The New Year!

Another year here already. It seems to me that I just got started with the last one and here is another one. I had a great time bringing this one in more than any other in my life. The reason...I celebrated with my friends and family at CCJ. The most amazing and wonderful people on the planet. I am certainly not biased as all one has to do to find out is come meet them all! If you are having a bad day or something is troubling you there is never a shortage of those who will come find out what is up or how can they help or pray with you...that's a glimpse of heaven. Any way we got to play games and eat food (we are the eatinest church I know of), fellowship, then at midnight we all had the sparkilng grape juice and apple cider and blew horns and made our noise. Then we prayed for the year to come and how God will use us and watch over us. It was fabulous fun. THEN...everyone started going home and the youth had their lock-in complete with games and a bonfire.

Oh man you should witness some of the things Russ comes up with. As an adult I am thinking yuck, gross and NO-WAY!, but man those kids love it and they come back every year. Sack lunch food races for the two teams with such food as baking chocolate squares to eat, bags of huge marshmallows, raw Ramen noodles with the sauce, dry stuffing cubes, the biggest gum drops I have ever seen, kool-aid packs plain, etc. But those kids are having the time of their lives and they are safe, and choosing to be here rather than other places. And you know what I mean by other places. And they start talking about the next year and what Russ could possibly come up with. But I know where they will be...at least mine.

Back to my friends...My friends are selfless, uplifting, courageous, encouraging, prayer warriors, they will cry with you and for you, they truly are the wind beneath your wings when you start to fall or plummet and have no strength of your own to climb back up.

I saw some of my friend Kims things to improve this year and some of the things I have been asking God to help ME with are on her list. You know what that means...we will both be getting the answer to improve thing number 1 on the list...to be in prayer more and His word. Starting with prayer for each other. LOL!

I am very excited to see what God has for me this year. I am not disillusioned into thinking it will be smooth sailing all of it, but what I can't wait to see is what he uses to draw me closer to him and to change me to be more like him everyday. I want to be more like my Savior every day and in everyway and if that means climbing the highest mountains on my hands and knees then that is what I will do. I love Jesus! Yeah!

It's midnight and I have to teach my Sunday School class in the morning so I better get to bed.

See you all down the road...