cookies were baked and delivered today as well. I hope and pray that your Christmas is blessed with joy and peace that is only found in Christ!

Monday, December 21, 2009

waiting with God

I spend much of my time waiting with God or so it seems. His timing is perfect and I am beginning to understand that I can fully rely Him. Being self-employed as we are, we must rely on God to meet our needs. I keep thinking that maybe I have learned this lesson already but God seems to have other plans. He keeps bringing me to the breaking point and then brings His provisions for us. What a lesson! His gifts are so good and I am truly beginning to trust in them.

I hope that you might have a truly blessed Christmas season. May God's peace and joy be ever present in your celebrations.

Friday, December 18, 2009

How much?

DH and I were invited to a party tonight by a business associate of my DH. He was not the host but somehow had the liberty to invite others to the party. It was an Open House event with political tie in. We decided we should attend as we try to continue to grow our business.

So after having dinner with our sweet children, we fancied ourselves up and headed out. We went armed with the email invite and a GPS as we were heading into a mostly unfamiliar neighborhood. We drove over the mountain in heavy fog and came back to the valley. We wound our way through the area and came upon large home after large home. I do mean they were large but nothing like the home that was hosting the party! The amount of energy required just to light up the house and landscaping could probably pay our whole monthly budget for our family. Ostentatious just barely begins to describe this place. We quickly decided we had no business that was worth entering the home. We marveled together that one family would ever need such a home. Surely they had invited one thousand of their closest friends to this event.

We know many other people who have plentiful funds but none live in such a manner. I do not know the religous affiliation of the family and so I don't want to even hazard a guess. But surely there are better ways to spend your money? Could you not help fund a medical mission in a suffering country? How about the homeless here in our hometown? Just today, a homeless woman was begging at my children's school. There are many charities in our community that work tirelessly to make life better for children. I am sure they would appreciate a donation. I am proud to married to a man who stood up and said no tonight. These are not the kind of people I want to know. When you have a comfortable life, you need to think about others before you spend more on yourself. How much home do you really need to be comfortable? Do you need this to be better than everyone else? Could you possibly entertain this much? There are plenty of public places to host large gatherings.

Everything about this hit us wrong tonight. Maybe because we live so far on the other side of the extreme but I don't believe our reaction was jealousy at all. Rather a calling to live more humbly in Christ.