Happy New Year

So here we are in the very beginnings of 2011. My new year resolution this year is to be a better blogger. We will see how it goes. I have a lot to be thankful for as this new year begins. I have been remodeling a house and the kitchen and living room are now useable. There's much left to do but these two rooms are a major accomplishment. By the grace of God, if He wills, I shall continue. I finished my bachelors degree in December so this means more time. I am so glad to be done with school but i am already catching myself thinking about a masters degree. Going to school takes away time from the family and now that baby number three is on the way, I think I might hold off for a while.
I can't say that 2010 was without difficulty but I can say that it was filled with God's rich blessings. I love my family, my home, my job, and I find myself in good health. Not that happiness are inherent in these things but God has taught me to be content, and in His will I find happiness. Life for me has become a process of surrendering to God's will. At first, in those early days of faith, I feared I would have to give up so much, but now I see the more I give up the more blessed I am. I never dreamed that my life could have ever of been all that it now is. God truly exceeds all our expectations and desires when we give up our plans to follow His. In the words of Jim Elliot, He is no fool who gives what he can not keep to gain that which he can not lose. But it is only by faith one can come to see this, it is only by faith that I find myself here now. It is not that I ever gave anything up, but in my ignorance was trying to hold on to the ashes of a dying world as if they had some value. But now my eye's have seen that there is a life coming that is not worthy to be compared to the toils we now face.
So, if the Lord wills it, 2011 is another year to be faithful, another year to trust and obey, another years to surrender to God and see where it leads. So far He has exceeded all my expectations.