Can you believe that it's almost the end of the year? Am I the only one who is asking myself where it went? Perhaps it's part of the aging process and the more frequent and sometimes annoying senior moments I have, but, time just seems to go by faster with each passing year.
This photo was taken yesterday when Michael's parents, Harry and Friedel, were visiting us from
North Carolina. We were heading off to dinner at The Farmhouse, when we decided to commemorate our time together and I thought I'd post it for you to see.As I contemplate back, 2009 has been a good year; full of family fun, busyness and challenges that produce growth. But, isn't that what life is all about afterall? We can't imagine life any differently! I often find my biggest trials in life are the things that bring me closest to God's grace and the fullness of His peace, and this year has been no different in that regard.
It's funny, isn't it, the memories that Christmas brings? As we got out the boxes of Christmas decorations and began to decorate the tree, each ornament brought with it so much. One of us old fogeys would look at the other, ornament in hand and say"do you remember when we got this one?" or comment on how long ago it seemed when Jon and Tim were that little and made the various ornaments we have during those times when life was so much more simple. There are times, I must admit, when I do long for those bygone days; times I wish I could go back and do things differently. However, when those thoughts hit me I realize that in Jesus, I have no shame or condemnation and that is so freeing!
Since I know you're interested in how we are all doing, I'll start with Jon and his family. We took this photo last weekend when we went to North Carolina to cut our Christmas trees. It was a beautiful day, and we had a lot of fun. Asher is now 4 1/2 and Sadie is now 2 1/2. Jon is working hard and doing well in the practice and enjoying dentistry. His patients love him and we are so glad he's with us. He plays lead guitar and sometimes drums in the Praise band at church, plays soccer almost year round, and is involved in our church hiking group. He manages to stay pretty busy, but still finds time to be a Dad.Kara has gotten involved in the local MOPS group, and has made some good friends with other moms closer to her age and interests. She has a home-based business, Sew.Hip.Baby, and makes slings, felt toys and foods and several other things which she sells. She puts her artisitic nature to use and really makes some cute things. This year she branched out and had a booth at our local Junior Women's Bazaar with several of her friends and did very well. She manages to do all this with balancing life on the homefront and two small children. Quite a task! I see her growing so much and it's such a blessing.
It sometimes seems like Asher and Sadie are growing every day! Asher seems to have inherited some of Kara's artistic ability and interest. When we went to look for trees, he brought along a drawing he had made of the tree he wanted. The entire time we were there, he held up his picture and compared it to every tree he saw. When they finally found the 'perfect' tree, it really did look quite like the drawing and he was happy as a clam.
Asher is quite a literal thinker, bright and precocious. I enjoy our time together and we have many discussions about a variety of topics. He played kiddie soccer for the first time this summer. It was cute seeing all the little guys and girls running around on the field. But, having fun was the most important thing, and that he did! He goes to pre-school two days a week, has several good friends and will start kindergarten next year.
Sadie is a darling and is her own little person. Of course, she imitates everything Asher does, but, still has her own personality which is quite different from her brother's. She loves playing with her dolls and kitchen toys. Her speech has blossomed in the past few months and she really communicates well. She is still a little shy, but, even that has noticeably changed and she'll be much more talkative now with people she doesn't know well. I think she wants to be a ballerina as much as Asher, who still loves all things space, wants to be an Astronaut. They are both such joys in our lives!
Tim has had an overall good year. He now lives in a very nice apartment in town and plans to go back to school in the Spring. He seems to be gravitating back to the restaurant industry and wants to get a degree in Business and/or culinary arts and is thinking about opening up his own restaurant some day. It will be interesting to see where things take Tim. Life has opened up many opportunities to him recently and he just needs to decide what he wants to do. He has worked for us a lot this year and has been a tremendous help.
