Wishin', and hopin', and thinkin', and prayin',

Happy New Year's Eve! There is no explanation, excuse, reason, background, behind why I haven't blogged in EIGHT MONTHS. You can probably guess (actually, the few who read this, probably KNOW) A LOT has been going on in my little life this past year! So much has happened, especially recently, that I went to sleep last night and woke up this morning telling myself that I want to blog...I NEED to blog. As the Ani DiFranco song goes, I've been "wishin', and hopin', and thinkin', and prayin'..."

**I'm going to be all over the place in this post. Consider yourself warned.**

I started the year by claiming Isaiah 40:29-31 as "my 2010 verse." I marked it one year ago tomorrow, and prayed that God would manifest this verse in my life this year. And as per His usual character, He came through. Notice the word, "hope," is circled. When I circled it 364 days ago, I had no idea what was in store.











The past several weeks, really months, have been excruciatingly painful. Emotionally, not physically. Through ALL of it there was hope. In fact, hope came one full circle and reared it's beautiful head, not only on the first day of 2010, but also on the last day of 2010 . Literally, see for yourself.

My coffee mug from this morning:












(Side note #1: 2011 Siesta Scripture Memory Team is starting TOMORROW!!!! Thanks to a fellow Siesta for gifting me with what could be quite possibly the cutest note cards to memorize scripture on! Now that I think about it, I think the same Siesta gifted me with the mug in the picture!)

(Side note #2: The coaster, on which the mug sits, was also a gift from a friend. Handmade...check it out - I have some talented friends!!!)











OK, back to hope...in case you couldn't see the fine print at the bottom of the coffee mug:











This is Jeremiah 29:11 (MSG), which has been a verse, to which I referenced almost every day these past few weeks. I circled "hope" this morning when I realized and mentally summed up in my head, what my 2010 has been about. One little word, four little letters.











And to add icing on the cake, check out this ornament on my Christmas tree...













Love, love, LOVE, when God perfectly ordains reminders like this. How did He know this is EXACTLY what I needed to bring closure to this year? Oh yea, He knows me better than I know myself. He knows EVERYTHING!

If you've read any of my previous posts, you know that music plays a huge part in my life. So, it's only fitting that I pick a song that defines my 2010. I picked "Light Up the Sky" by The Afters. I've become especially addicted to sunrises this past year. I take pictures of them on my phone and text them to people, or take pictures of them just to capture the moment. God's grown me fond of sunrises and presented me with an abundance of opportunities to witness them on my morning drives to work. When I heard this song, I realized, this new sunrise "fetish" was God's way of reassuring me EVERY DAY that He is with me. Every day He lit up the sky to show that He's right here with me. Every day He gave me just enough hope to survive the day...and He repeated the process every morning.

Enjoy the tunes!



Are you wondering if I have a song picked out for 2011? Why, of course I do! I picked "Healing Begins" by Tenth Avenue North. I'm still workin' with God to find the perfect verse for 2011. :-) Enjoy the tunes!



To my sis...that one is for you...I love you!

Now I want to share some random stuff.

My Christmas Tree. This year I got a tree-topper! I also (unnecessarily) got about 10 new ornaments.













New ornament #1: Stuffed penguin from Crate & Barrel. The cuteness is overwhelming, I know.










New ornament #2: a gift from a friend. Another gentle reminder to "rejoice always" (1 Thes. 5:16)










I also got the Willow Tree Nativity Set...well, whatever I could afford of it. Here is a picture of it, which I found online. I have about 40% of the pieces below. The picture shows the entire set. If I bought the whole thing, no one else would've gotten Christmas presents this year; so I only bought what I could afford. :-)










I guess, that's a wrap, folks! Thank you for being patient! Happy 2011 to you. I cannot wait to see what God has in store.