2009: New Year, New Life, New Problems

WELCOME TO 2009!!

Last night was perfect. Thomas and I invited a couple (that we LOVE) over last night for a mini-New Year's Eve party. We got coldstone icecream, started a nice fire, played games and toasted the coming New Year. It was a very special thing to bring in the New Year with John and Jessica. See they just recently got engaged and they are planning for a mid-summer wedding; this was the exact shoes that Thomas and I were in last year. It was beautiful. 2009 will bring a very fun, stressful, and memorable year for them. For Thomas and I 2009 will bring a lot of great memories, and a graduation (hopefully). 2008 looked as if it were going to be the best year ever. We were engaged, I was planning my dream wedding and we had our whole future ahead of us.

Now I reflect on 2008, and it was a very bitter sweet year. I guess the cliche summary would have to be that every rose has its thorns. Thomas and I grew so much during the last 6 months of engagemnt. It was not all flowers and sunshine though. When I say we grew, the growing came with growing pains. I was smacked with a very radically different view of what marriage was intended for. I praise the LORD that I learned it during the enagagment process, it was such a beautiful lesson. This new radical idea was ushered into my life by the way of Gary Thomas' book "Sacred Marriage: What If God Designed Marriage to Make us Holy More than to Make us Happy." If that title doesn't just adjust a love drunk person's attitude then I don't know what does. So after I had this realization my relationship with Thomas was so much more meaningful, I the right view of our relationship for the first time. So sweet was the moment that I discovered it too. Then came the lovely wedding plans. Well lets just summarize the wedding plans by saying not everything turned out how it was intended, but at the end of the day we were wed. I will have to save the tales of our wedding plans, aka disasters, for another time. As I reflect on what whole season in my life so many colorful emotions are stirred up. Thomas and I always joke that we should write a book someday about our wedding. Dont worry, for all those involved names would be changed to preserve reputations, haha.

As I looked into what 2009 will hold, I must be very honest: I have no idea what God has in store for us. I have no idea why He brought us out here, I have no idea why he allowed several friendships to come to their end, I have no idea what we will be doing next. What I do know is that I will be finishing my last two courses, we will be looking for a place for Thomas to transfer, and we will be looking to minister where ever we are placed. As with any year though 2009 will bring up new problems. I know that personally I am having a hard time adjusting to the thought of Obama as my President. I know that as a Christian I am called to pray for him, and respect his position. I also know that as a Christian so much of what I consider sacred may crumble under his authority. Pray for me as I try to live as a christian American citizen under Obama's rule.

Thomas and I love you all. NOTE this blog will usually not be this long, I got a tad carried away with everything. I hope that this can be a useful way to keep up with our life happenings. Goodbye 2008, Hello 2009.

This is a picture of Thomas and I at an Arizona Cardinals Game celebrating Christmas. This was his gift from me. He had a blast, it was like he was a little kid in a candy store :)