Reflection Questions for 2009

1. What was the single best thing that happened this past year?

Shoshana joined our family.

2. What was the single most challenging thing that happened?

Shoshana joined our family.

3. What was an unexpected joy this past year?

The first time Shoshana showed stranger anxiety which was IMMEDIATELY remedied as soon as she saw me again. She refused to take her eyes off me again until her next nap.

4. What was an unexpected obstacle?

Staying sane when Shoshana cried. Never expected that one.

5. Pick three words to describe 2009.

What the heck?! (seriously)

6. Pick three words your spouse would use to describe your 2009 (don’t ask them; guess based on how you think your spouse sees you).

I love you. :)

7. Pick three words your spouse would use to describe their 2009 (again, without asking).

Growing pains, incredible!

8. What were the best books you read this year?

Rebel With A Cause, by Franklin Graham. I've been challenged with the concept of "God room." i.e. seeing a need and committing to provide for that need even when it seems impossible, giving God room to work and get all the glory.

9. With whom were your most valuable relationships?

My husband

My daughter

My mom

10. What was your biggest personal change from January to December of this past year?

Wife ----> Mother

11. In what way(s) did you grow emotionally?

It took me a while to allow myself to love Shoshana (and I'm still working on it) because I'm still dealing with my trust issues with God. It is rather scary to let your heart grow to allow for another person in there because it also allows for incredible pain. Please pray for me that I would continue to get to know God's heart and learn to trust him no matter what challenges he allows in my life.

12. In what way(s) did you grow spiritually?

A few months ago the Lord showed me that my quiet time had devolved into "I'm supposed to do this" rather than "I want to do this" and I felt he wanted me to back off from that mentality. My relationship with Him had become more of a duty and less of a relationship. He then brought to mind the verse "Be still and know that I am God." He impressed upon me that he wanted me to develop our relationship by meditating on Him and constantly being in an attitude of prayer and putting away the "daily quiet hour" until it became more of an act of love rather than duty.

Fast forward to this last week. Tim and I have been brainstorming on writing a really meaty song about Christ which may be added to the Christmas repertoire (but would also apply to any other season). In doing so we have discussed the idea of what God really wants from us. He made us for a purpose. What was that purpose? My answer was "worship." But upon discussing what "worship" means and what I mean by the term "worship" I realized that my concept was completely wrong. I was thinking of singing, praying, "doing" quiet time, and "doing" lots of other things. But God really wants friendship. "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." He wants to hang out with us. And in that process we learn to appreciate him and what is important to him. Then, because we appreciate him and value his friendship we change our actions accordingly.

I was missing the step of "hanging out" with Christ and becoming his friend and skipping right to the "dos" and "do nots." Not that those good actions were wrong, I was just losing sight of why. Praise the Lord for dealing with me patiently and graciously. He has brought a lot of hard knocks recently so it is refreshing to have a quieter, calmer lesson plan. Please pray that I will transition back into specific daily quiet time with the Lord and not lose sight of why at the same time.

13. In what way(s) did you grow physically?

I had a baby. Let's just leave it at that.

Or, let's not. How many of you continued to wear maternity clothes for 6 months plus post-partum? Am I the only one? My new year's resolution is to get out of the house and do some concentrated physical activity six days a week. Right now I'm coaching volleyball twice a week plus weekend tournaments and most of the time my activity level during a practice counts as a workout for me. So now I just have to pack Shoshana up in the stroller and walk around the neighborhood 4 days a week (minus tournament weekends).

14. In what way(s) did you grow in your relationships with others?

I'm not entirely sure what this question means and I'm not inclined to answer it anyway.

15. What was the most enjoyable area of managing your home?

The animals. I love doing their daily care even if I don't always get to it. I find it completely relaxing to take care of the chickens and just watch them for a bit. I also really enjoy vegetable gardening. We had a wonderful harvest this year despite our bad soil conditions. We ate a lot of fresh veggies for a few months there and even had extras to give to another family. I got lots of things canned which will allow for healthier eating and lots of healthy (and tasty) baby foods for Shoshana. Sometimes when I feel overwhelmed just the sight of the shelves full of my homegrown and canned goods helps me feel better. Maybe now I'll get around to posting the canning photos with corresponding descriptions.

16. What was your most challenging area of home management?

Keeping the floors clean. I like to have clean floors but I can't clean the bathroom floor and the mirror on the same day because of my weak shoulders. It also takes two days to clean everything in the bathroom for the same reason. Tim has promised to help keep the hard floors clean but I don't like to remind him to do it. Therefore, it doesn't get done. Sometimes I spot clean in the kitchen by pushing around a rag with my foot.

17. What was your single biggest time waster in your life this past year?

Recorded TV. Because it is recorded a 1 hour program takes 40 minutes (minus commercials) so I am tempted to watch a lot more in a row than I would have otherwise.

18. What was the best way you used your time this past year?

Doing the garden and canning everything I could.

19. What was the biggest thing you learned this past year?

See question 12.

20. Create a phrase or statement that describes 2009 for you.

Didn't I already do that? See above.