2013 in review

2013

January 2013

December 2013

May God be gracious to us and bless us

    and make his face shine on us—

so that your ways may be known on earth,

    your salvation among all nations.

 

May the peoples praise you, God;

    may all the peoples praise you.

 May the nations be glad and sing for joy,

    for you rule the peoples with equity

    and guide the nations of the earth.

 May the peoples praise you, God;

    may all the peoples praise you.

 The land yields its harvest;

    God, our God, blesses us.

 May God bless us still,

    so that all the ends of the earth will fear him.

Psalm 67:1-7

thank you 2013 for all you blessings

birthdays, babies, laughter, memories.....2013 held His presence, grace, and mercy

Here's to 2014 may we risk it all for you, Lord!

looking back at 2012 and 2011

Good stories to remember in 2013

crashing jesus' party

christmas came again

and we partied for days with parties still to go (one everyday till monday)

and the song keeps playing in my mind

"you can crash my party any time"

with jesus as the lead

because that's what we really do

we take his birthday and make it all about us

but i imagine him being the perfect host

and standing in the yard saying "yeah, come on, the more the merrier {christmas pun}"

and everyone that drives by stopping and joining

celebrating and being willing to party even though they have no idea what their celebrating

but they go all in, they buy presents and decorate, to the ones they know only of course

and jesus he mingles, he visits everyone at the party

and by the end he has met and befriended some that had never met him

and then He knows that it was worth it once again to have yet another birthday 

that has been crashed

{hopefully this post did not offend you, and even more hopeful that you talked to jesus yesterday at the party ;)}

listening to christmas

when you listen to christmas what do you hear??

angels singing or the "i wants"
joy to the world or "i hate christmas"


what if mary and joseph hadn't listened to the christmas story?
what if they hadn't believed the angels?

what if you don't listen to the christmas story?
what if you don't hear the angels?

what angels you say.......

the sound of a little girl saying baby jesus' name
the sound of the guitar and mandolin
the laughter of family
the words of "how can i help"
the prayer of the needy
the voices of the choir
the sound of the rain
the words "For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a SAVIOR, which is Christ the Lord."
the gift of the Holy Spirit

these are the sounds of christmas

not the ripping of paper
not the "ugghhh, really"
not the vacuum cleaner
not the beep of the oven
not the complaints in wal-mart

these are the sounds of the christmas distractions

i hope you hear christmas this year so that you may keep it in your heart and mind for the whole year through

a good friend of mine said with jesus in your heart, everyday is christmas morning

listen for Him

Merry Christmas!

ready or not

it is one week till christmas


one week

not all the presents are bought
no presents are wrapped
the house isn't clean
the elf isn't moving
the cards haven't been mailed

but as i think about mary and joseph
were they ready for christmas?
they didn't have the nursery prepared
they didn't have the house clean
but jesus came any way

as i think about the shepherds in the fields
were they ready for good news?  were they ready for any news?
had they given the sheep extra food that day and let them rest for there trek to bethlehem?
but good news came any way

so there is the truth in christmas
he knew we'd never be ready
but he came anyway




lovely linkys

Emily @ Imperfect Prose

a few of my favorite things

silly kid faces,
sparkling colored christmas tree lights,
ornaments with stories,
handmade coffee mugs that fit just right in my hand,
nephews,
sleeping babies,
friends who come over,
giving gifts,
a mandolin loving boy who rocked their first concert,
an old church pew,
christmas hymns,
nursery workers,
sunday lunch,
the gift of Jesus that i didn't deserve,
a chance to start over with Monday

these are a few of my favorite things

christmas reflection

He made it so simple
there wasn't a tree or garland
there wasn't gifts when they woke up 
there wasn't a layout of food for all to eat
no one took a picture or sent a christmas card
it didn't even make the news, facebook, or instagram

but we make it so complicated
we make it stressful and convoluted
we worry about all the things related
we cringe when we see how many days until
we resent those who seem to have it together

"While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them."

may you find the simple blessing of His birth this year

favorite new christmas song

thankful thursday week 4

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

    his love endures forever.

Psalm 118:1

76.  surprises

77.  lunch with Kendal

78.  my super awesome students

79.  50 years of thanksgiving traditions

80. finding my camera

81. a new vacuum cleaner

82.  consignment stores

83.  homemade gifts

84.  thanksgiving at Rebecca's this year

85. my husband's family

86.  the sound of music {i used to come home from school and watch this movie over and over and over, i could watch it with no volume and say all the words....yeah, i'm a nerd}

87.  mercy and grace

88. always feeling at home at my mom's house no matter how old i get

89.  my granaw....i aspire to be as smart, understanding, and helpful as her

90.  cousins

91. watching the Macy's Parade with Addie and Mom

92.  the natives brought food to those stubborn white men on that first thanksgiving

93.  snow that is beautiful falling but doesn't stick

94.  going to the movies with my husband spontanteously

95.  time with family

96. comfy chairs

97. morning snuggles in the bed

98. home cooking

99.  jokes

100. thanksgiving texts

I want to wish you and yours a happy thanksgiving.  May we find time every day, all year long to be thankful for all our many blessings!

What are you most thankful for today?

counting your blessings literally {a challenge for you}

the ladies at my church have challenged us this season 

are you ready for a challenge??

do you realize just how blessed you are?

with more than one in five children at risk for hunger in the U.S

it is easy to forget how good we got it

so how the challenge works:

{read through them, they will make you think!}

my kids made blessing banks out of old formula cartons

but you could use a mason jar or a real bank

Owen has 1-30 written on the side of his bank. 

 He is writing his daily totals (GREAT math activity).

we are giving how money to Relay for Life

but you could choose a charity of your choice

are you in?

let me know. 

 karrieshew@gmail.com or leave a comment below

we will post our reflections and totals at the beginning of the year.

count your blessings this season.

you and i are blessed beyond what we deserve.