Hope that a New Year brings

Here we are again. Another year has come and gone and I find myself thinking about the future. Wondering what the new year will bring. Wondering whether the challenges I face today will be overcome. I find my hope and strength in God. Believing that all thing are possible with Him. All I can do is take one day at a time, knowing that God will continue to bless me and us. That He will never leave me or forsake me. That just as He's brought me through 2008 a little wiser and stronger in my walk with Him, he'll continue to do that everyday in 2009.

I'm excited. The kind of excitement that I only feel this time of the year. It's the hope of a new year bringing a clean slate. A chance to try and do things better - to be better. It's the feeling that I can accomplish anything my heart desires.

I think about Scott and all that we dream about together. The strength that we have together with God at the center of our relationship and marriage. The joy and love that we find in each other. We've been married for a little over six years now and yes, some days are tough. Yet at a time like this, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God chose the perfect man for me. We complete each other - two who have become one. God's grace continues to bring us through each day.

When I think about Joshua and Anna, I am overwhelmed with joy. I love their pure hearts and their willingness to forgive and forget so easily, even when we fail them. They're beautiful, amazing, funny, compassionate, sweet, loving, smart and simply love life - the big and the small things in it. I am blessed to be their mother. It is an honor and a privilege to be entrusted with their care. To train them up in the ways that they should go.

I realize more each day that even when I don't understand why I go through some of the things I do, God has a perfect plan for me. Sometimes he allows me to walk through the valley to teach me a lesson and allow me to grow through it. Nothing is for nothing with Him. The good and the bad serve a purpose in our lives and I have to praise Him through both.

My mission for 2009 is this: I will continue to trust the Lord with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength. I will strive to put Him first in my life because when I do that, everything else just seems to fall into place.

It is my heart's desire and my prayer that 2009 is a happy, healthy and prosperous year for all of you. Happy New year!!