GRATEFUL GRATITUDES-First of Year 2011

GRATEFUL GRATTTUDES

Woo hoo!!~~~ 2011 is here!!!

This is gearing up to be a great year! I can’t wait to see how it unfolds.

Here’s my first gratitude list of 2011:

1. So glad for a new focus in 2011. I always pray for a word or a phrase for my “year focus.” This year, it’s REST ASSURED. Isn’t that a great phrase? I wrote about it here: http://bit.ly/e7fVmV
2. I would have never hoped for or expected what happened in 2010. There were times I thought we had sunk to the bottom. How would we cope? How would we pay our bills? When would bad physical things quit happening? But among the yucky stuff, some pretty amazing things happened over the year. And I’m grateful for each and every one of them. I gave a sort of year in review at my blog on the last few days of 2010. It was a good discipline to keep my perspective and realize that sometimes hindsight is necessary to really appreciate the trials and realize they are ONLY TEMPORARY.
3. We have a “first in our marriage” happening scheduled for 2011. We’re building a small home (just 1363 sq. feet, but packed with charm and space-savers)! We moved to Brenham, TX in love with the old homes, and planned to buy a fixer upper like we usually do. We love redoing old homes! But the ones in our price range were in bad areas and needed too much work and money. The ones that would be practical were out of our price range by about double! So, we realized we could build cheaper than buying a fixer-upper (strange, I know!). So, even though a new home was never a goal of mine, it’s happening this year. And I think it’s going to be a huge blessing for my allergies and other health problems. We are set for it to be completed in June. EXCITING TIMES!
4. I’m grateful for the new friends in my life. People I never knew existed just one year ago.
5. I was asked to lead a new Bible Study at our new church and I’m excited to have this opportunity as a lay-leader. I didn’t even volunteer or ask for this, it just came to me, proving that we don’t have to be “in the ministry” to be involved in ministry!
6. I’m grateful to have a new website. My hubby learned how to do them and then set out to make mine. You’re welcome to come surf around to learn more about me, and my communications firm. I’m thrilled Russ picked up this new skill. Saved us money, gave us new exposure and potential, and now he has yet another marketable skill. This was a great Christmas gift! Check it out HERE.
   

My Phrase for 2011

Every year I try to come up with a singular focus for the year to keep me disciplined in the direction I believe God wants me to take for the year. The past few months as I've prayed over my focus for 2011, a phrase keeps coming to me. I've started hearing it everywhere. In sermons. In books. Even in commercials. And it's not a typical "driven with passion" sort of phrase. That phrase for me is:

REST ASSURED

There's a lot to be said for this determined focus for 2011. Last year I found myself trying to fix too many dilemmas in attempting to provide for my own needs. I ended up "worrying my prayers" rather than walking in complete faith. I wasn't hot and bothered in my worry, but it was a silent pressure always weighing down on me. This year's rest is a different kind of rest. It's not a blind rest. A doubt-filled tossing and turning type of rest. No, God wants me to rest assured that He's handling my life. Rest assured that He is in control. Rest assured that if He leads me to do something He will equip me for the challenge. And rest assured that I don't have to be involved in every good opportunity that comes my way. I knew all of those concepts already, but I'm not sure I was really living them.

So, this is my challenge, and I choose to accept it!