Happy Bloggiversary!

Well here it is, the one-year anniversary of Debily! What a year it’s been. In the spirit of celebration, I offer a whirlwind tour of the highlights of the past twelve months. I promise, this will be far more interesting than my last attempt.

August 2007 ushered in a major change in schedule and lifestyle with my resignation of position of Children’s Director at Prairie Creek. August 31 was my official last day on the job, and it also represented Crisana’s last day at PCBC’s MDO. Definitely a sad, hard time for us, but also one filled with hope as we waited to see how God would provide.

September 2007 was a month of new beginnings for us. Trey had already started at his new school, but Crisana had her first days at her new preschool at FBC Allen. My new schedule allowed me to become instantly far more involved in both their schools, attending special events, helping out in the classroom, and getting to know other parents and build friendships. On the very last day of September, however, God very clearly showed that He not only wanted me to resign from my staff position at PCBC, He meant for us to leave the church entirely. Though not unexpected, the realization of God’s plan was certainly a difficult pill for us to swallow, and September ended on another sad note.

October 2007 brought times of refreshing and reconnecting as a family. I officially became Trey’s den leader, and through Cub Scouts, neighborhood activities, and a family trip to South Padre we shared good times and created wonderful memories. We honored commitments we had made to PCBC through this month, but the last Sunday of October represented the end of our time as members of Prairie Creek. Another sad way to end a month, with many tears shed as we said good bye to the precious church family where we had ministered and served for over 11 years.

November 2007 was a month of anticipation. We began the month with our first-ever family campout and though it didn’t go as expected, we still had a great time. We looked forward to visiting a variety of churches, and also to the upcoming holiday season. God’s promised financial provision had arrived and we felt secure, knowing that we were well-cared for during a time of great transition and uncertainty.

December 2007 was a month of joy. We found a church “home” for the holidays, which gave us a sense of belonging for a short season, and through parties at school and work, we celebrated the season with exuberance! We enjoyed a very special Christmas with my mom staying overnight to be part of the morning’s excitement, and looked forward to ringing in the new year with our dear friends, the Stueves.

January 2008 was a month of celebration. Between New Year’s and two birthdays, our house seemed like Party Central for several weeks. I relished my role as mom and party coordinator, and Matt and I made a fantastic team for Trey’s awesome army party – one of our best efforts yet! We celebrated Crisana’s new birth in Christ as she prayed to accept God’s gift of salvation shortly before her fifth birthday.  In the midst of all this, we happened to visit – on a whim – a church we had seen as we ran errands around town. No expectations – it’s probably not right for us – turned into love at first sight for all four of us, and we became excited about the possibility of having found our new church home.

February 2008 was a month of completion. Cub Scouts officially wound down their year with the annual Blue & Gold celebration. I completed my first “year” of service with Scouts, and several projects around the house – that had been on the “to do” list for quite a while – were finished. Along with that, we sensed a completing of our church search as we decided to commit to McKinney Fellowship for a “probationary” period from February through Easter. We settled into a Life Group, and were so blessed by the people we met there.

March 2008 was a month of slowing down and settling in. After the hectic and frantic pace of Scouts, church searching, and celebrating of the previous months, we needed a time to turn things down a notch or two. We officially became members of McKinney Fellowship and began to plug ourselves into areas of ministry. We made plans for landscape work to be done over the next several months and enjoyed the dreaming and planning of this phase of the project.

April 2008 was a month of life. I began the month with a birthday (my last before “the big one”), and shortly thereafter, we experienced God’s protection of our lives as we narrowly missed being hit by a tornado. We began work to make our outdoor plans a reality – though we didn’t get very far – and looked forward to completing more of it in the days to come.

May 2008 was a month of conclusions. I ended my Music by DESign year with a fabulous recital at McFBC, and enjoyed the highest enrollment I’ve had since our move to Fairview. Crisana celebrated the end of her preschool years with a special graduation service, and we traveled to South Carolina to witness the close of Taylor’s high school career.

June 2008 was a month of fun! After returning from South Carolina, we enjoyed fun times as Trey’s school year came to an end. Then it was off to summertime activities: the pool and swimming lessons, camps, and day trips. We had a full month, both for the kids and for myself, and we relished the new adventures we experienced every day.

July 2008 was a month of traditions. We reunited with the Stueves for our annual Kaboom-town fest on July 3. The kids and I traveled to Sadler, TX for our annual blueberry-picking day. We began a new tradition of ministry in our home by hosting a Back Yard Bible Club for the neighborhood. And we celebrated my mom’s birthday in grand style with a delicious homemade brunch before her trip to New York.

And that brings us full circle to August 2008. What will characterize this month? I’m not sure. Perhaps it will be a fresh start. Perhaps it will be a month of optimism and hope. Perhaps it will be new friends. But I do know this: though our journey these past twelve months hasn’t always been easy, it has been blessed. We have seen God do some amazing things in our family and we have seen God lead us through some amazingly tough times. We have seen firsthand God’s provision and His faithfulness, and we’ve experienced the blessings of our obedience to His call. I can only imagine what lies ahead for us in the year ahead as we seek to continue on our journey together.

And of course, I’ll be here to record every step along the way. You can count on it.