An Unexpected Journey

We've come full-circle...from a move in October of 2011 through 2012 and then another move this past October.  We came blasting, full-speed into the Christmas season, slammed into the New Year, and these past couple of days we have put on the breaks to finally STOP and rest!  Glorious rest!  I'm thanking God that Brian has taken this last week of our break off of work.  It is truly a blessing to be together as a family without the running around of school, work, appointments...

I can't imagine not having the holiday season to slow things down a bit and break up the insanity of the school year.  It's a time to cherish my precious children, and admittedly to stand back and be astounded at how much they have grown since the last Christmas season.  The older two seem to have ever-deepening voices and our "little" Silas, at age 11, is on the brink of his own tween-revolution.  Isabella is all of two-years old and I sometimes feel as though I need to ring-up Super Nanny for a bit of a refresher course in toddler parenting.  Mostly, she is delightful to the core and stills my heart with the sweet things she says and does...like when she sits down next to me on the couch and wraps her arms around my neck exclaiming, "My mama is grrrrreat!"  On the flip side, she throws her hands on her hips, scowls and bursts out with, "I. Need. You." (translation: "You had better not walk out that door Mommy, or else!")  Oh mercy! 

2013...I have not set to purpose any "resolutions" as of yet (per say).  I tend to be one who always has some goal or vision to reach for.  I love to dream, and I love fresh vision, so mostly, I start all of my new years praying that God would reveal His vision and dreams for me, and my family, in the days ahead and that we would joyfully take hold of His intentions, so as to make them our own.  

I loved that we were able to take in the movie The Hobbit, An Unexpected Journey at the start of 2013 because I've been reflecting on my life as an "adventure", and what should the movie start out with, but the very essence of our lives as a grand ADVENTURE, and aren't we all on an unexpected journey?  We have no idea the excitement, or treachery for that matter, that awaits us around any turn in this life, but God will ALWAYS without question, give us the tools we need to persevere through whatever comes our way...and how LUCKY are we to have His WORD to cling to...the Word that became flesh (Merry Christmas) and dwelt among us, and the Word that gives us hope on our unexpected journey...that neither death or life, angels or principalities, things impending and threatening, things to come, powers, height or depth, or anything else will ever be able to separate us from His LOVE!!!  I so enjoyed watching the character of Bilbo Baggins develop and especially loved when he embraces his place in the "unexpected journey".  We must come to that place of acceptance.  Our journey is not that of someone else (in other words...stop comparing)!!  We might share the slightly same path as someone else, of course we need others on our journey, we might even share the same vision as someone else...but our journey is ours alone and we must find and accept our PLACE!  When we do, our vision becomes clearer, our decisions more focused and intentional, but mostly, we are able to see the PURPOSES of GOD at work in our lives (and in the lives of those around us.)

So, I guess I do have a resolution after all...I am resolute on continuing this adventure with the faith and knowledge that, though there will be unexpected twists and turns ahead, I will never be without everything I need to face what comes...and I can only hope to be of some service to the King along the way ;)

HAPPY 2013!!!