Out with the Old

2007 - what a year! We began the year with a fairly new addition to our family (it's amazing how much babies grow in a year; I know it's not that long ago, but we have a difficult time remembering how little Nils was a year ago). I was doing some substitute teaching in Iowa and we were desperately trying to discern what God was calling us to next (maybe trying to rush Him at times to get us out of unemployment quickly).

This is probably a little cliché, but it was a year of growth (and growth is change, which always requires adjustment).

• moving to a new home, in a new country
• making new friends & becoming a party of a new church family
• starting a new ministry & struggling with ministering in a new culture
• learning how to lead in a new role
• being far from home & loved ones

But we've also had a lot of things we've loved about the past year:

• watching Nils learn to walk and start to talk
• seeing Anders learn to ice skate
  
• days spent at the ocean
• camping in the forests at the foothills of the mountains
• exploring a new area
• a wonderful retreat in the mountains of Alberta
  
• new friends and "family"
• a trip back to Iowa and Wisconsin

As we used to say responsively with the camp staff: "God is good, all the time. And all the time, God is good." Which is true--even if we don't understand His goodness at the time.

Thank you for being a part of our 2007. As we go into the unknown of 2008, may you be constantly aware of God's goodness in your life and in all circumstances.