A Peaceful Home

So, after several attempts at a post, I'm going all or nothing right now! For some reason this theme of peace and home won't leave my brain, so I'm gonna go with that!

My Music-Man and I work very hard to maintain a peaceful atmosphere in our home. Of course we have our moments where we snap at the kids, or at each other. Come on! We're not perfect! BUT, peace is very important to us.

My house is not the nicest, or the best decorated or furnished by far, but it is very comfortable, and very welcoming. I want people to feel at home when they walk through my doors, and want to come back! I love coming home to what we've worked so hard to cultivate....and I long to be here when I've been away for too long.

Isaiah 32:18 says - "My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest." This is what I so desperately want for my home, and family. There is so much strife and uncertainty in the rest of the world, I do NOT want that spilling into my home or my family!

We aren't perfect, but we love each other, and we love people, and we love having people in our home!! I am learning that home may not necessarily be where the heart is, cause I'm leaving parts of mine all over the eastern seaboard...but I feel VERY at home here! Home is your refuge, your safe place, the place you long to be when you're away from it. The place that looks like you, and reflects you, the who you are in the very core of you. Home is where your story begins! :)

Dreams, Plans and a New Year

Well, the holiday season was just amazing for our family! We had a fantastic, peaceful Christmas, followed by a week of a house full of family, and a great start to this new year!

2010 could not have ended any better for my little family. We had a new friend (and now, new addition to our family) stay with us on Christmas Eve, and enjoy all of the Christmas morning chaos in our home! This was her first Christmas away from home, and we were happy to welcome her into our hearts. We all (especially the kids) were excited to bless her, and share our family with her on Christmas morning. Judith is  now living with us, and quickly becoming a part of our family unit.

Shortly after Christmas, my mom, brother and sister in law and niece and nephew came to stay with us for a few days, and see what life in Alabama is like for us. We packed a lot of fun into just 5 days! We went to Gulf Shores, New Orleans, the doctor (for my brother's back-he hurt it on the plane on the way here) and took a driving tour of downtown Mobile. It was just a good time to reconnect and show my family the new area of the world we are living in.

Since the start of 2011, God has been doing some amazing things in Jon and I. We had a women's conference this past Saturday, and God just spoke to me in such an impactful way! There were some dreams in me that I had let die, due to lack of support and sense of self worth.....but God is faithful, and if He has called you to do something, He won't let it die out! He spoke to me in such a clear way about some things that I was completely blown away, and now even more excited to see what this year will hold for me! Even the fact that I am thinking about something for me is a huge deal!

God shows me more and more the importance of even having a dream. My heart breaks for the people walking around out there with no dreams or plans for their future, the people who are stuck in survival mode. That is just no way to live! Life is so much fuller when you have a vision, or goal, to work towards, something that makes you feel alive, and gives you the desire to move forward. I grieve for those who feel they have no dream, or that their dreams have died. As long as you are alive and breathing, you can dream! If one dream has failed, its not too late to dream another dream! Live for something bigger than you! It makes everything worth it!

So, I am excited for this new year, and all the possibility it holds. The beginning of this year is so drastically different from last, and leaves me with an overwhelming feeling of - HOPE! I pray that you and your family will experience that same feeling for 2011....