When I was little I always told my Dad that I couldn't wait to grow up. I wanted to do what my older sibings did, I wanted to stay up late, I wanted to know what everyone else seemed to know, I wanted to be out on my own...and my Dad would always say, "Time goes by faster the older you get; you'll grow up soon enough."
Boy, was he ever right! It's the year 2012 already and I would consider myself to be quite grown up! Perhaps some people would still say that I am a child, or too young to know many things, but I suppose that's their opinion. I don't claim to be wise or have the answers for much of anything, but I know that I feel more grown up after the past year.
In April Andrew & I moved to Florida to work in a ministry for teenage foster girls...that was the hardest, most challenging thing that I've done so far in my life! We lived with them for 6 months and I fell in love with some of the girls and learned so much about teenagers (perhaps more than I ever wanted to know! haha) but in October we decided to come back "home" to Minnesota and although I still feel bad for leaving sometimes, I know that leaving that ministry was the right thing for us to do. We had some personal differences from the heart of the ministry and we didn't want to be in the way of the purpose and heart of what was happening there.
Since moving back, I found a job at Columbia Heights Elementary Schools (Northpark & Highland) working with disadvantaged kids and their families to engage them in learning and giving them resources they need to succeed. I'm basically a glorified mentor/counselor to the kids and their siblings/parents. I love my job! The kids are so darn cute and I feel so passionate about helping them; giving them a good start to their education. Many of them are homeless. Many of them only have 1 parent, or no parents in the picture. Many of them don't have good clothes or enough food at home to go around to keep them full. One of my goals this year is that I want them to know that no matter what may happen at home or outside of the walls of the school, that when they spend time with me they are cared about, respected and loved. My goal this year is to make a difference in their daily lives, even if it's just making them smile :)
In December (after 6 weeks of living with my wonderful parents) we moved into a beautiful townhome in Lino Lakes. It's the perfect location for us. Close to the big city (15-20 minute drive) and yet surrounded by trees, lakes, skiing & biking/walking trails, and it has the small town feel. We moved in and it felt like home immediately! We are so grateful to both have jobs in this economy and to be near once again to our family.
For Christmas we were able to spend time with family!!! What a blessing to be near to all of them again, even Tami and her little boys came all the way from Germany to celebrate with us. We had 4 different Christmases and celebrated Andrew's 26th Birthday :) He's afraid that he's getting old, but I assured him that you're not old until you're 30 ;) haha
Anyways, we are excited to see what God has in store for us this year. I'm expecting alot of stretching...and perhaps even some more growing up.
___________________________________
My New Years Resolutions:
WEIGHT RELATED:
· Finally Get to Goal Weight with a bmi of 20.5 – 21 (About 8lbs to go)
· Don’t be a slug – Be active!!! (walking, jogging, working out) at least 30 minutes per day
SPIRITUALLY RELATED:
· Read a devotion with Andrew every weekday
· Find a church & get involved in something
PERSONALLY RELATED:
· Write a “just because” letter to someone at least once per month
WORK RELATED:
· Make a child smile everyday
· Tell people when I need help
No comments:
Post a Comment