...make a joyful noise...

My life flows on in endless song
Above earth’s lamentation
I hear the sweet though far off hymn
That hails a new creation:
Through all the tumult and the strife
I hear the music ringing;
It finds an echo in my soul—How can I keep from singing?

What though my joys and comforts die?
The Lord my Savior liveth;
What though the darkness gather round!
Songs in the night He giveth:
No storm can shake my inmost calm
While to that refuge clinging;
Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth,
How can I keep from singing?

I lift mine eyes; the cloud grows thin;
I see the blue above it;
And day by day this pathway smoothes
Since first I learned to love it:
The peace of Christ makes fresh my heart,
A fountain ever springing:
All things are mine since I am His—
How can I keep from singing?

Robert Lowry

Care for a ramble?

very little time, less brain power, and a ramble or two to take you on. This could be fun...

Let's see, recap of my weekend is tough but so fun. Friday eve the long awaited secret came out of the bag finally. We threw Dennis and Cheryl Costerisan a century party (they both turned 50 this year) and it was a BLAST. They are such amazing, inspiring people...the type that make me almost afraid to live out my future because I'm scared I can't get it that close to right. Then again they restore my hope that Christians can make a huge difference in the lives of those around them. We made up verses to "you are my sunshine" and gave gag gifts and stayed up late talking. Much fun.

Saturday had soccer practice, then TJ's basketball game, then a crazy fun scavenger hunt at the mall in springfield searching for missing people dressed up like who knows what. I got to run around with people from 3 different youth groups and that was fun. Zach gave a great challenge back at the church...one I really needed to hear. "keep your hand to the plow and don't look back...following Jesus isn't on our terms, it's a fully surrendered cross bearing." When you read this, thanks bud.

My birthday was Sunday and really is a whirlwind at this point...had a nice lunch with my family and then a soul purpose concert, which although totally out of our hands and a little stressful ended up being a great time of worship and I hope a not too unacceptable offering. We give what little we have at our moments of greatest insufficiency and ask God to make it something useable, right?? After that I had a whole slew gob of people from school over for pizza, games, smores, and fun. I love all y'all! Got some teddy bears, chocolate (Hooray!), cookies, some jewelry, a Cd, and even a phone call from Tina...oh, and some rocks. :) God has surrounded me with some awesome sharpening friends who become more precious by the day.

18 seems like one of those impossible ages which I somehow achieved without even noticing. Crazy how that happens. Thanks for the time you've given me Lord...

a virtue

I'm writing this here so that 2 months from now when I've forgotten tonight's lesson I'll know just where to look for it...

I love moms and late night talks and the inspirations that come from their stories. Tonight she told me, "it looked good. In fact, it looked GREAT!! ...but that was only because I hadn't seen the best yet."

Lord, give me patience

peace...

Got Random-ocity?

Hi all...

After nearly 2 weeks without a post I'm shocked that I don't have something urgent to tell you. Then again, maybe it's better that way--there's half a chance of this blog being a length that can be read in one sitting :)

Let's see...I guess the thing that's jumping out to me the most is my time on Sunday morning. After singing in praise team we raced over to a black church downtown. Our history class had an interesting conversation about racism in the church, and one of the black girls in our class invited us to attend her church, so we did. I remember attending joint services with a black church several years ago...they were fun, but it has been a while. I had forgotten the power of their worship and the strength of the music. Almost as soon as the choir started singing I was swept away...the next hour or so was spent "adding to the noise"...unable to hear myself I clapped, stomped, yelled, and sang, content with watching my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ present a united, unpolished, heartfelt offering to God. I love getting some place new, experiencing new traditions and ideas...this church was so alive. The pastor certainly knew his stuff as well...he spoke on letting God have full control over our hearts, a message that I certainly needed to hear. I took more notes on his sermon than I've taken since camp this summer...he was great. I tried hard not to laugh at the end when he appoligized for not getting loud. His heart in the issue certainly spoke loud enough. Halleluiah~

Last week was a challenging one, and I certainly wasn't myself...the stress, lack of sleep, and such like caught up with me I think. But God pulled me through 3 big projects and in little ways I continue to see his faithfulness. It ended with a great movie night with friends Friday...thanks guys. Much needed and even more appreciated.

Illinois lost....sigh, tear (drip....sploosh)

Today I dated a paper 03/04/07. Brain? What's that??

