White Christmas & New Year!

Another big snow for NC! We had about 10 inches at our house and the family enjoyed every minute of it. From sledding with friends, to making a snowman, to the hot chocolate afterwards, it was a wonderful event. We know that these moments are to be cherished and remembered and will be all too few once we are in Venezuela. Although we enjoy the snow, we are looking forward to the warm weather there.
I am truly not a fan of winter-time! Maybe that is why the snow is so exciting. Without it, there is just cold, with chapped lips and fly-away hair and sickness that we all spread around while we are all huddled up together trying to stay warm. :D
The holiday season has passed all too swiftly this year. We blinked and it was over. New Year's has come this week and we begin a fresh new year. 2011, for us, will be a year of changes. We will be traveling and traveling and traveling some more, itinerating. And when we are at home, we will be sorting through and selling and/or giving away the material items of our life here in the States. There are moments that really shake me that life is completely changing and I tear up thinking of all that we leave behind. But also in those moments comes the thought of a people who need Jesus and the hope that only He can bring them. What could we possibly give up here that would be worth more than their lives? Our friend Brett just recently made us aware of an amazing Christmas song by Marc Martel and his group Downhere called How Many Kings?  “Bringing our gifts for the newborn savior all that we have whether costly or meek because we believe. Gold for his honor and frankincense for his pleasure and myrrh for the cross he’ll suffer... [For] How many kings, stepped down from their thrones? How many lords have abandoned their homes? How many greats have become the least for me? How many gods have poured out their hearts to romance a world that has torn all apart? How many fathers gave up their sons for me? Only one did that for me.” 
Those words bring it all into the proper perspective for us. What are we willing to give up for Him? We can never match His gift, but we can surely give of ourselves for Him. This new year I pray that my resolutions, or any goals that I set forward to accomplish, may not be based on selfish ambition, but on what I can do for Jesus to honor Him.
Happy New Year!