The View From Here

The end of a year provides people with a landmark they can use for different reasons.  Some people use it as an excuse to party because they made it through another year.  Others use it as a time to make a new start on aspects of their life that they want to change.  I will use it as both a time to celebrate and a time to look to the new year that God has given me, but first I want to look back on the blessings that filled 2007 in no particular order.

• South Side Baptist Church has been a huge blessing in my life this year.  Lacey and I finally managed to join the church this year even though we have been involved in leading worship there since Summer 2006.  The people at this church are so genuine.  The teaching that goes on encourages people to be real with themselves and each other.  Being involved in leading God’s people to worship has also been a huge growing experience and a huge blessing.
• We have been truly blessed by the friends and family that God has put in our lives, some new and some old.  We have made some very close and dear friends at church who encourage us so much in our walk with the Lord.  We have also been blessed by the friends that God has allowed to move closer to us.  I can’t say enough about the family God has put us in.  We are so blessed to have families that love the Lord.
• I am so thankful that the Lord has put me into a new job this year.  His timing is always perfect.  Things at the bank were starting to get hard to deal with.  I know that God doesn’t always take us out of hard situations and that He uses those to grow us but I am thankful the He placed me where He has.  The company I work for has Godly leadership and it is amazing to see the difference that makes in the work atmosphere.
• Lacey and I purchased a new house this year!  We had been looking for a while and I had thought that we would have to wait a while because we could not find something we liked in our price range.  Then we happened upon a house (that we had know about for a while, we just hadn’t looked at it) that was exactly what we were looking for.  Again, I can see God’s hand at work here.  If we hadn’t shopped around first to see things we were looking for we might not have known that this was the house.  The timing couldn’t have been more perfect as well. We looked at this house for the first time two days before we had to put in our notice on our apartment.  God’s timing is perfect.
• Lacey and I had the opportunity to travel some this year.  This is something we really want to do as a couple.  Granted, we started small but that is to be expected.  We made it to Dripping Springs to visit some friends and spend some time in Fredericksburg.  We also made it to Dallas to visit my brother and sister-in-law and we threw in the Ft. Worth Zoo while we were in the area.  I had the opportunity to travel to Canada for work this year as well.  It wasn’t exactly a trip for pleasure but I did get to fly on the company jet and see a part of the world that I hadn’t yet.
• We are very blessed to be able to participate in helping people who live in a part of the world that isn’t affluent like America is.  God has given us some money and we are able to give that to Compassion International and Mission of Mercy.  I have said it before but I will say it again: if you have money to give, I can’t think of a better gift than to give these children a chance to meet Jesus.
• God has shown me, vicariously through others, the preciousness and brevity of the life he has given us.  Several people around me have lost loved ones and I have seen what it looks like to have a peace that only God can give.  This has been a blessing in two ways.  First, it has reminded me that I am surrounded by people who are perishing everyday and I have the opportunity to share Jesus with them.  Second, I know that I will lose a loved one someday and it has given me some preparation and peace to see others around me go through this.  God does bless people through adversity.
• I know this post is getting really long and I apologize to your eyes but I have one left.  This is a fun one so it is worth the read.  As big as most of the above things are it is important to recognize God’s blessings even in the little things.  Super Mario Galaxy has been a blessing to my wife and me.  There are only a few games out there that we can enjoy together and this is one of them that gives us some quality time while enjoying one of my favorite pastimes.

As you can see, God has been very active in my life this past year.  Even as we look forward to the new year I would encourage each of you to think back on all the ways God has blessed your life in 2007.

Brian

This is something that I have been waiting on for about two years. When I was dating Lacey, she and her family introduced me to this restaurant and no Chinese food has been able to compare since. In fact, I wasn’t even a big fan of Chinese food until I started eating here. I liked it well enough but it was not my favorite type of food. Thanks to Szechuan Chinese food now ranks very highly on my list. They closed a couple years back to take a vacation and build a new building, depriving me and many others of their delectable food and the waiting began.

We kept hearing that they were planning on opening in August. That didn’t happen. Then we heard September. That didn’t happen either. Now, finally, in December they opened the doors of their new building and we were there. First of all, the building is beautiful. As you walk to the front door you are greeted by a small bridge crossing a beautiful pond. The inside of the building is covered in wood grains, granite, and etched glass. The wait was long but that was to be expected on opening night. The atmosphere inside is amazing the the attention to detail is very noticeable. People were even commenting on how comfortable the chairs at the tables were. The entire kitchen area is walled in by glass so that you can watch the chefs at work. I think this also gives a piece of mind to those who might worry about how their food is prepared. Speaking of the food, it was amazing. If you like something a little spicy I highly recommend the General Tsu’s Chicken. I tried a little of everything we had at the table and all of it seemed to be of the highest quality. If you live in Abilene or are traveling through, you should definitely stop in and give it a try.

Brian

Rating:

I love everything about vacations and holidays except for one thing: by the time it is over you feel you need a vacation from your vacation. I think employers should give their employees an extra day to catch up on sleep and take a break from all the busyness. Just another idea of mine that will probably never happen.

Somehow, even with all the running around this year, we had a great Christmas. I didn’t doubt that we would. We spent the first part of the weekend with my wife’s family. This is always entertaining (in a good way). I love her family. My brother and his wife (and their dog) came in to town for a lengthy stay and we spent the latter part of the weekend with them. I have noticed that the older I get the more I appreciate my family. I know that I appreciated them before but it just seems so much more so now. Christmas day itself was a whirlwind. Lacey and I spent the first little bit of the morning together at home then we headed to my parents house to do gift time with my family. Then we headed up to Primetime for Christmas with my extended family. We didn’t have much time to spend there so we left before the Chinese gift exchange. Next we went to Lacey’s parents house to eat and exchange gifts. We watched Elf (of course) and the new Brian Regan DVD. If you haven’t heard Mr. Regan’s comedy you really should try it. As typical as all these things are of Christmas’s I have celebrated in the past, it is still just as special.

Through all of this it seemed to me that Christ got buried in a mound of gifts and food. It seemed like we were celebrating the gifts and people we were around. That is where all the attention was going. I really don’t know how do amend this. I don’t even know if I need to change it. I guess this is something I need to be praying about. I don’t feel that Jesus was left out of the celebration, I just can’t say with all honesty that he was the overwhelming focus. How do we focus in and make this aspect the biggest part?

Lord, thank you for sending your Son into the world to die and save us so that we could walk in a manner worthy of You in order to show Your greatness to the world. Help me to walk in You so that others will see Your Son in me everyday.

Brian

And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ 

Mat 25:40 

As Christians we have the joy of giving to the work of Christ throughout the world. We give our time and money to further the cause of Christ so that others may come to know Him as we do. It is such a privilege when we come across another avenue that we can participate in the work that is going on in the world to make the name of Christ great. Before we were married, my wife had sponsored a child through the organization Mission of Mercy named Bethelehem. We give a little of our money each month that goes to a child in another part of the world that needs food, education, shelter, and, most importantly, Jesus. In the middle of October we decided to sponsor another child through Compassion International.  His name is Juvernal. It is such a blessing to know that our money is going to help a child somewhere else. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to make a difference in a child’s life. The difference goes far beyond food and shelter. It presents to them the most amazing gift that exists: Jesus. If you are trying to find a place to put your money to work for God please consider using it in this way.

Brian

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