The Newest Member...

He's 8 mos. old and loves to jump and he's my nephew Evan. The first born son of my brother Junior and his wife Christine. They are doing such a great job with him. We got the chance to spend some time with him at the aquarium with the rest of our family and had an amazing time. I have 3 nephews (Brandon, Daniel and Christian) and 1 niece (Sarah), so far. I thank God for each of them and for placing me in a loving family that keeps getting bigger and bigger. Next up...nephew number 4 in May, God willing!

My Last Travels

I had the opportunity to go to California for work and although it was super busy, I had a good trip. I got to visit with my sister Tina who is expecting and was able to see her with a baby belly! I also saw my best friend Vaska and her husband Laze and their beautiful children. My dear friend Raja came and stayed with me for a weekend too! She is out in California for seminary and I got to spend a nice time with her. What a blessing it was to be around those I love even away from home.

Another good thing about this trip is that I didn't get sick! Every year I get deathly ill from working 12hr. days for 10 days and eating restaurant food doesn't help. This year, however, I started a health journey back in November which has built up my immune system and given me energy to say the least. Woohoo! I'm enjoying the transformation God is doing in my body.

Enjoy the pictures!

Snow Thankful

Snow is so beautiful and a wonderful gift of God. A soft blanket that muffles the sound of planes flying over and cars on the street. Yup. Beautiful. Then there's shoveling. Moving piles of flakes and flinging them onto more piled flakes. Heavy flakes, might I add.

It has snowed every week since Christmas. (Sigh) I suppose if I skied, and actually had time to going skiing, I might be a little more enthusiastic about the abundant white covering but alas, I am no snow bunny on a ski lift. The only lift I see in the snow is the thing I do with the shovel.

I am thankful for the snow, even though it may sound like I'm not. I sometimes think, God created snow as a way for Him to keep us in our homes, for a minute, with our family or just relaxing till it passes and perhaps spending a little extra time with Him, too.

My New Year's Song

Let's sing a new song in 2011. One of my favorite songs is called "Garden" by Need To Breathe and it describes Jesus' prayers in the Garden of Gethsemane before His death. The chorus, however, describes the author's longing for his life attitude to be like Jesus' attitude of total surrender to the Father. These are the words to the chorus:

"Let the songs I sing bring joy to you. Let the words I say confess my love. Let the notes I choose be your favorite tune and Father let my heart be after you."

This is all I want for the new year. To live a life that brings joy to the Father. That all I allow myself to speak would be a witness to the love I have for the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. That the choices I make be only out of the good and pleasing and perfect will of God.

In this new year, I couldn't wish, for you or for me, anything better than that our song for the new year would end with, "Father, let my heart be after you."

Happy New Year!

Christmas Lights

I see so many houses all done up in Christmas lights. They look so nice. I wish my house could look like theirs. I just have two strands of lights across my front bushes and they aren't very bright. The way the electricity is set up, I have to plug them in and then unplug them from the outside. I would like to do more but financially, the priority isn't in Christmas decorations this year.

There is another kind of light, however, that will come from my house which is brighter than it was last year. This light cannot be seen when you drive by my house. It doesn't shine in different colors or even flash. It's a steady light. A light that resides on the inside of me; my physical house, if you will. The light of Christ.

With each passing year, life gives us opportunities that will test the limits and if we face them with God's guidance and perseverance and a grace filled attitude, it makes our light stronger and brighter. We can then take that light to help brighten other people's lives and hearts.

The best thing about this light, is that it never burns out. In fact it gets brighter with each use and the best thing is, we can leave it on all the time and in all circumstances. My goal is that when folks pass me on the road of life, they will want to have a bright light shining in their own "houses" and not just at Christmas time but all year round.

May the light of Christ fill you and brighten your life for all to see!

Merry Christmas!

Thanksgiving is Coming!

And so it begins. The holiday season that is. Thanksgiving is coming! That means that the day after Thanksgiving I can listen to Christmas music! That sounds silly but it's a queue for me to start preparing.

Not the house or the gifts, although, I love doing that too, but it's more than that. It's time to start preparing my heart to be very thankful for a God who is crazy about me (and you). So much so that, as one of my favorite verses says, "He who did not spare His own son, but offered Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him (Jesus), graciously give us all things? Romans 8:32

When I think of that, I wonder at my doubt. If God gave up His son to die for us because He loved us that much, then why do I think He won't give me everything else? (Of course I'm referring to the things He knows are good for me.) He gave me the MOST He can possibly give me already and that was Jesus on the cross and with that eternal life. God gave us life! Everything else is less!

Be thankful for a time in the year where we get to be thankful. Be thankful for a God who is for us everyday of the year and wants the best for us. May your Thanksgiving be full of life!

Till We Meet Again

It's been a strange month of October. I've experienced a strengthening of my faith by remaining close to the Lord but sadness still crept in. Humanity is fragile, as I have been forced to look at it this month, with the deaths of two young men who were family.

One, no one knows why he died, yet and the other, an accident. It's sad to see parents bury their children and grieve so intensely. I had a dream once that my parents died and I actually woke up broken hearted and weeping as if it had been real. I can't imagine it the other way around. For me to mourn my children would leave me without breath.

Thank you Lord, that even when we those we love leave this earth, their love remains....till we meet again. Trusting in Christ will guarantee it. I hope, if you're reading this, that you can say with assurance, on some inevitable day..I will see you again, Anita.