Well, hello there, neglected little blog! It's been a while. I hope everyone had a great holiday season. Ours was filled with sugar and fun and a wee bit of stress as always, but it was lovely. At our kids' age I am still able to keep things pretty simple, so I'm trying to enjoy every moment of that while it lasts! Now it's time to wean the kids (and myself) off the sweets and get back to a routine. As we face the new year, I've never been much for resolutions. They seem to be a recipe for failure, at least in my world! But it's hard not to at least reflect on the year gone by and think of things to improve on in the year to come.
2013 was a year in which God worked on me in a huge way, the sometimes painful process of molding and making. He continues to chip away at my attachment to the world and material things and to stir up compassion and response to the needs around the world. Cambodia was the culmination of that in so many ways, but to be honest it has been a struggle to figure out how to continue on since returning home. (Probably why I haven't written much since then.) Turning feelings into action can be a tricky business! I'm hoping 2014 will bring more tangible opportunities for me to stay connected to the people of Cambodia and the fight against human trafficking. And still I know that God doesn't intend for me to sit around and pine for a country halfway around the world when there are needs and struggles going on in my very own community, so I must continue to pray and seek what God would have me do here.
As you might be able to tell from reading this little blog, I'm a Big Ideas person. I love to make grand plans and organize and plot and scheme. So I suppose if I have a resolution this year, that's it. To stop thinking so hard and just start where I am, following God with small faithful steps. I hope if you have been waiting for any reason to follow a call from God, you will set whatever it is aside and start where you are too.
If you should need some inspiration, here's some book recommendations for your 2014!
Unfinished by Richard Stearns - by far my favorite book I read this year. Will rock your world.
The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer - I've only just started this one and already find myself highlighting every other sentence.
Beautiful Outlaw by John Eldredge - a fun, different way to think about Jesus.
Bread and Wine by Shauna Niequist - just makes your soul feel good to read. Get some friends and some wine and read it together.
Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxes - this is a biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, but really I'd recommend reading this or anything you can get your hands on by Bonhoeffer himself. I plan to do just that in 2014!
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