New Years Resolutions...In September?

So we are 9 months into the year, almost 10 in a few days, and I thought I would check to see how everyone is doing on their New Years Resolutions this year. The other day I was working on some verse memorization and in the front of the book I had written my New Years Resolutions and was gently reminded that I need to be working on those. Granted, the real goal is to spend the WHOLE year working on them, not just the last few months, but better late than never right!

So, here's my progress for the year:

1. Memorize the book of James-I'm still working on it and could possibly finish it by the end of the year if I really buckle down, though I'm sad to tell you I'm still working on Chapter 1...even though I only have 1 more verse to go!

2. Read the Bible in a year-I'm doing a little better at this than I am at verse memorization but need to pick up the pace if I'm going to stay on task to finish it by December 31st. There is definite hope for this one though!! Yeah!

3. Hospitality-My goal was to have someone once a quarter into my home....I've altered it slightly and made it a point to invite people out to dinner since I didn't have a dining room table. But, this is looking up since my dining room table arrived a month ago or so (pictures to come soon!)

4. Take the GRE this spring/summer-This one I've nixed! I'm not going to take the GRE because the graduate school I've applied to does not require the GRE...so why spend the time studying or the money if it's not required!?! But, I figure I did one better by actually skipping this step and going straight to the grad school application!

So, at least I've accomplished (sort of!) one goal for the year, and am on my way to accomplishing the other goals!

How are you doing with your goals for this year? Did you forget about them, like I did? Or have you already accomplished them? Update me on how your New Year's Resolutions are doing this year!

Breckenridge Colorado Vacation

My family went on a vacation to Breckenridge, Colorado a few weeks ago. It was so much fun to have the family together for a week of relaxation and fun. Kate woke me up every morning...I'd hear the "pitter patter" of her feet and then my door would open and she would say, "Kelly, wake up" in her beautiful little voice. Then, she'd run out and shut the door! Sooo sweet! There's nothing like waking up to her beautiful smile and voice!

Our vacation began with a stop at Grandma J's in Nebraska. I'm sure we were like a whirlwind of activity coming through her home for the night but it was so nice to see her and spend time with her.

Grandma J. & Me

This was the beautiful view from our house.

We lost Kate's Nemo cup at one of the stores in Breckenridge so Dad and I rode our bikes into town (just a few miles!) to pick it up. On the way back, we decided to just keep going and bike to Dillon...we ran out of time (and perhaps energy!) and turned around within 1/2 mile of Lake Dillon!! So close...by the time we were done, we had biked about 18 miles. (I thought I was going to die!) It was so much fun! :-)

On the ride, we found these horses/mules!

Lake Dillon

Scott, Dad and I went on a nice refreshing hike one afternoon. It was gorgeous! Once again, I remembered that I really love to hike! (I remembered it last year when I hiked in Aspen but apparently needed another reminder!!)

Scott & Me

If you look closely, you can see the town of Breckenridge below!

This is not a picture of me taking a break. It's actually just a picture of me holding a tree up...I was just helping this poor little tree out!! Really, I did not need a break!!

Kate and I had lots of fun making cupcakes together. She was very good at sticking the spoon in the batter for one good swirl and then shaking the spoon so the batter splattered! It was fun! Unfortunately, I've decided that I should not bake anything at a high altitude! My cupcakes looked very pathetic, as evidenced below, but the good news is that they still tasted delicious!

Overall, our vacation turned out to be quite relaxing and fun. It's always a blessing to be able to spend time with family and it was just the dose of relaxation that we all needed. It was great to spend a week with Kate and Zach and watch them in action, learning and playing with never ending energy! Kate and I had special time in the car, reading books, listening to music, and making funny faces! Lots of fun memories!

Is it really an "Accident"??

Yesterday, as I was hurriedly leaving work, my car personally got to know the concrete support pillar in the parking garage. I heard the crunch, felt the jolt of the car, and was instantly horrified that I could be that stupid! How could I back right into the very large pillar!? How did I not see it? And, why are there accidents like this that just seem to be inconvenient, frustrating, and, to say the least, costly?

As I was driving to the auto shop with my stearing wheel very off centered, I began to think about accidents and was gently reminded of the devotional I had read just that morning by Elisabeth Elliot:

All Things Serve Thee

During my husband Addison's terminal illness, everything in our lives was changing. The cancer had spread with a speed which startled the doctors. I found during those hard days and nights strength in the ringing words of the liturgy, proclaimed aloud as the congregation knelt: "Christ has died. Christ has risen. Christ will come again." I could hold onto those immutable facts.

The psalmist found the same strength in the Lord's infrangible decrees: "This day, as ever,Thy decrees stand fast: for all things serve Thee" (Ps 119:91 NEB). The Lord is not subject to vicissitudes, exigencies, and contingencies." Accidents" are, in fact, subject to the Lord of the universe, the blessed Controller of all things."

Thy promise endures for all time, stable as the earth which Thou
hast fixed" (Ps 119:90 NEB).

He "fixes," that is, He sets in place, the whole earth. Surely He can fix
and establish my heart. Every "happening" serves Him. **

**by Elisabeth Elliot**

Though I am certainly not facing anything comparable to the terminal illness that she was facing, I can rest in knowing that my God is a Sovereign God and does not allow anything to cross my path without His knowledge and without a purpose. I know that my God allows certain circumstances to come into my life to prune, mold and change me, that my character might become more and more like that of my Savior's.

"In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith...though it be tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and
glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love."
I Peter 1: 6-8a

I am comforted and reassured to know that the circumstances I face that appear to be less than ideal to my eyes really do serve a purpose. The purpose is that I might seek out the Lord, the ultimate Provider and Protector, to be the fulfillment of my every need and desire. The purpose is that I might be drawn into a deeper love and greater intimacy with my dear Savior.

Change...

...is sometimes necessary in life and I thought it was necessary to make a change to the look of my blog. So, here's the new look until I learn a little more or can get someone else to do some blog sprucing for me!