1. Arriving safely in S. Asia and then home again after a half-year of life-altering, eye-opening, God-glorifying moments and lessons that now flow through my veins and have recreated (thanks be to God) the person-the Christ follower that I am.
2. Receiving the call while in S. Asia for a new, exciting ministry for our lives in the U.S. This Is Church has been such an amazing ministry. We are so encouraged by what God is doing with this little body of believers and in the individual ministries that are represented every Sunday in our living room.
3. Speaking of living room, OUR HOUSE! We were blessed to so easily find an affordable home with such a ready ministry all around us.
4. James and I celebrated our first anniversary together! And what a beautiful year it has been. Praise God for His model of love that we seek to follow after every day.
5. Receiving news of the new baby that we will get to hold in June! James and I have been looking forward to being a Daddy and Mama since...forever! Every week, I read about how this sweet life is growing inside me, and I get so overwhelmed by God's goodness and love. Yippee!6. Support. That's all I need to say. We have received faithful support for both of our adventures in ministry, along with prayers, love, and kind words from those around us about what we're doing, excitement about the baby, and just encouragement in our everyday goings on! The community that God has given us is so beyond anything that we deserve, and I am just so, SO thankful to see God work through the people He's put in our lives.
As I think about those (along with the million others I didn't mention) highlights of 2014, I can't help but see the promises that God has both fulfilled and is going to continue to fulfill for this new year that we are stepping in to:
1. Just as God carried us, protected us, and worked through us in S. Asia, so He will continue to do in each of the who-knows-how-many opportunities He will bring us to in 2015.
2. I look forward to God continuing to work through This Is Church and the people involved. I also am anxious to see the new areas of ministry that He will lead James and I to both together and individually.
3. I'm going to be honest, housing seems to forever be a point of anxiety in my heart. The very bane of my existence (not actually). When it comes to the question, "Where will we live when our baby is born/when our lease is up" (those two seem to always pop up in my mind at the same exact time) there is never really a "peace that passes understanding". Looking at the past year, though, I see a promise that is inescapable: God will provide. The 4 places in which we've lived this past year are proof of that. So, this is the part where I just have to take a breath, and thank my Provider-God for how He is going to provide a home in 2015. Thank You, Lord.
4. James and I have grown closer in 2014 than I thought possible. If I thought he was my best friend when I married him, he's 17 months MORE of a best friend now. It's like, if two infants thought they were best friends, then they grew up to be five-year-olds who ran, jumped and played in the mud all day, they would say to themselves, "Now we're REALLY best friends." That's how I feel about James. I'm also thankful that those five-year-olds will one day grow up to be 35-year-olds and think to themselves, "Those five-year-old babies had no idea..." I look forward to growing closer and closer to-more and more in love with my husband each year, then looking back at 2014 and saying, "That little baby Ali had no idea." :)
5. This baby is one promise that I look forward to meeting, holding and singing to in 2015!! Right now, I'm even looking forward to having a huge, giant belly full of cuteness as Baby Everett gets bigger and bigger inside of me. Even once Baby's born, I'm thankful for the promise of life, growth and service to Jesus that I will get to have a big part in as a mother to this life.
6. Finally, I thank God for the promise of YOU! The community that He will continue to cultivate in James' and my life is something I look forward to with great joy. The support of this community as our family and ministries grow is not only something that comes from those around us, but first from God, and my heart burst with thankfulness because of that!
So, there are a few highlights of 2014, and promises for the new year that I'm thankful for! Join me in thanking the One who is God of the past, present and future!!
