Serenity in the Suburbs: January 2012

January 1, 2012

Hibernation...Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Happy New Year! 2012 will be a year of a GREAT MANY changes for me and my household, Lord willing! Bryan will leave our home in March for a 3 month internship out in New York. He'll return in mid-May just in time (like, with 24 hours to spare) to attend his college commencement ceremony, and then, two weeks later, will turn around and head back out for a summer internship and possibly a year-long apprenticeship. Amongst the unknowns is the likelihood that, from here on out, he will return to this home only to visit, but not to live. I know it will be bittersweet, but I am happy for him, and I pray that God will bless him and that, in the coming years, He will grant Bryan the desires of his heart...land to farm, sheep, cattle, and chickens to raise, customers to buy the good food he provides, and a family of his own to love and raise for the Lord.

Nathan will leave us in August of this year to go away to college and study electrical engineering. This, too, will be bittersweet and will have its own special anxieties, but, as I am with Bryan, I am happy and excited for Nathan. He has grown up with tremendous challenges, and, with the most beautiful heart of acceptance and obedience to the call of God upon all areas of his life, he has walked with his Lord and has come out the victor in the strength of Christ! I am so incredibly proud of him! Because of Nathan, I have learned so much about submitting to the Lord's will, even when that means suffering and sadness. I know that God has him in the palm of His hand, and I'm excited to see where He takes Nathan in the coming years!

I began blogging in March of 2009. I had a story to tell (it's a free ebook, now), and the story has come full circle. I've said hello to new friendships through blogging, said goodbye to others who've gone from the blogosphere, and have enjoyed reading everyone's stories and the sharing of lives. Yet, I have to admit, I'm tired these days! God has brought, in the last 3 or 4 months, big changes to our lives in our church, our friendships, and our responsibilities to extended family. It's been emotionally draining in so many ways, and I'm in need of a time of some "bloggy-hibernation" now. Inspired by the posts written by Laura Booz titled, "Social Media, Behave!," I've decided it's a good time to re-evaluate what all I'm doing online. For the month of January (and maybe February, too), my desire is to use the creative and physical time and energy I've spent at here at Blogger on the things that are pulling me right here in my own home and in my community. I hope to come back after this month's time of rejuvination, if things ever slow down here! I'll try to visit your blogs now and then to keep in touch while I'm hibernating for a while! Some of us communicate via phone and email...that is always welcome!