Michael's year has been a good one as well, and God has kept our business stable through these uncertain economic times and for that we are very grateful. There is still a lot to be done, even in a still almost new office building, and Michael finds himself extremely busy both large and small things related to that. But, he still loves practicing dentistry, and I don't know if he'll ever fully retire. He still hikes, helps me keep the yard and garden under control and has a lot of fun with our dog, Polly, who loves to play and espe
cially to swim.I've enjoyed this year. I've had a small group of ladies who have been diligent and faithful in our women's Bible Study. We're attending a Baptist church in town and I'm enjoying it. There are a lot of wonderful people there who love the Lord and it's a praying church. The Worship Minister is a Spirit-filled, gifted man who is leading the church into an understanding of true worship. I've been in the choir now since Spring, and will be participating in our Christmas programs. I also have had a few opportunities to teach which have been a true joy.
I've tried my best to find time to sew and quilt with the beautiful machine Michael got me last Christmas. It's so much fun to be able to do any size and type of embroidery I want as well as the number of other things it does. If I could change one thing in my time of things, it would be to have more time to spend at that.
I've continued to remain involved in the practice and have taken on the responsibility of ordering all the clinical supplies which is a HUGE job! However, it will cut down our overall costs which makes any time I spend worthwhile. Thanks to modern-day technology which enables me to connect remotely to the office computer, I'm able to do much of my office work from home. There are far less distractions that way, but, the time required is close to the same and I often find my whole day spent with office tasks.
We had a few wonderful visits with friends this year which was such a blessing. We enjoyed having our friends, Randy and Gloria McCracken who now live in York, England and teach at the Calvary Chapel Bible College there stay with us in January, and our very dear friends, Layne and Kristy Livingston come for a visit a few weeks ago. We haven't been able to see them for years and we had the greatest time. Even took them up to hike briefly on the Appalachian Trail. God has blessed us with some friendships that are so close that no matter how long or how far away we are, we can be together as though we were never apart. Next year, we're expecting another visit from all of these dear friends as well as a visit in February from our dear friends, Dan and Susie Tuttle. We are hoping to do some traveling of our own next year, but, haven't made final plans yet.
I had a good garden this year which was fun. With Tim's help with the heavy digging of 4 ft. deep trenches, I planted a good-sized asparagus bed and am looking forward to future harvests. Asparagus takes a few years to mature enough to be fully harvested, but, we'll have a few dinners- worth next year and then lots to eat and share the following year. We had a great crop of berries and cherries this year, but, the apples and peaches were in their rest year and produced little to nothing. We have high hopes that next year will be better. We've had a lot of rain this year, back to our normal amount and the drought here officially ended months ago which was so wonderful. We had a beautiful Fall because of it and we'll see what winter will bring. Right now we have snow on the ground which started falling early this morning. I can't decide which is prettier: the new green growth of Spring, the brilliant colors of Autumn, or the stillness of the sparkling white blanket cast by Winter snow. All remind me that God is the most incredible artist.
And, just as God orchestrates the beauty that surrounds us here, He orchestrates our lives. I've learned a lot about God's sovereignty in recent years. The Bible tells us He is immutable and unchangeable. We can't understand His ways, nor can we search His heart or see what He sees for all of time eternal. There is much to be heartbroken for in our news; senseless violence against children and innocent people; the violence of war and of the brokenness of life. The wounding of people; the devastations of nature. We could look around and feel hopeless, helpless and lost in despair. Or, instead of merely looking around, we could look up and reach up to the God who knows all, sees all, and even in the midst of the most seemingly dark circumstances still has a plan. Hebrews 4: 16 tells us "therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need". God knows our needs, dear ones. He will never leave us or forsake us. People will disappoint. The economy may fail. Jobs may be lost. Money may be scarce. The leadership of the country may seem questionable. But, God knows all that. He sees all with a higher purpose than we ever can. We MUST trust Him! We must trust that He can see what we cannot, and that He will bring all things to the conclusion He has planned, and Scripture also tells us that when He has a plan no man can change it.
So, no matter what is happening in your life, be encouraged dear friend. God loves you with an everlasting love and is working out His plan for your life. It may not be easy. There may be the pain of growth involved, but, when you are on the other side, wherever that side may be whether in this life or in the life eternal, you will yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness that the author of Hebrews promises us we will have.
In the meantime, we wish you a full and blessed Christmas and the Lord's best for you in the year to come. As always, you are in our hearts, ever near and ever dear.
Love,
Michael and Jan
