1997 is drawing to a close and as I look back over it, I am thankful for sooo many good things the Lord has done in our lives! I'm so glad that in Jesus I have an eternal perspective that helps me to make "sense" out of an otherwise very insensible world. As the years go by I find myself longing more and more for a fuller revelation of the JESUS whose birth we are celebrating.
This year I've spent more time studying His incredible character and personality and even though I know I'm only scratching the surface, He's begun to BLOW MY MND! It's not about me trying to attain a right standing with Him - He's already done everything that needs to be done and I just need to fall more and ore deeply in love with the One I'm going to be spending eternity with! As I do that the other things in my life tend to fall into place...(Matthew 6:33)
Now that you know what's been happening on the "inside" of me, I'll go back and try to briefly recap the year as our family saw it. It's somehow therapeutic for me to sit down and review the year in your presence, so please bear with me and try to look as interested as possible..
Last winter was very long and very snowy much to the delight of Daniel and Patrice. They loved to build snow forts and Daniel learned to ski. In March Ron felt a tug towards a warmer climate, oops - I mean he felt the need to do ministry, so he flew down to Hawaii for a few weeks to help a good friend of ours in YWAM who needed an electrician to wire his house. It was a positive time for Ron and I managed back home with the kids. They are at a much better age now and able to do so much on their own which is such a blessing for me. And I made a brave move by having laser surgery done on my eyes to correct my vision. It's quite a treat to be able to see without contacts! I figured that since I can't walk at least I should be able to SEE! (Now if the surgery hadn't worked I really would have had problems...)
In the Spring I took a little trip with some wonderful friends down to Kansas City for a Conference and we had a fantastic time. Worshiping with about 2000 ladies from all over the continent was a small forecast of heaven and the Lord spoke some very encouraging words to me during that time. It was also very entertaining to travel in a group and we had some great laughs. At one of the airports they misunderstood the booking instructions and they had enough wheelchairs ready for the whole group! They must have really wondered what kind of a "specialty group" was coming through.
We had a fun summer. My parent's dog Molly had pups which provided endless entertainment and delight for all of us. We ended up spending a lot of time over at their place playing with the pups and visiting. It'll be such a wonderful memory for the kids and we've got part of that memory living right here in our home, leaving small treasures in different rooms to surprise us... We kept one of the pups "Ella" who unfortunately is not completely potty trained. however she's a fun addition to the family and much less work than a baby! Elsie kept one of the pups too.
One of our summer adventures took us to Vancouver Island. We met up with my brother Vic and his family in Victoria and had lots of fun sightseeing, swimming, eating out and visiting.
We even saw whales while we were on the ferry ride!
We also traveled up the island to Tofino near Long beach which was incredibly beautiful. I felt like God granted me one of my dreams... I was able to sit on a small bluff overlooking the ocean, reading a good book, watching the kids and enjoying the waves and marvellous scenery. And the sand was packed hard enough by the waves that I was able to wheel on the beach and draw pictures in the sand with the kids. Ron and the kids also had fun Bach beach combing when the tide was out, finding little treasures and getting terrified by a dead crab. More memories!
Fall saw Daniel enter sixth grade and Patrice graduated to FULL TIME SCHOOL!! I was particularly happy about that for some reason. Not the typical Mom that sees her child off with tears in her eyes. If I had tears, they were rather joyful ones. Patrice has so much energy and need for activity, fun, people to see, places to conquer, dances to dance, books to read, songs to sing, furniture to rearrange... I think you probably get the idea. So school is a good place for her ti diffuse some of her energy and she is enjoying it and doing very well. She's really a fun little girl and we are enjoying her more and more. She's very passionate, dramatic and zealous and she has a great sense of humour which gets us past those rough places. Such a gift.
Daniel is also a great delight to us. He's doing well at school and has some very good friends. He played volleyball this fall and he is also in his second year of piano (which is still not one of his favourite activities but I continue to encourage him in that rather forceful motherly fashion..). I love spending time one on one with him, playing games, watching movies or just hanging out. He's a wonderful boy - such a gift from God. It is with some regret that I see his "boyhood" years slipping away. At times I can really see that I have a "pre-adolescent" in our home and that ca be a little SCARY.
Ron has had a very good year. He's growing in God and is excited about his dream come true- he is finishing up a woodworking shop on the orchard. We're starting to look at houseplant as we'll probably begin building a home for ourselves up there in the coming year. It's a very scenic and peaceful location. Ron has also begun to play bass guitar for the worship team at church which has been a fun experience for him. He's been a good husband and great dad - I have much to be thankful for. Things keep getting better for us every year.
In the fall Ron and I took a trip to Colorado Springs and stayed at the scenic "Glen-Eeryie Castle", with our good friends Barb & Steve to attend a conference. Dean Sherman, one of our good friends from YWAM was speaking so it was a delight. Barb & Steve are thinking of moving to the area to do missions so we were scouting out the land with them. It was also a lovely get-away and a very scenic location. Some valuable "couple" time.
I manage to keep busy. I'm involved in several really good prayer groups; one at the kid's school, one at church and one that I host in my home. I've learned so much from the ladies I pray with and the lord has shown Himself to be a faithful, miraculous, prayer answering God. When I pray in these groups I find prayer to be FAR fro boring! It's an exciting adventure of entering into the very throne-room of God to meet with Him, worship and intercede on behalf of many. Such a privilege. I've also had the opportunity to share my hope and my "story" at a few women's meetings this past year.
That pretty much sums up our year. I could go on for pages, but I'll spare you all the details and close with the following verse which sums up my goal and my desire for the coming years. When all is said and done I want to KNOW HIM and be LIKE HIM. He truly is a friend like no other... I pray you will also gain a greater revelation of His beautiful character and love for you in the coming year.
"...but let him who boasts, boast about this; that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord..." Jeremiah 9:24
