learning to be still.

"Be still and know that I am God." -Psalms 46:10

I've never been good at being still...
not physically, not mentally, not spiritually

I'm much more of a get up & get things taken care of sort of person.
Until recently, I've never considered this to be anything but a good thing.
God has forced me to spend more time lately being still and just thinking.
In my reflections, I have realized how God has been so faithful to me especially in the times when I was the least faithful to Him.

I think about the place I was at this time last year:
knowing that we were moving to Nashville, knowing we were going to have to sell the house that we loved, knowing I was going to have to leave my job that I loved so much it didn't even seem like work, knowing we would have to leave behind the friends we had made in our 5 years there, etc.
To put it simply, I loved our life the way it was & I didn't want it to change.

Looking back I wish I could say that I trusted God 100% and fully knew that He was going to get me through this.
But, I didn't...
I doubted, questioned, and doubted some more.
And, then I ran around & tried to handle business on my own.

A whole year later, I look at the place God has brought us to:
we were able to sell our house in tough economic times, we each have a job that we love, I have amazing co-workers, a new church that we love, a place to live, new friends, new professional opportunities, a little closer to our families in GA, etc.

The only words that come to mind are:
"Great is thy faithfullness,
great is thy faithfullness,
morning by morning new mercies I see,
all I have needed thy hand has provided,
great is thy faithfullness, Lord unto me."

This year, I'm resolving to:
trust God more,
worry less,
and to be still in His faithfulness.

"The Lord will fight for you. You need only to be still."

-Exodus 14:14

new year, new look!

A new year warrants a new look to the blog.

I love it!

(P.S.-Yes, I am supposed to be writing...my deadline is just 16 days away & there's still lots do to. But hey, I needed a break!)

S-N-O-W (Again...)!

Yes friends it has snowed yet again...
I've never in my life seen so much snow in such a short period of time.

Snow is pretty, but when it interferes with my daily life it gets old fast.

It snowed Sunday night, flurried yesterday, flurried today, and our highs tomorrow & Thursday are 24 & 26. I think the snow is here to stay for the week!

It is very pretty though...

(the scene in the back yard status-post our 3pm snowball fight!)

I think I might be ready for spring...

quick recap...

Clearly I haven't gotten around to posting about the holidays yet.

We thoroughly enjoyed our nearly 2 weeks of time away from home with friends and family, yet it's been a bit hectic getting settled in again (only further compounded by snow-AGAIN!)

We had a wonderful Christmas.

This is the first Christmas since we graduated, married, & started our jobs that our work has allowed us to be home for more than a few consecutive days at the holidays.

Let's just say that I have quickly become spoiled to the academic calendar!

We were blessed in so many ways beyond gifts, but we did get some pretty awesome gifts too! Here's just a quick recap of some of my favorites...

*I am now the proud owner of Amazon's newest edition 3G & Wi-Fi Kindle...I L-O-V-E being able to have books with me wherever I go!

*a new pizza stone

*a full-size dressing mirror

*an i-Pod docking station for the kitchen so I can rock out while cooking (could be a dangerous combination, I'm not sure just yet!)

*new clothes

*a donut maker (yes, friends there is an appliance that makes 5 delicious non-fried donuts in 6 minutes...dangerous!)

*awesome new black boots...my dear husband did a wonderful job picking them out!

*cash money to aid in the purchase of a new mattress...we bought it at Macy's this past Saturday-looking forward to sleeping on it soon!

And, here are a few pictures to further recap our holidays.

my all-time favorite Christmas decoration...

our sort-of crooked, little Christmas tree (it was not perfect, but was definitely my favorite Christmas tree we've ever had!) Sadie checking out some of her new stuff on Christmas morning...she's spoiled, bet you couldn't tell!

My dad gave us each a "Christmas Story hat"...it sure has come in handy for walking Sadie in the 20-30 degree weather!

It started snowing on Christmas night...it took 27 years to see my 1st White Christmas!

Operation Christmas Child

Back in November we participated in Samaritan's Purse Operation Christmas Child.

It has become a tradition that we fill shoeboxes each year. As our family grows, we hope to continue to make it a part of our holiday season.

I also had the amazing opportunity this year to volunteer with our chuch which was a local donation drop-off center. We received boxes, packaged them into larger crates, and prayed over them we sent over 1,500 shoeboxes to a larger processing center in Charlotte, NC. It was such a blessing!

This year we filled 2 boxes, 1 for a boy & 1 for a girl.

We placed tracking labels on each so we could find out their final destination.

Just 2 days before Christmas we received an e-mail that our boxes had arrived in Zimbabwe...how exciting!!!

Praying that this small gesture of love will touch children & families in Zimbabwe.

donate your Christmas cards...

Have lots of Christmas cards lying around?
If you're like me & can't stand the clutter of papers & stuff, do something positive with those cards by mailing them to St. Jude's Ranch Recycled Card Program.

Send just the front of your cards (but no Hallmark, Disney, or American Greetings cards) and the children there will turn them into new cards!

It helps you get rid of your clutter, gives the kids something good to do, & is certainly more 'green' than tossing them all in the trash.

Mail them to:
St. Jude's Ranch for Children
Recycled Card Program
100 St. Jude's Street
Boulder City, NV 89005

P.S. You can send any cards, not just Christmas cards, and they accept cards year-round. Their website says they currently have a need for Birthday & Thank You cards.)