From This Side of Thirty: Ringing Out the Old Year

* I took some time yesterday to “unsubscribe” on many of the email lists I have inadvertently been subscribed to over the last ten-ish years. It was such a liberating and releasing kind of experience. I definitely recommend it. I also found it highly ironic that 2 of the many websites I “unsubscribed” from sent me AN EMAIL saying, “We won’t be sending any more emails.” Not necessary, but thank you for ending our relationship on a humorous note.

*I sold my business in July of this last year. I owned an embroidery and gift shop with my sister-in-law Stacy for over 5 years. So in August, I started working for 2 of the greatest kids on planet earth…as their teacher…in our home. Wow! That has been a wild ride…and we are lovin’ every minute of it. When I ended my career in the embroidery business, my other new employer became my husband…I can’t even write this without realizing what a recipe for disaster this sounds like. Bless it. We bought a new feed truck, upped our cow numbers a bit and now I am responsible for feeding the herd. This time of year that means 3 times a week I go to 3 different places and feed our stock. It also involves putting out hay and knowing when to do it, counting to make sure all cattle are accounted for, and watching carefully for any sickness or illness in the bunch. Now that you better understand my job description and the standards Ole Jus will be holding me to, I’ll say it again…recipe for disaster. The only thing I might have going for me is that lil Zane is usually with me on our feed expeditions and he can pretty much do everything himself at 10 years old…and better than 30-year-old me. My only job security is that I have a driver’s license. I’m thinking 2015 will bring us many laughing (and crying) moments from the feed truck and all that entails.

*2014 wasn’t such a great year in our church. We had a pastor who was a very poor fit for our congregation and ultimately ended up leaving pretty suddenly. Fortunately, we had an awesome interim appointed to serve our church in the aftermath. She made some much needed changes and I think taught a few people that change isn’t always a bad thing. This past Sunday was her last week with us. It makes me sad to see her go, but excited to see what the New Year has in store for our church. I have really high expectations for the pastor that will step into our pulpit this week. It’s hard to see the devil working in our faith community, but as the New Year commences there is no doubt that this is a great new beginning for First United Methodist Church in Jacksonville will show God’s triumph working in his house.

*Part of this blog’s purpose is to write about life experiences with the hope that someone will read what I’ve written and laugh, cry, grow closer to Christ and be able to meet the imperfect days ahead with hope and reassurance that reality in family and marriage isn’t always how perfect we expected it to be. The deeper more solid foundation this blog is built upon is the desire for my kids to be able to read and reread the stories I tell about them, learn from the mistakes I’ve already made ahead of them, and to see how God is constantly changing me and using the world around me (including them) to do it.

I have stood in the final days of most years and been able to look back and say, “It’s been a good one.” The one where my marriage to Ole Jus was on the verge of disintegration doesn’t seem too overloaded with pleasant memories. One of my greatest lessons and testimony I have to tell is how our marriage spent months knocking on divorce’s door. It’s a story I want to scream from the rooftops in today’s society saying, “If we can do it, anyone can do it!” More importantly I want our 4 kids to understand that when they fall in love and get married they will likely be surprised by the days and months and years that lie ahead. There will be bad ones and many, many great ones. But if you stick around long enough and stay close to God…He can work miracles in anyone’s life. I’m sure you can expect to see a few posts in 2015 about how God worked us through some terrible times in our married life and how he is still working to make me a better wife for Ole Jus.