Going Back to Cali!

Just wanted to let you all know that I will be heading to California to do a little camp speaking. Please pray for me!!!!

Silver Spur's 2007 Winter Camps - Theme: Winter on Fire

• Weekend 1 - January 26th-28th, 2007 (Winter camp I)
• Weekend 2 - February 2nd-4th, 2007 (Winter camp II)

Jenn, Zoe and I will also be celebrating a late Christmas with my family.

This year will be better then the last!

It is no secret that 2006 was a year of change for our little family. Zoe grew, got teeth and real personality. Jenn adjusted to the move from the office to the most important position of being mommy. I changed jobs. We sold our first house and moved to a new home. We also changed church families said goodbye to old friends and said goodbye to grandma.

In many ways I relate this last year to one of my favorite songs, "A Long December"by the Counting Crows.

My love for this song goes deeper then the references to California, which is where I grew up. It is more then the fond memorize I have of driving through Yosemite on spring break with the windows down and the Counting Crows blasting. Even more then the feelings of regret I have for not taking off work to see them in concert back in '94 when Andrew got tickets. No, it's the the connection I feel to the first line of the song.

"A long December and there’s reason to believe maybe this year will be better than the last"

In many ways it feels like my family has been in a long December, cold, unfriendly and as it was here, lacking the beautiful white snow which can change a dreary day into a wonderland. We have spent many months wondering what God's plan was for us and how we would ever move past the coldness. Now just as our town is blanketed in fresh powder we are still just beginning to see what is possible as we wait upon the Lord for strength. Strength He has given us through friends both old and new and a church family that has reach out to embrace us. Our little family has grown stronger and one day we will tell our daughter how God moved us to where He wanted us even when we didn't understand His ways. Ways that may sometimes seem cold, but are always loving and always for our benefit. It is because we have confidence in God's unwavering love that we can go through the long December times of life without losing hope. Hope after all is what we can't live without.

So I say with confidence, "It's been a long December and there’s reason to believe maybe this year will be better than the last, at least for those who trust in the Lord."