Another new year!

The boys and hubby are back at school and the house is once again obscenely quiet...even with Mason's constant chatter. As much as I may not like the lack of laughter and busy-bodies filling the now emptier space of these four walls from the hours of 8-3, it brings me back to my knees even more so as I put to practice 1 Thess. 5:17 more intently. And it allows the routine of activities to resume with renewed fervor and excitement. Basketball is underway for Austin, Awana is back in session, upcoming birthday celebrations are on the calendar, Andy's busy schedule back in order, various appointments made...the usual run-of-the-mill daily life is alive and well and through it all our goal remains the same: to live an authentic life of faith in light of eternity. 

constant laughter :)

wrestle mania!!



 

snuggles with my mini-man...

...all day long! :)

melt this mama's heart!!

With the start of a new year also comes the start of a new women's Bible study. I think it's my favorite part of Wednesday's, meeting with women who are eager to learn God's Word and share in each other's struggles and joys as we live out God's calling on each of our lives and how best to encourage each other in that direction. And to flat out just encourage each other! Alongside a healthy dosage of laughter and coffee of course...

The new year also gives pause to reflections of the past year of one's life, the good, the bad, the ugly and everything in-between. As I penned a list of things on both ends of the spectrum, praying that God would reveal what it is He had been teaching me through all of those events/items/relationships/etc. over this past year, He very clearly showed me something that can be easy to forget. Easy to forget when we try to take control of situations, seek to manipulate things for our own personal gain or for our own comforts. It's something we say and know but when seen how it's woven together through the fabric of what happened over the course of a year, it's pretty awesome. The simple statement running through my mind resonating like a broken record player was boldly this: God is in the details! But it actually sounded more like: God is IN the DE-TAILS!! Within those things listed, when broken down into finite morsels, God's hand was evident...not coincidence, not karma, not chance....GOD'S hand.

he seems way more grown up lately :/

mini-grandpa :)

I pray that as we make our way, and rather quickly already it seems, through 2015 that I will pause quick enough, yet long enough, to see those details as His story continues to be written for this family of five. Even on days when obstacles can fog up the vision, its sights like this that take your breath away in the vastness of a perfectly painted sunset sky. It causes the stress, the worries, the cares of this world to fade away, even if only for a moment as the pink and orange and red hues fade into the black of night. He reigns. And His kingdom will reign forever. Kingdom-minded...a forever goal as we see the details in the bigger picture this coming year.

unfiltered sunset from our back porch. These never get old!!!