A Whole New Year!!

Happy New Year to all my friends and family. Last evening we said farewell to 2010 and hello to 2011.

And what a year 2010 was. Ashley started a new job, started taking college classes and started a new relationship with someone who truly makes her happy. Kayla graduated from college, started a new job as an assistant pre-school teacher and got married to Jerod, the love of her life. Andrew continued to be homeschooled, competed in his first mountain bike race in Rapid City SD and placed 2nd in his age category and faced some life lessons that will help him to be a stronger more responsible young man in the new year. Dave enjoyed the benefits of a great job and was able to relax a little more while not getting stressed out over the little things. I was able to fill in the pulpit at my childhood church a few times this summer and fall, started a new women's Bible study and continued to lead women's retreats at my church, realized that maybe being a Pastor in a church is not the path that God intends for me to be on, sad goodbye to my nephew as he left for Afghanistan and to my sister and her family as they moved a few hundred miles away and in November gave the eulogy at my grandmothers funeral.

2010 was faced with a lot of joy, a few tears and some personal challenges for Dave and I. But even through it all God was there; comforting, rejoicing, redeeming and sustaining each of us. Praise be to God.

And now as I look towards this new year, I am once again faced with a feeling of anticipation, excitement and hope. What will this new year bring? What does God have planned for me? For this year I pray that I will have the ears to hear, the eyes to see, the heart to feel and the mind to know what God is planning for me. I will continue to seek a more healthier lifestyle. I will continue to listen for God's direction in my ministry. I will continue to seek peace in my life at home and at work. I will continue to believe in the goodness of others. I will continue to be less judgmental and more accepting. And I will try and seek the quiet moments in  my everyday life so that I may feel the presence of God and to hear his voice.

My wish for all of you in 2011 is that God will give you the love, joy, peace, hope, strength and mercy that you will need. I pray that you will seek God first before anything else and that your heart be filled with love, your soul be filled with peace, your voice be filled with kindness and your mind be filled with hope.

Blessings for a very Happy New Year!!!!
Jill