A Year of Thanks

Someone once told me that over the corse of the year they write ways God has blessed them on a piece of paper and then read them all on Thanksgiving. It's a reminder of what all has happened and the way God has worked in your life.

Every year I think about doing this, but always forget. We are going to do start doing it this year, and I encourage you to do it too! A lot can happen in a year! That's powerful, let me say it again...A lot can happen in a year! And WOW, it has! So,

after venturing through my iphoto albums, I have created a year of blessings. It is so truly incredible to look back and see all that the Lord has blessed our lives with. Hang on tight, we are going back.....

November 2008

We went to our lot and saw the foundation of our home.

It was still wet so we carved our initials and a heart in each corner of our house.

We prayed over each corner, thanking God for what He has given us.

December 2008

We celebrated our first Christmas together as husband and wife. We learned for the first time what it felt like to do things as a team. We celebrated marriage of 6 months. (This is where the Mr. proposed!)

That was a big accomplishment to us! A whole half a year! We ventured to Gatlinburg with our best friends Holly and Sam. We are truly blessed to have them a part of our lives. We thank God for their friendship, and their support. (I couldn't help but post this one. We took many posed great pictures, but this one beats them all!)

January 2009

The Lord blessed us with a brand new year! 2009. My how it flew! A year spent solely as man and wife. We couldn't wait to see the way he would work in our lives!

February 2009

We got our first fur baby. A fur baby we searched and searched for.

Heidi taught us how to work together as a team even MORE, how to be parents, and how to love. She was our little baby...and still is. I still remember showing up to the lady's house and her opening the baby gate and 6 little puffs came running towards us. As we dropped to the floor, our "Heidi Dog" came straight to us, and we knew she was ours! We wanted a pup to

keep us company while the other was away, and to teach us new things. It's been almost a year, and she has certainly been a joy in our lives!

March 2009

WOW! Let's pause for a moment!

Oh dear, March. My, how a bazillion things went on. Going back through pictures I was blown away as the amount of things, and then felt humbled that our Big, Big, God would comfort us, encourage us, and see us through all of these things!

My Senior level hearing.

Yes, this time last year, I was still in college. That's hard to believe! The Lord pushed me and got me through this hearing. It was flawless and I felt His presence in that room the entire time. Let's refresh. A hearing is what you have to do for the entire voice faculty before performing it in your Senior Recital, and before graduating. If you fail your hearing, you don't graduate. Period. It's what you work on your entire 4 years of college. Big deal. The Lord blessed me with the most incredible voice teacher and stuck with me when I would break down with discouragement in a lesson, or flip out with excitement and jump up and down because I finally got a lyric right. She would jump with me, yes, she was that cool! He sent me a fabulous accompanist for my recital that was patient and absolutely so gifted. She worked with my schedule, and was patient with me. The Lord has truly blessed her with amazing talent.

As we all know, I passed my hearing, and performed my recital. I stayed back stage and didn't see anyone...but my sis, before the recital. Once I walked out on the stage I saw all of the faces. The faces that have been there, some for my whole life, some for a short time. They were faces that have supported me, and encouraged me. They cared. They loved. I was again humbled at God's mighty power of bringing all of these special people in one room for me to sing for. To share His gift of music He gave to me.

I wish I could upload all of the pictures of me with all the people who were there, but that would take a while, and would be a lot of pictures!

Just one day before my recital, we closed on our first home AND moved in. (I know, around here, we just like to get things done. We're go-getter's I suppose)

You know, words can't really describe how it feels to build a home with your husband, and then know that it is ours. That night, we prayed over our entire home.

We gave our home to God, and thanked Him for blessing us with this beautiful home of His. There are still days that I can't believe He would bless us with such a special gift.

May 2009

All of the hard work that I put into 4 years of school, late nights, reading, singing, singing, more singing, and studying was put to an end. I received my diploma for APSU and felt the biggest sense of accomplishment.

Those 4 years were tough! I won't lie! Tough, tough tough! It was truly only God who got me through every step, every 8 am class, every final, every moment I wanted to give up, He would give me an extra nudge to keep going! I thank Him for that, and for blessing me with the opportunity of going on full scholarship. He is such a good God!

The Mr. and I had our first big party at our home.

It was a celebration for graduation and our new home. That whole day it rained and so my big fun idea of having elegant satin pink table clothed tables on our patio was moved into the garage. At just the last minute, the sun peeped out in all its glory and we thanked God for doing that for us. We moved everything out on the patio as we planned and got everything set just before our very first guest arrived! When my dad arrived, he whispered to us, I prayed God would have perfect weather for you, you two deserve it. Thanks dad!

Before we ate, we got up to say a few words to all of our special friends and family. This is a moment I will never forget. As we looked around a strong emotion fell over us, and we were truly in awe of all of the people that were there. I thanked God for each of those people out loud, for what they had done to be a part of our lives through the years. It was a special moment that was just to glorify God for using all of those people to help us and love us.

June 2009

One year anniversary! Wow, we knew we had arrived once we made it a year! They say the first year is the hardest with adjustments, and things learned. We will have to agree! We kicked off year two in Cancun, MX and soaked up every moment of the time we had together away from the world. If it weren't for God providing for us, we would have never been able to take this trip. We are so very thankful for that.

It was such a special time for us to get closer to Him and closer to each other, and to really see how HUGE God is!

I have had the same car since I turned 16 that was my sisters car when she was in college. Needless to say, my precious little red Civiv cruised back and forth to Clarksville for 6 plus 4 years. It was a special car, but it was small, and getting old fast. So, we posted it on Craigslist and someone came to buy it the next day. Thank you, God!

The Lord opened up an opportunity for us to purchase another vehicle that was exactly what we wanted. We were really blessed by the lady we bought it from. She had just lost her husband, and it was his vehicle. Every time we would meet up with her, she would share another special memory of her husband. They were married a very long time. This was inspiration for us. They really loved each other, they stayed together through everything, and they did everything as a team. When we drove away with our new vehicle, I told John that I knew God brought her into our lives to show us that marriage can last through everything, and she was proof of it. We are all about working as a team, and doing everything together. We hate to be apart, hate it. The Lord used her to strengthen us, and our marriage on that day.

August - 2009

God was really big on teaching us to be patient, and to learn more about Him. So we did, we waited, gave everything to God, (that's hard to do!) and learned a great amount of things about how awesome and powerful He is. I was still searching for a job at this point, and we were getting very restless. God lifted us up, and let us know HE was in control, not us! HE IS IN CONTROL! I daily have to tell myself, and Him that. He out of nowhere swooped in and blessed me with a HUGE opportunity of teaching music, learning how to do everything in "teacher world" and showed me that I LOVE every moment of it.

God is so so big, and it moves me to sit here and think about how He took the time to do all of these things for us this past year. Us. Little, ole' us. Our big, big God wants to be a part of your life too. We are His children, and He loves us all more than anything. I am honored to proudly say that I am a child of God. I serve a HUGE God, a fabulous God, and a powerful God.

Lord, we THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for having Your hand in our marriage this past year. For leading us in the direction of Your plan for us. For blessing us beyond we ever imagined. And for loving us more than anything. Thank you for being so profound, and evident in our lives. Shine through us always God, so others may see and learn more about You. For You are the only thing that matters God, and it is You that we will serve. Amen.

For God be the glory, great things He has done!

We want to lift God up and give Him the glory for all the things He has done in your life! Please leave a comment sharing one thing you are thankful for this Thanksgiving!

We wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!