We are painting our youth room and I spent two hours of quality time with a projector and a little circle tracing bubbles of various shapes and sizes on a quarter of our room. I can't wait to see the finished product.

Therein lies the extent of my memory...that and the fact that I wish every day could be as perfect as the weather this weekend. GLORIOUS! Snow in the forcast, but the promise of spring is enough for me. I saw the first new blades of grass on the soccer field today...be encouraged and press on! Love to you all...

Song for the shower

Ok...I confess...I sing in the shower. If you are a cohort of mine in this endevor add this to your repetoir ( I have NO CLUE how to spell that word...), it resonates beautifully :) In fact, I found myself singing this song all the time in the last few days. It reminds me that reguardless of what's going on around me, my main purpose is to glorify Him. How can those around me be pointed towards Him if I'm not singing?? The reasons to sing are boundless...Lord, just help me to open my mouth.

I want to sing a song to you Lord, lord to you I wanna sing a song
I want to lift my voice to heaven, listen while the angels sing along

A song of your faithfulness, a song of your grace
and of your loving kindness to the glory of your name
With everything that's in me Lord, listen to me say
I want to sing a song to you, I want to sing a song.

~Third Day

what you don't hear is me...

It's a really good thing that blogs work so that you don't have to use your voice to communicate...cause I don't have one anymore.

After an awesome weekend of cheering my team on, not only to state but to first place at regionals I am tired, happy, and sounding very much like a frog. Our boys did an awesome job and the final game was amazing...and yes, we did have a bigger and louder crowd than the home team. :) Between games we enjoyed a lot of jaw jabbing and shopping and eating. We also spent a fair amount of time stalling at the mall and Target on Friday waiting for everyone to get back to the hotel ahead of us so that we could throw Ms. Cheryl a surprise birthday party...we decided that being 50 is really being 18 with 32 years experience. Our crowd effectively "livened" the hotel (much to the chagrin of anyone trying to sleep) and we had a fun time together.

Ok...change of pace. Ya know...sometimes I am overwhelmed by how God works in my life, and the timing that is always perfect, though I often want things different. I've been really struggling with feeling like I am useless as a Christian right now. Ever hit that stage? Like you're pedalling faster than ever but the chain isn't attached to the gears? I had a conversation with a buddy about feeling like a playdough knife...like I'm supposed to be useful, but cutting through butter is difficult. He challenged me that MY significance has nothing to do with it...that it was God who would accomplish the work with anything...just so long as the "anything" was willing to be used. Still I have been frustrated by failure after failure lately. Pride, discontent, and jealosy are working hard to cut my faith to ribbons.

Today I was again encouraged...first by the words in the service this morning. Our speaker preached on never giving up. Why? Because God has commissioned and is watching over us, because the devil is trying to tear us down constantly, because we can be an encouragement to those around us, because it is God who will give us the strength. Even tonight, just now as I was reading from Isaiah I was stopped short...

"Listen to me, you islands, hear this you distant nations: Before I was born the Lord called me; from my birth he has made mention of my name. He made my mouth like a sharpened sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me into a polished arrow and concealed me in his quiver. He said to me, ' you are my searvant in whom I will display splendor.' But I have said 'I have labored to no purpose; I have spent my strength in vain and for nothing. Yet what is due me is in the Lord's hand, and my reward is with my God.' "

Isaiah 49:1-4

read the rest of the chapter for more...I am amazed. I may not see the results, I may be the cheif of sinners, I may be unfaithful to my savior again and again...yet he has commissioned me. And you. And anyone who is willing to be a playdough knife in the hands of a mighty God. What you don't see or hear is me...after all...I'm just plastic. what I pray you will see is the will of my maker.

*Insert really cool title*

boy am I a looser! No I didn't find the edge of the world, I just don't have a life anymore. Could I get a little MORE homework over here??? That'd be great... :)

Well let's see...I'll try to get you caught up on my life. Homecoming came off great...I went with Laura C and we had a BLAST!! The decorating turned out really neat, especially the part where we had a tailgate party with ham sandwiches in the parking lot at 11:30 the night before...long story, good times. Laura and I and Casey and Heather spent a good part of the afternoon hanging out and getting ready...Heather didn't go but was our cheif adviser. Casey hung with the freshman and looked gorgeous. I'm so proud to have such a beautiful, fun, modest sister... look out boys! Just before Laura and I left the house I got a huge surprise, my dad who had been in LA for the week and was not supposed to be home until Sunday drove in to take pictures and attend the coronation ceremony since we were on court. It was so fun to see him, and I was reminded again of how lucky I am to have a dad like him. After the dance we all headed to Jackie's and sat around since we were out of energy...watched a movie and didn't sleep much...good times.

