New Year

Originally posted on January 5, 2015

It's a new year—2015!

Last year, I posted a calendar of everything we wanted to accomplish. I learned something valuable: don’t try to plan an entire year in advance. While we did manage to complete nearly everything on our list (we didn’t make it to the nursing home), we didn’t always do it on the dates I had planned.

This year, I want to do even more than we did last year, but I’m not going to plan it all ahead of time. One thing I learned is that the more we stepped out to serve, the more opportunities came our way. We’ll continue volunteering at the Children’s Home as often as possible, and I’m excited about a potential new venture—getting involved in homeless ministry. In October, we’ll be participating in a local mission trip with our church in Harrison, TN.

Recently, Kylee came to me with deep questions about her faith—wondering what makes a Christian different and how she could be sure she was truly saved. She said that while she believed in the Bible, she hadn’t always talked to God or followed Him as closely as she felt she should. When I asked her if she was ready now, she said yes. She prayed, asking for forgiveness and for God’s help in following Him. I didn’t plan to share all of this, but Kylee makes me so proud, and I’m excited to see what this year holds for her.

As we enter 2015, I’m filled with hope and excitement for what lies ahead. We have so many opportunities to follow Him and share the Word. But we still need a lot of prayer. We need to make sure we are following Christ and acknowledging Him in everything we do. With each new step we take in ministry, more opportunities arise, and we have to be careful not to take on too much. Pray that we do only what He leads us to do.

Please pray specifically for Kylee—that her fears will be calmed as she grows in her relationship with Christ and that she will carry her faith into adulthood. Pray for Landon, as he continues to follow his passion for sharing the gospel while also learning to lead among his peers. Pray for his courage as we continue in ministry.

Finally, please pray for me as I try to lead these two amazing children toward becoming all that God expects of them, while keeping my own focus on my relationship with Christ. It’s so easy to become distracted by work, school, family, and even ministry. Pray that I never lose sight of doing all things for the glory of Christ. Our family has been blessed with incredible opportunities to spread His Word, and I pray we stay focused.

Thank you all for your continued support in our journey to follow Him.

I’ll try not to be such a stranger to the blog this year!