New Beginnings

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven 

 Ecclesiastes 3:1

Fall in Southern Indiana, 2009

For the longest time Winter was my favorite season. I was born in the winter and grew up where we periodically had snow. I lived most of my adult life in Florida and I think I romanticized Winter, I longed for the coolness and the white blanket of snow that covered a multitude of imperfections. Since I have lived in Indiana for the past few years I have learned to love all seasons again and I especially love the change that takes place in the world around us.

This time of physical change in God's amazing creation always brings about a time of self-reflection for me. My life has been full of change, some of it good and some not so good. With each change in my life I have been given to opportunity to use that change to launch a new beginning. I have begun to see that each change, whether it's a door opening or a door closing, is an opportunity from God to draw closer to His plan for my life. I am learning to seek His guidance in everything.

So, in this transition to autumn I have been reflecting on so much in my life, and looking forward to the New Beginnings there are to come.


Jason and I both have wonderful jobs...we are by no means rich, and honestly we struggle each month to pay the bills and have extras, but we are comfortable...we have a roof over our heads, we have food in the pantry and clothes on our backs. But we had both been feeling lately that we are not fulfilling our purpose and we are due for a change. And so we have made some changes that we feel are following God's will for our lives and our family. We took a leap of faith and I left my position at the hospital and began babysitting a few children at home. I also became a Jamberry Nails consultant...I love this product and this business! I am absolutely loving being home with our babies during the day! Jason started a new position at our church, working directly under the head maintenance and grounds guy. This has been a huge positive for our family and we are very excited to see what all is in store for us.

Bible Study Time

Right now I am desperately trying to get our house in order. Since we moved in just over a year ago, we haven't truly gotten it decluttered and organized the way we like. I'm attempting to break the daunting task down into baby steps. I've tried various programs, email reminders, charts, etc... But I've come to realize I have to do it in a way that makes sense to me. So, here's the beginning of my plan (trying not to over think it): (1) Conquer Laundry Mountain and develop a routine that keeps it under control. (2) Keep kitchen in check by at least getting dishes done every day. (3) Make sure toys in living room get picked up at nap time and bedtime. It takes 21 days to create a habit (I think it's 21...), so by next month I'll be ready for the next part of my plan. I think at that point I will be ready to go through the book 31 Days to a Clutter Free Life by Ruth Soukup. In the meantime, I'm going to get back to reading her book Living Well Spending Less and get back on track with my inductive Bible study of Romans.

 Our babies have grown and changed so much...all five of them! Elisabeth is a senior in high school and anticipating college. She's starting her first job and will eventually get her driver's license. Joseph is an 8th grader and is excelling in school. Margaret is in 3rd grade and is busy with friends. Joseph ad Margaret are with their dad during the school year and so we keep up with all the going-ons through phone and Facebook. Abby Sue is 2 now, she is so, so smart and has developed an awesome personality. Logan just turned 1 and is an awesome little man. They both adore their siblings and bring such joy to our lives. All of our children do!

Kids, July 2015

Perhaps the most  telling change is the growth in faith that I have experienced. I will write more in depth on this in upcoming posts.


I have a plan to resurrect this blog. I hope to be able to focus on a few topics and write daily in a more focused way. I gain such joy from the written word, whether my own or in reading what someone else has written. My prayer is that my words may be a blessing to those who read them.