2009 in Review

I can’t believe that 2009 is winding down over the next 5 hours.  2010 seemed like it was so far away for such a long time and now it is here.  2009 has been a great year and I know that God has even better things in store for us in twentyten.

I posted 3 goals for this year back in January 2009:

1.  Grow in my faith
2.  Grow as a wife and mother
3.  Grow as a leader

Those will probably always be my top three goals..in that order.  In an effort to strategically grow in my faith this year, I signed up to do the One-Year Bible Reading Plan available on YouVersion.com.  It is a great tool to keep you organized and accountable.  I chose to read the English Standard Version for a fresh perspective on some familiar passages.  I finished today’s reading earlier today and now I can officially say that I have read through the entire Bible from cover to cover.  I have read all of the books of the Bible before, but never in a planned or organized way.  I was really excited to find that I am even more familiar with the entire Bible than I realized.  However, I am already praying through my Bible reading plan for 2010.  I always want to be growing in my faith and never become complacent.  At this point, I am definitely kicking off January by studying the book of Nehemiah.

As far as growing as a wife and mother, I can say that this was a busy year!  Emma was only about a month old when 2009 kicked off and Clint and I have loved every moment with our little girl.  Clint is the most amazing husband.  He is so patient and has a huge servant heart.  His patience is a nice balance to my need to be doing something all the time!  We have enjoyed watching Emma discover new things and spend almost every night talking about how incredibly blessed we are to have such a sweet daughter.  One of the things I am the most proud of in this area is the number of days that I intentionally chose to leave work at work.  I left my computer and my to-do list on my desk a number of days in order to demonstrate that the most valuable use of my evening hours is to invest in my family.  We had some great evenings of playing with Emma, watching movies, and just hanging out as a family this year.  This trend will definitely continue!

The final area I wanted to grow in was as a leader.  I believe that growing in my faith and growing as a wife and mom are critical components of this leadership process and it is essential that those two areas come first.  As a leader this year I was very committed to finishing seminary.  I am happy to say that I finished up seminary at Liberty University in October and am so thankful for the gift of education.  I now have seminary behind me and am praying through what educational opportunities the Lord would have me pursue from this point.  I also have had the privilege of serving as our interim middle and upper school principal since the end of October.  It is a goal of mine to be a high school principal, and the past few months have affirmed that in my heart and mind.  I love the team I serve with and take very seriously the mantle of leadership that has been placed on me.  My heart is to continue to grow in this area and see how God’s plan for me continues to unfold.

Over the next few days I will be praying through and seeking God about what specific areas He would lead me to grow in this year.  In about an hour and a half, somewhere around 20 or 30 friends will be coming over to our house to help ring in the new year with our family.  It is such a joy to see the families that God has assembled around ours to hold us accountable, encourage us, and to love doing life with each day.  Thank you Lord for an incredible 2009.  I am so grateful and mindful of your provision for us and we desire to know You more in 2010!

One comment to “2009 in Review”
  1. An inspiration to set goals and see them through for 2010! Reading through the Bible is a MUST! Thank you for sharing

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