I've been thinking back to last year's holidays, and how our lives were SO incredibly different from what they are now. Even though the last year has flown by, a year ago still seems so far away because we were in such a different place. We believe that God is good whether we have a "good" year or not, but it's hard not to feel that He has been extra gracious to us this year in giving us so many great things:
- amazing new jobs (Matt at Blue Cross and me as a stay-at-home wife and mom)
- good health (I don't think either of us really got sick at all this year!)
- being able to continue living in our apartment surrounded by such kind neighbors
- a new car and the sale of our old one
- a great church that has really taken us in like family
- a new floor in our apartment after the old one was ruined
- some new future family members (Matt's dad and my brother's engagements)
- so many amazing friends we've been able to grow closer to
- our dog, Béla
- and absolute best of all, our little Asher (and all the help, gifts, and meals that came after him!)
We rejoiced and suffered with some of our close friends as they went through some major changes themselves - pregnancies, babies, marriages, engagements, loss of babies, medical problems, divorces, family issues... We are so thankful for all the good things in our lives and our friends' and family's, and also hurt for the struggles and losses we've had to watch a few of our friends go through.
Just like we could probably fill several pages with a list of things we have to be thankful for this year, we could also probably fill pages of things we'd like to accomplish, both individually and as a couple, in the year to come. I'm not going to list all of those either, but here are some of our biggest goals for 2011:
- give God thanks whether this next year brings joy or pain (though there's sure to be some mix of both)
- keep Christ the center of our individual lives and our marriage
- be the best parents we can to Asher
- become more actively involved in our church
- be good stewards of our money
- eat healthier (yes, I realize this means I need to start cooking more)
- actually USE our gym membership and get back in shape
- grow because of, not in spite of, our situations
- be the best friends and family members we can be
All that said, here's wishing everyone a happy, healthy 2011!
