good and perfect gifts

Have to share something too cool with you. I'm doing a Bible study on the book of James. It. Is. Amazing.

One of the "homework" assignments was to reflect on the course of your life in quarters and document good and perfect gifts God poured into our lives. In case you're wondering, James 1:17 says, "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."

So, I'm writing you today to share all the good and perfect gifts God's showered down on me throughout the course of my life:

First Quarter (newborn to 6.5 yrs)

• The gift of being close with my sister and our big extended family: cousins, aunts, uncles, grand parents, great uncles & aunts, etc.

Second Quarter (6.5 yrs to 13 yrs)

• Moved to America
• Learned English!
• Met my American grandparents
• Learned about Jesus
• Got baptized
• Met one of my best friends (with whom I'm still in close contact, even to this day!)
  

Third Quarter (13 yrs to 19.5 yrs)

• Built several key relationships
• Got to go to college and live on my own
• Went on my 1st mission trip to Poland
• Became a life-long fan of KY Basketball. :-D
  

Fourth Quarter (19.5 yrs to 26 yrs)

• Learned about Bible Study and became enamored with it
• Got to go to Kenya & Cambodia on mission trips
• Took a trip to India with my sister
• Took a trip with a friend to London and Paris
• Married off my sister
• Got a brother-in-law!
• Got to stand by my momma as she and my dad renewed their marriage vows on their 15th anniversary
  
• Discovered mini-marathons and ran 4 of them!
• Got to play bridesmaid in the wedding of 4 of my friends
  
• Started and finished grad school
• Moved to a new city and built some key life-long friendships
• Bought a house
• Discovered the Passion Movement
• Fell in love with Christian music
• Discovered my love for writing
• Won a speech competition
• Met two AMAZING mentors
• First opportunity to lead a team of people @ work
  
• Started dreaming. BIG dreams for my life.
  
• Learned about the power of prayer
• Got to lead Bible study for THE BEST group of girls (seriously) with one of my best friends (and Siesta)
  
• Got to baptize my Siesta
  

"Many hard things happened in those quarters. Some weren't just hard. They were horrible. Yet, I can see how God continued to pour down gifts on me from Heaven that would sustain me and lift me." -Beth Moore

I literally couldn't have said it better. What's interesting is that the 4th quarter of my life has been the hardest. But look at how God's blessings have been 3x greater than the other quarters. He really does give us everything we need, doesn't He?

EVERY good and perfect gift is from above...