Since then life has been a blur. Whoever said senior year is a blowoff needs to come and hang out with me for a few days. I am wearing pretty thin and the end of the tunnel, though visible, is still much too small. It's tough to keep sane and not loose touch with my family in the midst of it all. Prayers would be appreciated. At the same time everyone keeps saying, " this is the last time you'll..." and I'm realizing that the next few months are going to be either all nostalgia or all senioritis. I guess it's up to me to figure out how to balance the two.

Good stuff happening too. The congregation at Riverside will vote on a new pastor next week after being without one for almost a year. We are preparing for a youth rally in April for several churches in the city. Been having some interesting talks with common threads with many different people...so glad for the mentors and friends that care enough to help me gain wisdom. From pride and usefulness, to surrender, to relationships--good thought provoking conversation is enough to help me through about anything.

Praise the lord we are headed into a 4 day weekend, and even though the folks have claimed it for scholarship work I'm looking forward to a little bit of catch up on my sleep at least. I'm also going up to Kankakee with Casey, mom, and the Cos girls to watch boy's basketball regionals.

Hang in there all...a very wise man once said,"those who are asleep are never awake." I'll let you figure out what that means. :)

Wow!! Homecoming week can be a blast, but when it comes to Thursday night, It's downright exhausting!! We've been plotting for Saturday for about a month now...much discussion on the decorations (snowflakes? music? candlelight? disco balls?) and the theme. We finally settled on a 50's Hollywood theme...very cool stuff going into it. Who ever heard of decorating with film pulled out of the canister?? I'm excited! Yours truely got put in charge of the banister and balcony decorations...which means I got to cut out about a million and a half stars in ever shape and size I could come up with. I also got to cover them with glitter, either in silver or red. They look fun, but wow, I never want to cut out another star again! The gang heads to the Decatur Club to set up right after school tomorrow...and who know's when we'll emerge, but hopefully sometime before midnight. :)

Spirit week has been fun...Mix and match Monday was school wide geek day...got to love sandals with toe socks and crazy hairdoos! Twin "Twosday" brought people to school as identicals, which was hilarious. Jackie dressed up as Joel (you got to know he was thrilled...) and LC and Cos came as Raggedy Anne and Andy. So cute! Turn back time Thursday was today....basically a mishmash of fashion nightmares...and a lot of laughs! It's nice to be able to have some fun with people we see every day but don't always connect with. Too bad the teachers haven't cut back on the homework...

Amidst the fun there is the expected drama...had an interesting chat yesterday with a friend and we talked about the "hype" of it all. It's sad that this week has to be the one where the boiling point in relationships is reached and sometimes emotions spill over. Somehow all that doesn't quite seem worth it. So, I guess I'm going to give it my best shot to have fun and lower the drama quotient. Wish me luck...

Napoleon Dyna-pants

For those of you who haven't ever accompanied the Faith youth group on a road trip this entry might need some explanation...

We often spend a fair amount of time making up dumb jokes by inserting the word "pants" into any movie quote, song lyric, or etc. Over the years we have made so many that we have almost exhausted our resourses....until we saw Napoleon Dynamite, and now suddenly there is a whole new world of pants jokes!! I've been collecting them, and tonight during bible study I got enough for an initial post at least...this post will be perfect for comments...please add as you see fit!!

(at the dance) "I like your pants...they're really...big"
"what's that??" "It's a Liger...it's probably my favorite pants. "
"Can you at least bring me my chapstick then?? ...But my pants hurt real bad!!"
"Tina, you fat tub of lard...come get your pants"
"Practicing what??" "My pant's moves..." (chug gatorade here...)
"No one would ever vote for me for president...I don't even have any good pants"
"Girls only like guys with pants!"
(while surveying the wigs) "...there are just so many pants"
"I have absolutely no doubt that lafonda is my soul-pants"
"Stupid pants!! GOSH!!"
"umm...you should come and get your equipment out of my locker....I can' t even get my pants in there anymore"


:) ok....enough...

a thought

Exodus 10:20 is a verse that gets skipped a lot...unless you start thinking about it, then you will probably end up taking up a fair amount of time. It talks about God "hardening" the heart of Pharoah. Does God really make someone dislike him?? Pastor Steve enlightened us today...and instead of giving you the whole speech, I'll just leave you with a quote. Perhaps it will interest you as much as it did me.

