Our north stars: 2012

At the start of 2012 we spent some time focusing as a couple.  Praying over our family for God's direction in our life.  Here is a recap of the promises in our lives over the last year, and a little bit about how they were fulfilled.

Prosperity
This was the overarching theme for all of the other promises.  Everything below comes together to point our family in the direction of prosperity.  Prosperity in our family does not mean wealth, but it does mean provision.  It means living in God's blessings day by day and recognizing his work in our lives.

Health
My battle with diabetes has been a problem for many years.  We have had some job changes that led to a lack of insurance, and because of that, loss of diabetes care.  Only recently have we been able to find some help for that.  We have also improved our family's diet and joined a gym for extra help!

Ministry
God called me back into full time ministry.  When God gave me this word, I had no idea where it was leading.  This past spring I started working for Yellow Creek Lake Camp Ministries as the summer program director.  It was a joy and a challenge as I worked an hour away from home and continued to keep my boys at home with me.  We will be doing that again this coming summer and in fact are already working on the fantastic summer ahead.

 Near
"Draw near to me and I will draw near to you".  The promise that when we seek Him, we find is refreshing.  Thank God for his greatness.  As I have continued to seek God and build my relationship, He has been faithful.

Community
Engagement in community was my final guiding word for 2012.  I had a number of ideas about how it would play out.  I was able to build community with a fantastic group of women in my church's mom group.  That has been a source of encouragement to me.  I also was able to engage in the community at the camp where I worked.  This community was a model of the church - helping wherever there were needs, without complaint or argument.  These folks are Christ to one another and to those who visit the grounds for camps, retreats, or visits.


Randy had a couple of guiding words as well.  I am not going to share the meanings behind his words, but will list them below.  
Priest
Shepherd

This is what prosperity looks like - at least part of it.

God has been incredibly faithful to his promise of prosperity as we have worked to live in a way that honors him, using his guiding stars in our family life daily.  What a fulfilling year it has been for our family.  We are looking forward to the next year of promise!