End of the Year!

I love New Year's! I have always thought that New Year's has gotten unfairly ignored. There is no gifts to collect or food to gorge oneself on, so why pay attention to it.

To me it feels like the slate has been wiped clean. What has happened this year is done and over with. If it was unpleasant you can always say "That was last year!". And not only that there is so much anticipation of what is in store for the coming year! I often think where will I be this time next year. New Year's day is like a breath of fresh air. Last year's junk is gone and there is nothing to do but look ahead! I love it!

So where will you be this time next year?

Great Quote

"Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art."
-Eleanor Roosevelt

Christmas Letter

Every year I always think about writing one of those year in review letters to all of my friends and family. This year as I thought about what I would say I came to a conclusion. Every month this past year there has been an event or happening that was incredibly distressing or upsetting. Even though there has been a lot of good along the way, for the most part this has been an incredibly difficult year for us.

But I also saw something else this past year. I saw my friends and family standing beside us through it all.

And so this year’s letter is a letter of gratitude. To all of you who listened to my tears (and occasional whine)…thank you. To all of you who took my kids for a day or evening… thank you. To all of you who brought us food…thank you. To all of you who gave us clothing for our children…thank you. To all of you who were patient with us…thank you. To all of you who encouraged us…thank you. To all who stood beside us along the way…thank you, thank you, thank you!

We could not have survived this year without you!
May your Christmas and New Year be blessed!
Love, The O’Briens

Christmas Joy!

I usually don't like this time of year. Partly because it starts to get cold. And the days seem shorter. But mostly because of the manufactured joy! Right around Thanksgiving the Christmas songs start playing on the radio and it begins. Everyone starts to put a "joker-esque" smile on their face and is eager to great you with a "Merry Christmas" or a "Happy Holidays" (I am not going there about that comment!). While just a few weeks before they simply gave a terse smile. I always seem to struggle through the first part of December!

I found something this Christmas that is just amazing. It is a DVD that tells of the Star of Bethlehem. ( http://www.bethlehemstar.net/ ) It explains the wonders that the star proclaimed Jesus birth. This has brought me JOY.

Joy is not manufactured from false attitudes but from knowing that there is a God (who is a lot smarter than me!) who has complete control, who is loving and who is incredibly gracious! So this year I will look to the stars for my joy, because God has declared His wonders through them!

Out of the fishbowl!

Sometimes this whole pastor's wife is not what it is cracked up to be. I thought this picture was a great description!

Days like these!

There are days that I wake up with a song in my heart and it is as if the angels were singing over me, kind of like the cartoons. I can almost feel God smiling down upon me. The sun is shining. The birds are chirping. I know those days are going to be good no matter what because God loves me.

And then there are those days (like today) that I wake up and want to just crawl back into bed. Nothing bad has happened, it is just blah. The alarm clock is incredibly oppressive. The sky is overcast. The boys are complaining that they don't want to go to school. Summer has woke up crying. But I drag myself up out of bed and hug my boys and tell them to have a good day at school.

What is really amazing to me is that God is still smiling down upon me even on days like these. His love doesn't wane with the circumstances of the clouds. These days are still going to be good no matter what because God is with me always.

Striking the Ground!

"Take the arrows...Strike the ground." He struck it three times and stopped. The man of God was angry with him and said, "You should have struck the ground five or six times." (2 Kings 13:18-19). These words have really made me think. He could have received more of God's blessing if he had struck the ground more. How often do we limit God because we are not willing to ask him for more. He wants to bless us in abundance but yet we don't ask him. I do not want to limit him in any way in my life, yet I do.

This idea blows me away. Oh how we limit the power that God has given us. We tend to cower when crises come our way( James 1). We would rather fear evil than stand up to it Romans 16:18-20). When will we understand the limitless power of our God. He has given us the Keys to the Kingdom of Heaven and we have tied it on a shoestring hanging around our neck. Use it!!!!!