The same sun that softens the butter hardens the clay...

let your brain chew on that for a while...it did me good. Peace out...

pathetic but true

sometimes I think the best things in life I don't notice often enough. I came home to a house full of worn out people, but as I sat down in a chair my puppy came up and nuzzled my elbow, and when I pet him he proceeded to lick me repetitively wherever he could reach. Tucker, I know you'll never read this, but you made my day.

No Amnesia Please!

So much to say, so little space on my blog! Yet another awesome time at snow trip...had a great time hanging out with people...some of whom it feels like I only see about once a year. I played more games of spades games than I think I've ever played...although without Tina I had a hard time playing telepathically...no one else is that good dearest...way to be! Matt and I put away Mike and Alan...that definitely made my life worth living!

Skiing was great...COLD but great. I wore my penguin hat the whole time and got some of the best looks ever. Surprised snowboarders have some classic facial expressions. We also enjoyed tubing...6 tube trains with two people per tube are a blast. We tubed down a huge hill, over a road, and onto a lake which was solid ice. SO FUN!! We also wrestled on the ice as usual, which was good. The injured list is as follows:

-2 ice dives from tubing...cuts across the bridge of the noses and chins...very brave looking ladies!
- 1 spread-eagle back flop off of the ramp on the trick course during skiing...brilliant Cos! Sore back but walking :)
-1 neck/back clothes-lined by snow fence at full speed at the bottom of a hill...Beth, sorry to laugh, but once we knew you were going to live that really was funny!! :)
-1 sprained ankle for yours truely...it is so pretty(purple and green)...and so worth it!!
-more bumps, bruises, and frostbitten fingers than we can count, but what else is new??
-0 concussions!! Thanks Lord!

We froze to the floor in the morning, drank coffee lots, and enjoyed the sweet fellowship. The lip sync contest was hysterical...Casey and I sang the "Sisters" song from White Christmas and the Costerisan boys acted it out and pretended to sing. Loosening up those Cos hips to look like show business girls was a challenge, but SO fun in the end! :) I also finally saw Napoleon Dynamite, which has been quoted non-stop at my school for the past 6 weeks. Good to know what is finally going on. General consensis: "Stupid Idiot!! ....GOSH!"

Good sessions, and great devotions about living in an alternate reality...the same one our savior lived in, and the one that probably made him look like he was insane. Time to bust out of the norm y'all...we've got some people to help and a whole lot of the devil's lies to uncover! Painful but sweet time with the gang as well when they played "Come to Jesus" ("untitled hymn" by Chris Rice) for an invitation. It had been a long time since we'd been together in a service like that to hear that song...almost a year and a half. Hearing the precious words and people around us crying brought back a rush of memories, pain, and resolutions that we all made when our Father called Jared home. God knew what he was doing...I wanted so badly for a fire to be lit in me again, and this did it. Lord, don't let me forget!!

That's the prayer we all have during re-entry...Lord, stay with me and keep me aware of how you are working in me...no amnesia for me please!

Snow Trip, here I come!

I'll be out for a few days...headed for Wisconsin for the best 3 days all winter...and easily the coldest! JJ informed me tonight that we are expecting -17 degree weather when we arrive...yes, that's BELOW zero!! The high for saturday is 1 degree...count it (sheesh, I can't even say "them"!) :) WOW!! Yet, I can' t help but anticipate my feet freezing to the floor every morning, my hair freezing on the way back from the showers, my nose hairs freezing over my nostrils making it hard to breathe (if you've never experienced this, do it before you die...it is really fun!). Oh yeah, I also can't wait for praise and worship with the MUH, all you can drink Cappuccino at all times, a huge bonfire going in the lodge, card games, ping-pong, awesome sessions and devos, playing in the snow and on the frozen lakes, skiing, and chilling with all my buddies. Crazy good times!! Hopefully I can post some crazy pics when I return.

Stay warm and cozy...

They're Back!

Here in little 'ole Decatur we're at it again...trying not to be stressed out by all the homework that suddenly seems to be PILED on! At the times when the days seem longest and toughest, it seems that God sends songs and verses my way to get me through...this one by Mercy me hit home yesterday...

I close my eyes and I see your face,
If home is where my heart is, then I am out of place,
Lord won't you give me strength to make it through somehow
I've never been more homesick than now.

