Worn....but not in despair

I can't believe how quickly this year seems to have passed by.  This has, as every year has, been an experience of ups and downs, joys and sorrows and growth.  Frankly, as I sit here, I am worn out...I heard this song, and I think it explains exactly how I feel...

But, the truth is, I am seeing redemption win and I believe that my time of being worn is being used to help me grow personally---I know that when I am in this kind of place, I am always seeking to see Him and looking for Him to show up...and I have seen Him do amazing things in the past few months in the lives of others, in the way that I view the times that He has told us no after thinking that He was moving us in a new direction....I have seen Him and maybe not always in the ways that I was expecting, but in ways that I never saw coming...my walk with Him (as you can see in past blogs) has been up and down, but in all the different times, He has always been the same God that He says He is and He has never changed, let go or loved me less...I have let go, changed and loved Him less and more....but He is always constant...I want to be more constant.  

I don't like "resolutions" but I do like goals.  Since I have gotten behind on my James study, I intend to finish that and start a new one...I am excited to read and work through a book with some friends and to begin a small group with my husband leading a group of us through the book of Romans...I want to grow in my personal walk, in my walk with my husband and in my walk with other believers.  I want to become a better me....i want to blog more and most of all, in a lesson that I have recently realized I really need to do, praise Him in the good and in the bad...not every answer will be yes, not every dream will come to be, not every moment will be easy, but He is still God and there is too much good to do anything but praise Him....

I praise Him for all the good He has done this year....from providing jobs, our needs, loving us in the hard times, healing relationships that have become true and important, to bringing new friends into our lives (especially in the life in my husband), to doing mighty and amaizng things in the lives of people that matter to us and for blessing us with another year of life, love and growth.   

I may be worn, but the dawn is coming on a new day and it is easier to rise, to look to the heavens and to see what beauty lies in the future. God is still God when it rains and when the sun is high....He is the great Healer, Provider, Counselor, Father, Savior...He is more than enough for me....

Book Review: The Breath of Dawn by Kristen Heitzmann

I was once again lucky to be chosen by Bethany House to receive a free copy of this book for review.  I have read many of Kristen Heitzmann's books and truly enjoy her writing and the way that she weaves Him into her books.  

This book was such a wonderful story - weaving the lives of two people and their past hurts, hurdles, trials and turning it into a beautiful story of grace, redemption, love, hope and acceptance.  Morgan and Quinn both have individual hurdles that must be overcome and end up doing this in an unexpected way, together.  The way that she makes them connect and realize how much they need each other at first it is thought to be for a solution but comes quickly to be for everything life has. God is woven into this story in such interesting ways, from the way that He can be used for good and evil and how evil never wins, but leaves consequences....I was kept on my toes and ended up finishing the book in one sitting.  

I love when I read something and see how people can twist and turn something so beautiful into something bad and how even in scheming and wrongdoing, God always shows that He is in control and no matter how hard evil tries to grab a foothold and sometimes even succeeds, the foothold is not successful for long and He shows up in mighty and powerful ways.