Wow – how to recap the ups and downs of this year. Have you taken time to do this?

 

The year started off with a tour of the Holy Lands. Several major appliances breaking. Graduation of the college student living with us. Quick cancer discovery and hospital stays with my Dad. Family camp. Pre-marital counseling & an outdoor wedding. Home hospice care. Both of our cars totaled in a city-wide flood. Coffee with several authors/people who have impacted us with their ministries. The loss of my Father. Initiation of a campus prayer team & class. Writing a handbook on transformative prayer. Dozens of days sick as a family and on breathing treatments. Traveling for the first time to speak together. 3 hamster funerals. Lots of packaging ornaments and trips to the Post Office. A million tears of both joy and grief. 

 

The highs were so high and the lows so low that my stomach has barely recovered from the ride. 

I’ve stood behind a mic both to express the power of healing prayer to a congregation and before a weeping crowd for my dad’s eulogy. Neither had I dreamed of doing when 2018 began.  

 

There were days so great that you almost forgot the sad days you fought to get through.  

And days of such despair that you can’t even fathom those joyful days when you stood amazed at God’s work.

Do you know the feeling?

 

 

 

I recently heard a testimony about the relative of a cancer victim saying, “I hate the plan, but I love the Planner.” My ups and downs help me to find both ends of that statement as true. 

 

HE is teaching us to find rest on the midst of crisis.

And that life will never be all smooth – we must cling to His promise to gift us what we need through His Spirit.

And we must lay down what lies in the way of us receiving that. That is where His abundant life is found.     

 

These will be the takeaways from a tumultuous 2018. 

 

On top of these private matters, in our more public life and thoughts, this has been an interesting full first year as bloggers, learning the online world and maintaining our commitment to have the family time in our lives that we like to write about! I will not lose my family so I can find time to write a story about good parenting! 😉 

This list has renewed my desire to pursue what we do intentionally as parents and how we pass on “traditions” all year, with purpose. Creating intentional traditions has so many more chances for opportunity than just during the Christmas season and seeing what interested our readers re-iterated that!

 

So, thank you, to those in-person friends who have brought us meals, taken care of our kids, cleaned our house and brought me coffee – you have a been a lifeline. And thank you to my on-line friends who have read, cried and told me about it, sent encouraging words and prayed for my family. You are each in the category of blessings for this year!   

 

Our Top 5 Popular Posts this Year:

1. 5 Spoken & Unspoken Lessons from a Day with Sally Clarkson – The importance of influences that impact our traditions

2. Everyday is Someone Else’s Awful Hospital Day – Creating a tradition of reaching out to others even when we are in crisis

3. How I Took the Stress out of Swimsuit Season – Passing on a tradition of consistency as a disciple of Jesus

4. How Almost Ruining my Son Led to my Spiritual Renewal – The tradition of us changing in light of our children’s needs

5. A Prayer for When you Just Can’t Feel Thankful – A tradition of laying down our burdens in exchange for God’s peace; even when we don’t feel like it

 

What was your favorite?

 

 

 

We are learning the strength, community and beauty of partnering with other writers, creatives and ministries. It brings a greater depth to what we are all working toward, which is the same goal – communicating life with God and drawing others onto that path. In partnership and support of many other great websites, here are some that we partnered with this year: 

Some Intentional Traditions Guest Posts & Features for 2018

• Getting to the Heart Issue: What Allergies Revealed about my Faith at The Thin Place
• Finding Rest in the Midst of Crisis at My Cup Runs Over
• 10 Ideas to Celebrate a Jesse Tree Advent with Toddlers at Living Free Indeed
• Created to Glorify: Jennifer’s Jesse Tree at Created to Glorify
• Shining the Spotlight on Intentional Traditions Jesse Tree at Woman of Noble Character
• How Almost Ruining my Emotional Son Led to My Spiritual Renewal at Traces of Faith
• Spotlight Writer at Be Thee Inspired
• Feeling Overwhelmed Being a Stay at Home Mom? at Rapt Motherhood

 

 

Thanks for stepping with us into 2019!

Jen & Don Love