2014 in Review

A year of productivity. A year of blessings. A year of asking, seeking and knocking. A year of humble gratefulness. A year filled with the unexpected. A year of discovery. A year of Spiritual awakening. A year of music. A year of stepping out into the unknown.

The list goes on and on. So many beautiful things came to pass this year. I have no idea where to begin. I've blogged more this year than any since I made my tentative beginning in 2008. Trial, I have found, is the best at forcing me to "grow up", so to speak. If I were to title this year, I would call it...

Moving Forward

I've learned so much about myself this year. I've grown as a woman of God and I've made a huge leap forward. The implication here, is that to move forward, there must be something to leave behind. A lot of my personal moving forward this year has consisted of physical moving. In May, my family and I moved over 1,000 miles across the country. From Northeast Ohio to Southwest Kansas! Not that I'm unused to moving. This marks our 22nd move since I was born and I'm only 19. But God has been faithful to us. You'd think my dad was in the military, not the ministry! 

I love Kansas, though! Our community is so warm and welcoming. Our city is big into the arts (especially performing arts). But before I get ahead of myself, I'll recap quickly what has happened this year.

-January: After flipping cars for nine months to put food on the table, my dad began applying for pasoral positions again.

-April: My parents flew to Kansas for an interview and the moment they returned, we began packing (even though we hadn't recieved an affirmative yet). I went to Cincinnati to be an extra in Polycarp:Destroyer of Gods . 

-May: We pack up and take several days to drive to Kansas and see friends along the way.

-June: After settling in our amazing city, I join the municipal band (fist flute part) and begin costume designing for Willy Wonka Jr.

-July: I pretty much spend the whole month sewing for the play.

-August: I take a month off of doing "projects".

-December: Dad, Marley (16), Moses (10) and I go to Honduras and El Salvador for a two-week mission trip.

Those are the big happenings. I'm sure I'm forgetting something. I'll go back through my journal for sure :) 

I set goals for this year, but I'm not attaching myself to them permanently. God has a perfect plan for this year and I trust Him completely. Perhaps none of my well-intentioned plans may come to pass, but Glory to God either way! He is the author of my story and His plot is perfect. I hope you can say amen to that!

Commit your works to the Lord

And your plans will be established

Proverbs 16:3

And as a big celebration of the new year, I'm excited to share with you the Historical Sew Monthly !!! Much more realistic for busy seamstresses like myself; one challenge per month instead of every two weeks. EXCITED!!!

Also, in case you didn't know, I'm starting a fashion blog this month so look out for the first official post of Empress of Autumn

The Heart of Missions

Good morning, everyone! I hope you're having a beautiful day. It's chilly and cloudy today, with wind, as usual. Surprisingly, I've actually gotten used to the wind by now. However, the High Plains natives have assured me that we haven't experienced "actual" wind yet. Oh, well.

 

I'm leaving tomorrow for my first "real" mission trip. Three years ago, my dad and I took a five-day trip to Ecuador (you can read about it HERE, HERE and HERE ). We (pastors and their children) went with Compassion International and Stadia (church planting) for what was essentially a demonstration to explain why our churches should support their organizations. They're wonderful companies, by the way, and I would encourage you to look them up. However, the experience was not exactly what I would define as an actual mission trip. We slept in 5-star hotels. I don't think that counts.

 

Now the organization I really want to highlight is S.O.S. Ministries. My dad took my sister Marley on one of their Latin America mission trips two years ago. I have never seen her so impacted by anything in my life. It took her a day or two to be ready to talk about it. God revealed His heart to her that week and every month, she commemorates the day they returned home by sleeping on the floor.

 

By the time we get to our second week in Honduras, there's going to be about 40 people on the trip! We get to bring Christmas to the families in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala. I can't wait to see the faces of the children receiving coloring books, candy, soccer balls and toothpaste! I feel overwhelmed that God has given me the opportunity to minister to His people. And the opportunity can be yours too. I encourage you to look around and see the ways God can use you to bless your community. I see Him working in countless ways. You can do something as simple as making your brother's bed, or as thought-out as organizing a food drive. Look at your gifts and talents; you've been given them for a reason (and if you don't believe me, watch Veggie Tales' "Lord of the Beans")

 

Sorry I don't really have any pictures for this post. But, I promise I will cover several posts with pictures and stories from our trip! See you in two weeks!