Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year! Wow, its been awhile!

We are not renovating a gutted home anymore, not caring for my dad anymore (triple bypass), no plans to travel for awhile (was gone two weeks in late nov/early dec), and no holiday hustle and bustle anymore. Sooo, life has calm down quite a bit!

HOPE is sort of my word for this year. There is so much that I have HOPE in these days. Ultimately God is in control of all things so in my state of HOPE when I go to God I enjoy just expressing my gratitude for His sovereignty. I am making a conscious effort to proclaim His name for what it is more then crying out to Him with requests. It is not that I am NOT making requests, it is just that I am embracing the fact that he has it all planned out ... perfectly! I know that my trust in Him is being tested, and I want to please Him.
Recently, I was in a church service that was talking about the book of John. The Pastor for some time shared passages from the Old Testament that paralleled what is written in the New Testament. God told us in the Old Testament what would happen in the New Testament!! Well, he does'nt TELL me what will happen in my future necessarily but we can rest in the fact the He knows. Scripture never gets old! You can hear something over and over and then there will be a time when it hits you in a special way.
I have hope in what He is doing in this city, and in the church we will be launching. I have hope in what God is doing in our lives as well as the lives around us that will be apart of our ministry. I have hope in a brother-n-law that will be getting out of jail in November, that he will truly make life changes and live for God. I have hope for a feeling of community around me. I have hope in my kids getting in a good school....

So I may not be smarter then a 5th grader, but I can say that I am as smart as a 2nd grader :) Homeschool has been and is quite a ride. Having experienced both public school and homeschool, I can say that they are both great - I cant believe I just said that! There are certainly pros and cons for both right down the middle. Having gone into this year homeschooling, very confident that it was part of God's plan, there have certainly been days where I look at God and say, 'why?' or 'was this really your plan?' What has kept me going in a positive manner is just saying, 'it is what you make it.' I do not want to look back at this year as a hard year. I want it to be a joyful time, a time to bond with my kids and make fun memories. It has also been a time of really learning to discipline myself with my time and energy. Having said all that, I do feel long term that I need to get my kids in a school in the city (elaborating on that can be for another blog:) The cities school system, pro-katrina, is now rather complicated so we will see how it all works out. It has been harder for me to trust God with my childrens education, working progress:)

Intentional - that is what my life NEEDS to be this year. I want God to pave that though and I need to fight the need to control every detail of the intentions. Being intentional for some is a bigger deal then to others. For me, being intentional takes courage and patience. Courage, because I am being intentional with people I dont know very well. Patient, because I am being intentional with people I dont know very well. LOL! If I want that feel of community around me, I have to be intentional. If I want existing relationships to deepen, I have to be intentional. I'll continue to work on my trust in God that He will pave the way.

Well, this blog covers a major part of my journey. Thanks for reading and would love any feedback. Now off to a field trip with the kids!

future blogs - pride in our city. childs heart. Audience of One.