"Why are you standing here looking at the sky?"
Well, the Christmas holiday has come and gone... thank God.
We had a really good holiday, it was just very VERY busy.
Starting Thursday night, we did not get in bed before 1am, and we were up before the sun came up each morning.
B and I exchanged gifts Thursday night. I got him a GA Bulldog chair, a blanket that's long enough for him (his feet stick out of the bottom of all our other blankets) and a couple movies.
He got me a digital camera with video capabilities, the Celine Dion CD "miracle" (that she did for her baby).
Chloe got lots of clothes and a 20-DVD set of Baby Einstein. *woot*
On the downside, my step-dad's mother died on Friday. She has had M.S. for a long time, and was in a lot of pain. So it was kind of a relief that she finally went because she is finally without pain.
So mom and her hubby left town on Saturday and missed all the Christmas stuff here. The funeral is this Thursday; so they will miss New Years too.
M, my step-dad, is doing fine with everything. Like I said, we have all been expecting it and somewhat hoping for it because she was hurting so much.
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In other news, I can't get that house out of my head.
8 bedroom, with private baths.
Clawfoot tubs in each of the baths.
Industrial kitchen (because it used to be a restaurant).
Fully furnished.
Right in downtown Athens.
Blue Hydrangea bushes (which I specifically asked for).
From everything I can see, it is PERFECT!!
B is already talking about the fact that it has two living rooms. He wants to use one as a regular TV/reading room. In the other, he wants to set up a "computer lab" for people who are living with us and want to go to night school or get their GED online.
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I was able to spend a good bit of time with the Lord this past weekend, in spite of our hectic schedule.
I was really praying about the upcoming year, and all that He has planned for me.
As I was praying, I really got a layout of the past couple years.
Two years ago (2005), was a year of trials and testing. It was a year that the enemy sent everything he could in order to stop our ministry from coming. That year, I learned to Trust God to keep His Word, despite what may be going on around me.
The past year (2006), was a year of rest and restoration. The Lord has been restoring my marriage, my relationship with Him, and my spirit. By the end of 2005, I was so burned out that I could hardly function in a ministry capacity. So the Lord allowed me to have this year (using the excuse of pregnancy) to take a break from everything and rest.
So what about the upcoming year (2007)? As I was praying about this, I felt the Lord bring me to Acts 1:9-11.
" After he said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud hid him from their sight. 10 As he was going, they were looking into the sky. Suddenly, two men wearing white clothes stood beside them. 11 They said, "Men of Galilee, why are you standing here looking into the sky? Jesus, whom you saw taken up from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you saw him go." "
The phrase that really jumped out at me, and the one I feel like the Lord is speaking to me for next year, is: "Why are you standing here looking into the sky?"
I feel like the Lord is leading me into a year of "Action" and "Movement." A year of obedience. I have been "believing" the Lord for a lot of stuff in the past, and I feel like this is the year He will instruct me to "act" on it, with His leading.
For instance, with this house, I have been saying to the Lord, "I really think this is the one I want. I'm just not sure about what it looks like on the inside."
And His response was, "Well then go look at it."
So (if I can work up the courage) I think I am going to call the realtor and go look at the house after the first of the New Year.
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I realize I am asking a lot from the Lord, but "You have not because you ask not." So I'm asking.
Okay, I guess that's about it.
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!
Happy New Year!