So my saved copy of a half blog post in Microsoft Word is just going to have to wait...For some reason, my inspiration seems to be best thought out when written off the top of my head...and today i'm inspired!
It has become evidently clear to me in the last couple days that God is reminding me of a really cool thing. The amazing simplicity of our faith doesn't happen in the troubled times and crises of life. Although God wants nothing more than to lead us through the fire in safety and protection...and believe me when i say i've experienced first hand the power of prayer and protection in our darkest moments in life! BUT How dare we sell God short of living true freedom and the abundance of blessing by ONLY coming to Him in those toughest of times...God desires to shower His love and provisions over us EACH day...good and bad, sickness and health...if its so easy for us to make those vows and promises to our spouses and family members...why do we forget our Creator?! Afterall, His plans for us are perfect and His timing is exact and calculated to bring about such Grace and peace and JOY...How dare we sell Him short of all that He could do in and through us?! i made a promise to God and to myself that once things settled down in our lives, that things wouldn't settle down in my faith...that lukewarm laziness that happens when we really dont NEED God, because life is good and things are going well for us...To be truly honest, I experienced a revival, an awakening in my soul in the darkest moments of my deepest pain and loss...and i have to say that i am forever changed from it...it grieves me to think i used to be the kind of person to really come to the Feet of Jesus only when i had a need...financial, the kids, Colin's job related...How dare I use such a selfless and Holy God at my disposal and kick Him aside when i felt i could do life better...i'm convicted but also humbled that God would still choose to keep loving me, keep using me, and want to keep growing me...and now that those changes have happened and that awakening is in me...i'm excited!! i'm excited to see things happening around me, God awakening others and drawing us closer so we can grow together! 2012 is a year that i have a quiet anticipation for what God wants to do in my family and friends lives and its going to be a year of being blessed in our faith and in growing and learning what God desires for us!
My Utmost For His Highest puts it so perfectly (excuse my paraphrasing), So often our prayers are only prayed when we have a need and we eagerly expect the answers we desire...but in essence, God's heart's cry for our prayers to be a way to be close to Him, whether we seek answers or just to talk...He is ALWAYS there, and believe it or not, He too, has so much He wants to share with us!
I am SO encouraged by the fact that our Faith is a journey of growth and learning...if we really grasp the importance of our relationship with Christ, we can't stay in one spot, as life throws us battles and experiences, we don't ever stay the same, nor does our relationships with our people close to us, and nor should our relationship with our God!
AND how cool is it that this morning in church our pastor is so very pointedly preaching on breathing new life into our spiritual growth...that our faith has to change and grow or else, we're going to seriously miss out!! Hold on, this new year has come and if we're not careful, we can miss out on so much of the inspiration that God wants to use to change us and breathe new life in us!

One thing i do want to add is that this Christmas was such a welcomed change from last year...We welcomed being at home enjoying time with family and friends and of course having Keegan get a bad case of croupe right before, we barely made it to Christmas without him being hospitalized...but God was good, He allowed us to all stay home and get healthy and enjoy our quiet rest! I have ALWAYS loved staying at home for Christmas and although the sting was still there that Colin couldnt be with us on Christmas morning to watch the boys open gifts, the 3 of us talked a lot about what Daddy was doing with Jesus and what kinds of festivies would be happening in Heaven for His Birthday! What a party that would be!!
AND to ring in the new year...the boys finally saved enough money for their fish!! i have promised them fish for a long time so we enjoyed taking a family field trip to the pet store to get them each a fish and a little tank and all the decorations to make the fishies comfortable in their new home!
So now its January, and even though this time of year always makes me a bit sad...that my favorite time of year has once again come to an end, and that January seems to be the longest most boring month out of the entire year...i'm looking forward to the adventures of 2012...to what we can accomplish and to what God has to show us!!

I am not one to send out Christmas cards or holiday letters, but i guess this is what's on my heart at the moment and i just thought i would share it, if only to get it out and process through it for myself...i pray u can take tidbits and be encouraged or challenged in what God has for you this coming year!

Blessings to you and yours,
Melissa