It's all new to me now...

 This year is a year that we can choose to go with the flow, stress over what hasn't come yet, or have an attitude about what might or might not transpire. Either way, we will reap what we sow. 

Galations 6: 7-9 states "... A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." 

In this new year, we are setting our sights on Jesus more than ever before. We are in our bible study. We are plugging in at church just as much as we possibly can. We are seeking opportunities to give back. We are intentionally taking time to just be our little family of four. Some of our plans this year include: 

• Mackenzie has joined the Fine Arts Program Drama team at church and will be competing against other teams in our region with a skit they are working on. 
• Maddie is talking to the people at church about joining the Fine Arts Program Worship team for the same reason. 
• Maddie is talking to Pastor Logan about working with the littles one time a month as her area of service. 
• Ryan and I are working with Pastor Brain to see where we fit for our area of service. 
• Mackenzie is exploring options for serving as well. 

Beyond serving at the church, we continue to seek out opportunities in our community that we can serve the less fortunate. Do we have a lot? Nope. Are we humbled by what we have. Yup. How do we give if we don't have a lot? By loving others. By letting go of the things we do not need but others may need (i.e. I found 4 glasses that I no longer need so blessed someone with). 

Even with all the service time, we have to remember to be fed ourselves and we are. We also need to remember to take time to rest and this is one of our most favorite times because it means we can watch a game together or just play games at the kitchen table. 

We have new things going on with careers and school, but we aren't allowing the worldly things to dictate our lives. Some of the new going on outside of our walk with the Lord include: 

• I was promoted to Learning & Development Specialist which comes as a salaried position. 
• Mackenzie is just 10 days away from skipping 11th grade. She will be graduating in June of this year. 
• Madison starts chorus in 10 days and is looking forward to walking through the door in June as a HIGH SCHOOLER. 

These are major milestones for our little family. First because I have NEVER held a salaried position and it's going to enable us to better budget each month knowing exactly how much I will be bringing in. Second, because we will have 3 adults who can bring money home if needed. While the girls are in school, I am not forcing either of them to get a job. I feel like their jobs right now are their school work and so after graduation, they will be getting jobs even if to just pay for their own cell phones. 

This year is shaping up to be a great year and I refuse to let anything deter us from that.