We Are Well Able

It's amazing, isn't it, to look back on the years past and remember where we were, physically, emotionally, spiritually, etc? Last year, I was ready for this year. I even went so far as, if you'll remember, to use the words of a personal hero of mine, Caleb, when he proclaimed 'Give Me This Mountain!" (Joshua 14). Apparently, the Lord took that to heart, as 2011 was a year of beautiful trials for our family. It's easy, at the end of the year, to call them beautiful trials when you can see where they have led ... they have most definitely brought my sweet family closer together as we have marched through our journey together. We spent half of 2011 away from each other, and half of it together, away from family. Through the whole of the year, though, we've been blessed to realize the strength that we gain through relying on our relationships with each other, and our relationships with our Lord. We have gained new friends, learned new things, experienced so very much, and are different people because of it (better, I hope, but different for sure).

So I may have been overly optimistic last year with my bold declaration, and we definitely faced a few mountains (or hills, I guess ... we cannot discount our enormous blessings); this year, I believe I will adopt a more tentative mantra and say "we are well able..." (Numbers 13) because if there is anything I have learned the last year it's that although we all ought to be able to proclaim that we are prepared to be "given this mountain', when we have received it (and we most certainly will) it doesn't come by itself. When our trials are handed to us, so are the tools needed to overcome ... and we will find that "we are well able", indeed.

So welcome, 2012!!! We are excited for more adventures! We leave Virginia next week (with mixed emotions -- we have truly loved it here, and have enjoyed relying on each other more than ever) but we are looking forward to seeing our family and friends, and seeing what the next chapter of our lives has in store! I will admit, I am excited to be putting the army on the shelf for a while, and seeing what being a 'Reserve' family actually means! I am looking forward to Jeremey finding a '9-5', and looking for a home ... I am excited to get settled in someplace where will we stay for a while. I guess I am just very ... excited for 2012.

I have a lot of resolutions, many of which I'm sure will either end up on the cutting room floor, or else be tossed along the way, but I want to share one with you that I'm VERY excited about. Just yesterday, I was talking to Jeremey about how I'd like to branch out this next year and start working on more of the standard works, and today, I found this link with a schedule to read the entire standard works in one year. ALL OF THEM! I am so excited .... anyone want to join me??

SCRIPTURE UNIVERSITY

I hope that this year brings you and your families all the blessings and joy that you deserve.