A New Beginning (again)

I'm really going to do it now. Really. I've taken a year off from my family blog and given the number of stalkers out there who enjoy reading about my very exciting life, I feel I owe it to them...and to my family. Especially Chelcie who has recently begun a blog of her own. So...again, I play my mulligan. I use my "do over." I turn over a new leaf and try again to document the journey of my crazy life with my nutty husband and unique progeny.

Rather than try to go back in time and recapture the past year, I'll start fresh. With just today. Our second snow day of the 2010-2011 school year. Snow before Christmas? It just doesn't happen here. But it did. Just goes to show ya that we don't call the shots here. We can make our plans, but God trumps EVERYTHING. He can change "our" plans without warning. That's the kind of God He is. All powerful. All knowing. All amazing. All the time.

I'm determined that NOTHING is going to steal my joy this year. Yes, there's almost insurmountable debt. Yes, the economy has had a huge impact on Tom's real estate business, especially of late. The last thing in the world either of us wants to do is tell our children that Christmas will not bring "everything your heart desires." God will. Maybe there's a lesson in that. Maybe pinning all your hopes on someone else to fulfill your dreams means that you put your hope in that person rather than the one, true Savior of the world.

SO...for that reason. We will turn our eyes upward, rather than outward. "Stuff weighs you down," courtesy of my afternoon drive time buddy, Phil Williams on NewsTalk 98.7. Thanks for the reminder, Phil. I was liking my stuff too much.

Let's close this post with ten of "Amy's Favorite Things" - with my apologies to Oprah...the "Queen of Favorite Things."

1. The freedom to openly love my God, His Son and my Savior, Jesus Christ
2. My husband who has managed to put up with my antics for over 24 years. (I'll resist the urge to mention his...kinda.)
3. Four of the most beautiful, intelligent, loving, thoughtful children ever created.
4. Friends who have my back, no matter what. The list is short, but oh, so deep.
5. A job with an opportunity to make a difference in the world. A chance to impact the future. A calling, really.
6. A crackling fireplace, warm blankets, food in my belly, and clothes on my body.
7. A sense of humor that can never be underestimated. When I can no longer laugh, I may as well die. Opportunities to laugh are everywhere. Sometimes we have to look to find them.
8. An education. No one can ever steal my treasure in my head. I can read. I can use words to create a picture in the mind of my reader, even if my "reader" is only myself. I can think, problem solve, and reason.
9. My extended family. In spite of our eccentricities, we love each other deeply. Our love has never been tested in that we've had no family crisis that has forced us together. Maybe because we haven't needed one. We love each other. Now and always.
10. I have a reason to get myself out of bed in the morning. Many people do not. Oh God, I pray for those divine appointments to be set before me, and I pray for Your eyes through which to see them so there's never a doubt that they were set by You. Let me, equip me, enable me, and empower me to seize the opportunities each new day brings.

It is with anxious anticipation of what tomorrow holds in store for me, that I bring this "fresh" post to a close. Funny, unless you count the fireplace, my list of "favorite things" doesn't include a single thing that could "weigh me down." Cool. I really need to do this more often. Go before me, Lord. Set it up. You've gotten me ready.