New Year, New Family

2013 for our family was a big year. We had many firsts, and many opportunities to trust God. I some how always seem to think that nothing changes with us, until I actually sit down and think about all God has done in our short life together as a family. We are beyond blessed, we are healthy, rich in love and family, and growing each on our own, massively.  For myself, 2013 was a year of trust, of learning how to her my Fathers voice and let Him control areas of my life that I have a hard time with period. For my husband, he has grown so much as a father, husband, and a business leader in the community. He still doesn't see it, but God has blessed him with a real talent and purpose and I love to see how much he has grown! For my boys, well they just grew bigger in size and they are we all are learning how to function as a family with obedience, words, and controlling ourselves. So here are the 5 things that topped our list for 2013!

5.) In March, we were down to 1 vehicle and desperately needed a second as I took on more work outside of the home and needed to get where I needed to go. We had a short budget and have always agreed that we don't ever want to go into debt if avoidable. God blessed us with a 2003 GMC Envoy for 1/5th of the market value which has proved to be a huge blessing as a reliable vehicle! See, God is good.

4.) This summer the boys and are were blessed enough to go visit Joel's family in the states. We hadn't been back for over 2 years, and I am grateful that his family was able to see them, specially the ones that may not ever get a chance again. We spent a couple of days on the Oregon coast, where my husband grew up, and it was a blessing to watch them play where he played.

3.) In August, I felt like God was telling me to let go of some things. I had too much on my plate, so I let my ETSY shop go. It was extremely hard for me because at the time, I was making enough that I was finally seeing a dent in some of our debt, BUT, I was stressed. I had too many people who didn't understand that even though I ran an ETSY shop, I had two other jobs, plus being a mom and running a household and expected me to delivery yesterday. It ended up burning me out trying to keep up, so I closed shop and prayed God would provide! After all, He told me to stop.

2.) A month after closing my shop, God answered our prayers. I had an offer to help with a new company which had me on a flight to China in less than a week! Not only did he answer my prayer, I also jumped on a plane to fly half way across the world, by, my, self. Anyone who knows me, knows this is crazy! I don't like going to the grocery store by myself. God grew me those 2 weeks... God is good!

1.) #2 is why #1 happened. We were blessed with the purchase of our forever home! Owning a home was only ever a dream, but God provided, again! We both felt like God was telling us to just let go, get out of the way, and let God do His thing. When we listened, He did just that.

So that brings us to New Years Eve. We are sitting in our beautiful home, (under all the dust from reno's,) and enjoy the blessings that God has given us. I constantly have to remind myself that we are blessed, sometimes I forget and let the stress' of life pile up on me. I think that is what this new year is going to bring for me. I need to let go of things that I don't need attached to me, and just live the life God has for me. Let Him take control of the worries and stresses and learn to say no sometimes!
As for my family, I think first on the list is more family time. More getting outside, getting active, and getting into the word as a family! New year, new challenges, and definitely more fun :)
Happy New Years!

 

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