Even so, Lord Jesus come quickly!! Ever wondered why we're here?? It's a comfort to me to know that if I'm walking with Him I should feel like an alien a good part of the time... and even at the times that it's tough...we can be assured that we are here on a mission, though it's only short term. Let these words allow you're heart to recognize your true home, but don't forget to live what's given to you here. What a challenge for me! I covet your prayers. Sweet dreams to all...

snow...Snow...Snow...SNow...SNOW!!

It's finally here!! Last night a BEAUTIFUL snow fell...so light an fluffy, it covered individual twigs perfectly and covered all the gross sights of a city in the winter. Leaving Jackie's late nad driving home in it was like being in a dream. Hooray! What is it that facinates me so much about such a simple phenomenon?? It's enough to make me turn 5 all over again.

Tonight I'm off to Beth's to throw a surprize party. We will decorate, then she'll come home to much food and game playing...I'm so excited!! 18 always seemed like that age where you had to start growing up. I really hope that's not the case. It just doesn't seem possible that we are not going to be legal "kids" much longer! Change is good I suppose, but it is certainly different. Hopefully it will come slowly enough for us to handle.

Sorry I don't have anything interesting or profound to say...welcome to my world. See y'all later...

Enough Already!

rain....Rain....RAIN....RAIN!!!!
I've had it!! It seems like a millenium since I got in the car and didn't automatically flip on my windshield wipers. The creek in my backyard is swolen to 5 times it's normal width...now it kind of looks like we live on a really muddy, fast moving lake. My mom always wanted to live on the water....go figure. I wish it would just go ahead and snow. Actually, ice is in the forcast for tonight, so maybe tomorrow we'll all be bumper skating. Cool, pretty cool... :)

January term got interesting today...we had a trauma flight nurse, like a super cool medi-vac-er. ...Sorry, those of you who don't know me too well...making up words is a specialty of mine. That's a pretty good one, you've got to admit. ...anyway, she was amazing, flys in helicopters, is certified in like 16 different areas, works 24 hour shifts and wears a magenta jumpsuit full of scissors and other cool gadgets. Maybe that's my calling...who knows! In my next class I was assigned the part of the "old crone" aka really old ugly lady. I had FUN with that one baby!

Other than that college applications, essays, interviews, and deadlines are ruling my life and doing better than just about anything ever has to make me worry...which I hate. Ahh well...life goes on, I hope.

Well, toodles...oh, and for those of you who have been dying for the answer: two zebras fighting over an avacado.

sleihirohvnep...dkoe..jr

whew...sorry about that. I like to call that, 'post essay syndrome', when the exhaust fumes from my brain stop coming out my ears and start coming out my mouth in nonsense syllables. I think if I have to write another intelligent paragraph in the next 4 hours or so I might just...Not :)
J-term started today...we had some fun times, although 2 and 1/2 hour classes aren't exactly my cup of tea (to borrow a Dave Barry-ism, " more like my cup of tea smashed into my teeth."), but that's alright I guess. I'm taking Health Tech/Medical Labs out at Richland in the morning, then Theater Arts in the afternoon with Mrs. Pangrac...an old friend and a great teacher. Today my friends and I had a lot of fun imitating chickens, damsels in distress, and old ladies as we tried out for parts in a reader's theater. Ahh...Needless to say Joni makes one heck of a fox with a dracula accent!
I'm sorry to be loosing sleep over this thing, but it's good to get back to routine I guess...and fun to see all my buddies.

Jokes of the Day!!!

1) What's black and white and green and Black and White?

2) A paratrooper jumped out of a plane and pulled the cord on his parachute only to find that it did not release. Frantically, he pulled at it again and again, but to no avail. Suddenly, he looked down to see a woman being propelled towards him. "Hey!" he called out, "Do you know anything about parachutes??" "No, sorry," she replied as she shot past. "Do you know anything about gas grills??"

For the answer to the first one, check in later...but please keep in mind that my jokes are never anything but groaners. Well, keep plugging away y'all...and let me know what's up, OK??

1 Corinthians 15:57-58

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ, Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

New Year Anyone?

