The Favor of God

Welcome to my first post of 2009. It's actually a recap of the end of 2008. Our December was full, with wonderful, good stuff, so I'm just now updating my blog. One thing that was confirmed to me tenfold this December is that God is good, and He can be so extravagant. He continues to pour out blessings, and sometimes I just stop and say, "Really, God? There's even more?" Yes, apparently He's not done giving to us yet. Thank you, Lord. Jesus was really enough - all of this favor is a bonus, and I'm truly humbled by it.

Early in December we went to Brown County State Park and stayed in a cabin there for a couple of days. It was wonderful! We had about as perfect of a time you can have. There is a small indoor water park area in the inn, and every time we were there we had the whole place pretty much to ourselves. Awesome! We had nice cozy times by the fire, watching wood peckers out the huge windows looking out the back of our cabin. It was just fabulous!

We enjoyed watching Max at his preschool Christmas program! He sang the loudest of the kids - no joke! Praise God that this child who just 2 years ago lacked the confidence to try to speak is now singing the loudest of them all! Only Jesus! I'm looking forward to the end of this school year when I'm able to say, "Thank you, but Max no longer needs speech services" and we'll have, for the second time, experienced God healing developmental delays in our children. He is SO good!

Madison's piano recital held a profound moment for me. The kids would play a Christmas song - for example, Madison played "O Christmas Tree". It would be very simple, just the straight melody. THEN, the teacher would come and play with them. The kids would play exactly what they did before, but now the teacher would play an additional part and this very basic tune would become this full and deep song. As I sat there, the Lord spoke to me and said, "This is all I want. I want you to give me your song, your basic little tune, and let me add the fullness and depth. I can do so much with the little you have if you'll just let me." I noticed that the kids were different with the teacher next to them. They sat a little straighter and played a little better, were less nervous, now that the "master" was joining them. I want to play my song with my Master, and not hold back because I think it's not enough. He takes what I surrender to Him, and it becomes MORE then enough. Wow, is He good!

We had great times celebrating with family this year. My family Christmas was early due to some people having to work on Christmas Day, but it worked out great. I love them and feel blessed to have them all. We also went to see my Grandma Deak, who is closing in on age 92. I love her, and love that my kids love to go see their great-grandma. Christmas Eve was spent at Vineyard with my mom, and then off to deliver donuts to the fire station and Hollywood Video (part of an outreach our church does). Then we had dinner at home before we were joined by my friend Dana and her daughters. We celebrated the Morehouse Christmas on the 26th, and were glad to make it to Goshen in spite of the ridiculous amount of ice that closed major roads. We had a great time opening gifts and playing games, a family favorite.

Christmas Day was just for us, with grandparents dropping by to check out the new stuff. Our kids were so super fun this year - excited and grateful for everything. The big excitement was the Wii we bought the family. We gave it to them last and they screamed and then Madison yelled, "God bless this family!" Yeah, I think He just did! The kids were equally excited to give the gifts they had picked out and it was neat to see them react and respond to each other. Ryan had this whole holiday off, so we've had so much free time to relax and play games, put together models and legos, watch movies, and just BE together. I'm so blessed to have them all. God truly is good. He has given me more than I asked for or imagined. I'm so grateful today for His favor, for His goodness, for His mercy, and for His love.

Here are some pictures! My fabulous family at the cabin in Brown County:

The kids outside the cabin.

Drinking hot chocolate by the fire in the cabin.

My big brother and me.

My sisters, Mom Deak, and me.

The kids with Great-Grandma Deak.

One of the many fun presents!

Someone's bright idea for a pose at the Morehouse Christmas - Ryan's brother and his wife are on the left; his sister and her husband are on the right.

The kids with Grandpa and Grandma Morehouse.