His Abundance...My Cup Runneth Over!

As I sat & read over my last post, which admittedly was written far too long ago, I hear my own words of anticipation of what the year ahead would bring. It has been an amazing year & I am quick to praise & thank God for every bit of it!

We did indeed find a new home, well to be truthful, GOD found us a new home! It most assuredly fell into our laps & is perfect. We have used every inch of it over the last few months celebrating family events, welcoming friends & family & taking stock of just how awesome our God truly is. Norm & have to pinch ourselves when we see what He has provided to us! I uttered these words to Norm as summer was winding down that this truly has been the best summer I have had in more years than I can count. To have a place that is our own, to be able to welcome all those we love into it, to have a place of privacy & peace of mind is such a beautiful gift. Words cannot express our gratitude!


This year brought my son Alex's engagement to his beautiful girlfriend Jen! Hence, one of the family events we were privileged to celebrate in our new home. We could not be happier for them! They are a sweet, loving & fun couple & I pray that God would bless them both as they clasp hands & head down this road together. I pray that they always remember that they have so many people who love them & that no matter what life brings, they are not along this journey alone.

My daughter has just entered her senior year of college. That completely blows my mind! Alex turned 24 this week & Sam will be 21 the next. How is this possible? As I said in my last post, life marches on! We are so excited for Sam as she makes plans for what's next, but are grateful that she views this year as something special, something she doesn't want to just "get through". She is embracing this time in her life & is looking with anticipation & a certain amount of anxiety at what comes next. She has many ideas about what she'd like to "do with her life" & I pray she explores them all. I also pray that she would lean on God & HIS direction for her life. We make our plans, but He directs our paths! She is smart, beautiful & I have no doubt that she can accomplish anything she sets her mind to & truly wants. I am pulling for you sweet girl!

This year I lost a dear friend to cancer. She fought a good fight & lived 2 courageous years with the disease. I am grateful for the time we had together, having been reunited about a year and a half ago. Val was sweet, funny, stylish, loving mother, wife & friend. She was my childhood friend & I will miss her terribly. I am grateful for the hope of the life after this where we will once again share hugs, laughter & tears of joy together! Until that day, I pray for God's comfort & healing on her beautiful family.

I realize that I may be sounding like a broken record, but despite some of the tough stuff this year, we are eternally grateful to our heavenly Father for lavishing such blessings on us. For those of our friends & family who are struggling right now, we offer our support, prayer & love. Please know that He promises to "never leave you nor forsake you"...and neither will we.

We are grateful for our beautiful family, for the love we share, the health in our bodies, the life we are blessed with. We are grateful for our jobs which allow us to continue to move past the struggles of our past & move forward to more promising times. We are grateful for the friends God has seen fit to bring into our lives, those who love us (no matter what) & who continue to pray for us. We promise to do likewise.

But above it all, we are grateful for the love of our Father - our provider, our strength, our courage, our future. All we have is His & we hold onto it all loosely, knowing that we need to be generous with what has been given. We are ultimately & supremely grateful that Heaven is our home & that when we pass through this moment in time, we will spend all of eternity in the presence of our King. And for as much as we love our new home...it pales in comparison to the HOME He is preparing for us!