So, New Years officially rocks thanks to some awesome friends...You guys are the best! My family joined 5 others for the LONGEST party I've ever been too. It all started around 6:30 on New Year's Eve...we headed to Kneezels for some kickin' food...and I mean a ton of it!! We are still recovering from all the salads, bread, sandwiches, sweets, shrimp, and so much more! After recovering from dinner we spent some time just chillin' and then took over the basement...much air hockey, pool, and watching 'Mr. Bean'...a new favorite. We also had a rousing time watching the Illini game...I don't think the stadium could have been louder...or more obnoxious. Next the whole crew headed to the garage for some swing dancing and we also learned the cha-cha, the charelston, and some mexican dances ( I got those pretty confused but Alyssa and Aaron can sure make them good!). Beth and I and Jacks and LC had a great chat on the porch and ended up playing BIG BOOTIE. We were shortly joined by several other girls, then Aaron, then some of the dads...at the end of it all we had 16 people in the cold without shoes on bouncing around in circles as we clapped and attempted to keep rhythm...oh for a video camera!! :)

Next, everyone gathered on the deck for the countdown(this time armed with shoes and sweatshirts...). We made a lot of noise, burned a lot of sparklers, and drank a lot of sparkling grapejuice. We then circled up for prayer...which was really neat. These families are so supportive of one another and to pray with a group of about 35 for the coming year was a blessed time. We also had to endure some big group picture taking...only about 15 shots...then finally sought refuge in the warm house!!

But were we done?? Heck no....we got PJ's on, then played a group game of Catch Phrase and then Mofia( have you ever played with 6 mofia, 3 policeman, and 2 nurses??? CRAZINESS!). By the time this was done (approx. 2 am) the adults began to poop out. The kids tried to keep going...and we succeeded too. Talking, rolling out sleeping bags, playing games, deciding that we didn't have enough room upstairs and trying to boot the boys out of the basement, and some more talking took up about 3 more hours somehow...and by the time 5:30 rolled around I was laying on the other end of the basement from the boys trying to sleep amidst corny music from Elf and high pitched boy giggles furnished by the Costerisans and TJ. :)

By about 10 we were up and at it again....TONS OF FOOD!! Three kinds of eggs, sausage, the biggest fruit tray I've ever seen, bagels, and who knows what else...it was fun. The kids played a great game of beyond balderdash as we got the scoop on the baby Dennis C delivered at about 9 am....poor thing!! When our food had settled we headed out for a 3 mile run to Forsyth and back...and I so didn't DIE!! :) No, actually, it was really fun. Once back from my near death experience and showered I helped Jackie get ready for a wedding. We then watched several hours of Mr. Bean (well, they did...it tires me after about the 1st hour...I watched Texax vs. Michigan instead). We got in a game or two of rat burb before our brains started to ooze out our ears and then started My Best Friend's Wedding. But, alas, all good things must come to an end...and our parents started packing up around 10:30. By the time we finally left ( after much hugging and kissing, especially for Alyssa who goes to France on Thursday) we had been together in one house for over 28 hours!!

...and the amazing thing?? WE ALL SURVIVED!

I can't possibly make this longer...so I think I'll quit. Hope you and yours had a great one too. As you attempt to spread out your holiday as long as possible(like I am now) remember that the semester too will end before you know it. Enjoy every day, especially you seniors!! Blessings on you all...

Reminiscing

Ahhh...another Christmas come and gone. Come to think of it...it's another year come and gone. This was a pretty good one. A lot happens while we don't even notice, and then when we finally think to look back it's amazing how far we've come. Take relationships for example...a constantly morphing but essential part of our lives which change subtly but also tend to have a lasting effect on us. All my buddies ( and you know who you are) thanks for hanging in there with me and making me the person that I am.

God has taught me a lot this year about dependence on him...one of those lessons that I tend to have to learn and then re-learn...pig-headdedness as Tina and I have come to call it. Through it all though God has been increasingly faithful to show me the path and direct me when I go wrong. His grace to me is one thing that has NOT become clearer through the course of this year. I still can't quite comprehend how he could possibly love me enough to forgive me when I fail him daily. Thanks again Lord...continue to teach me.

So what about you?? Have you thought about how you've been changed this year and what lessons you've learned. The way I figure it, it's hard to learn more if you can't remember your past. "Those who don't learn from the past are destined to repeat it" said St. Francis of Assissi (sp?). Sure, this year has been great, but as for me, I'd rather keep moving forward.

Tonight my family and I are headed for a friends house to ring in the new year...probably not much sleep in the plans for the next 24 hours but what are holidays for anyway?? Well, sorry this has rambled...I promise I'll try to keep these short, but I do have a tendency to compose books when given a keyboard and the "open screen." :) Peace to you and your family as you ring in another year to glorify your maker.