Overwhelmed In A Good Way

First from God through the Sons of Korah:
Psalm 84 (ESV)

How lovely is your dwelling place,
O LORD of hosts!
My soul longs, yes, faints
for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and flesh sing for joy
to the living God.

Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O LORD of hosts,
my King and my God.
Blessed are those who dwell in your house,
ever singing your praise!

Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
As they go through the Valley of Baca
they make it a place of springs;
the early rain also covers it with pools.
They go from strength to strength;
each one appears before God in Zion.

O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer;
give ear, O God of Jacob!
Behold our shield, O God;
look on the face of your anointed!

For a day in your courts is better 
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
For the Lord God is a sun and a shield;
the Lord bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does he withhold
from those who walk uprightly.
O Lord of hosts,
blessed is the one who trusts in you!

Second from me:

The Lord has been moving in my heart and I'm beginning to grasp this truth: 
"No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly". 

He has been turning my heart to make my prayer,
"I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness."

Honestly, I'm positively tickled by the fact that my favorite bird, the sparrow shows up in this chapter! 

Our God is so worthy of our trust and of our praise. He is a sun, bringing light to the world. He is a shield, bringing protection from the enemy. He sees me whole, holy and made perfect through the blood of Christ Jesus, his anointed. And because of Christ, I am brought near to the sinless, Almighty God. I am allowed into the courts of the living God. 

Whenever I meditate on these things, David's exclamation from Psalm 139 bursts from my heart, "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me!"

Knowing I can believe these truths found in the infallible Word of God makes any day a good day. 

Overwhelmed, but in a good way,
Betkany

With a Backward Glance...

Last week I found this written in a journal from November 2008.

“I just now realized my prayer of June 23rd has been coming true. God answered my “growing up” request by letting things NOT go the way I want and making me take [life] by the horns and deal with it. Wow. God answered that prayer, and I’ve been complaining. How stupid of me. I guess this is all just part of the growing process.”

I remember that day, reading backwards through my journals and seeing all the difficulties I recorded going through, and then I found my prayer to be grown written at the very beginning of all of those trials. I remember being hit with the realization that God was answering my prayer and I hadn’t even recognized it.

Thinking about that again today, I am in awe of the fact that God would hang on to me, and continue to work on me, even when I was essentially accusing him for putting me through the growth I asked for. He is so patient and loving, I can hardly believe it!

I love to journal, and while it’s so very important to not “live in the past” (because I’ll miss out on today), some great things that can come from re-visiting where we’ve been are:

1. We will be reminded of things God has already taught us -- that we may or may not still be applying to life.
2. We can see where God has taken us from and be encouraged to see where He’s brought us to.
3. We can use our experiences from times gone by to bless, encourage or challenge others.

It’s always amazing and humbling and encouraging and convicting to read through my own life. There’s times when I thought I had it all together, and I laugh because I SO didn’t. There’s times I was completely broken and depleted and turned to all the wrong sources before turning to God, the true source of healing and fulfillment. It’s hard to read over some of that, but it’s always a helpful reminder to not go that path again. Then, there are all the WOW stories. The times I had faith and God moved. The blessings and even miracles I’ve experienced. The little things God did for me that I don’t always remember off the top of my head. Like a great conversation with a friend, or an answer to a deep question or desire coming at just the right time. Reading all of this brings the desire to get deeper into my relationship with God... and to see what He will do next.

I encourage you to reflect on the work God has done in your life, and thank Him for it! Then press on, refreshed in Him!

 If you can’t see any works, I would encourage you to turn to God with a willing heart and ask Him to work in you. Then, watch as He moves.
If you don’t have a personal relationship with God, none of this will be possible. I ache for you, because without God, life is so empty and futile... no matter how “fine” it may seem right now. I beg you to seek Him. He is so good, so loving, so caring and so much more than I can even describe. And He longs to show himself to you, He desires a personal relationship with you. He loves you.


Mmmhmmm. Mmmmmmmhmmmm.

Betkany

Mornings, Evenings and Little Wonderfuls

it’s been a while since I last wrote, and I still don’t have time now, but I’m writing anyway!

Here’s some of what’s been going on:

I recently started revamping my time with the Lord, because it was slowly moving down the line of priorities. I really wanted to spend time in the Word before I started my day because that helps give me a good starting perspective, but I also wanted to spend time at night, so my thoughts would be good and my dreams (hopefully) sweet as I drifted off to sleep. However, doing both sounded overwhelming because I had no structure to use, so often I'd end up skipping. (I’m a person who loves schedules, check-lists, etc.) *sigh*
When I ran into this book, I got so excited, it’s just what I’ve been needing!
The Book: Morning and Evening

The Authors: originally Spurgeon’s thoughts on the KJV, now modernized by Alistair Begg using the ESV.

It’s one full page per day, and that’s it! half in the morning, half in the evening, like the title says. Spurgeon expounds on a verse, or a few verses in each section, and it always gives me something to chew on. Then I’ll supplement it with readings from the Psalms or one of Paul’s letters, and it’s suddenly so much easier for my whole day to stay on track, from start to finish!

God knew I needed to find that book when I did, and I’m so glad He led me to it. It’s been a huge blessing.

And then, there have been those little wonderfuls I’m so fond of recording for you all.
Like, one day I was craving a Sonic lemon slush, like you wouldn’t believe. The next day, I was craving it even more while I was at work. So much, in fact, that I was considering posting about it on FB and seeing if anyone nearby wanted to bring me one. Well, I dismissed that idea pretty quickly as I thought of all the possible complications to posting a drink request on FB. I kid you not- it wasn’t even ten minutes later, my coworker walked in and said that our director was stopping at Sonic on the way back from an appointment and wanted to know if I wanted anything. How COOL is that?! God was, hmmmmm, “romancing” me i guess I’ll say. He was doing those sweet little things that only someone who truly, deeply cares about me on every level would know about and do without my asking.
Then, the very next day, He was sweet, but in a practical way. You see, my office is on one end of the education wing in HPBC, and the chapel (where I teach lessons) is on the other side. If I forget to bring something from my office, it’s not so fun to walk back and get it... and when there are already kids in the chapel, it’s impossible to leave at all. So that day, I only forgot one thing: my phone. It’s my clock while I teach. There’s no other clock that I can look at in the chapel. Well, at least there wasn’t before. So I realized my phone wasn’t there, and I couldn’t leave the chapel because there were kids... what was I going to do?! Well, I looked up to ask one of the teachers to give me a five minute warning and low and behold, BLARING from the back of the room was a new, giant, bright red digital clock! I couldn’t help but laugh at how sweet God was being to me!

He cares so much about me, and I love spending time with Him. I’ve been learning to surrender every wish, desire, hope and dream to Him trusting that He will only give me back what is His best for me. I only do this because I know that I know that I know He loves me. He continues to prove His deep and undying love for me every day, even though He really already did enough to prove His love when he sent Jesus to earth to pay the penalty for my sins. 

Something I’ve been singing a lot to Allie lately is this:
God is so good

God is so good

God is so good

He’s so good to me.

It’s true (:
God is good, even when I am not. God is faithful, even when I am unfaithful. God is love, even when I am unlovely. There are no words to say how thankful I am that God is unchanging and that I am His.

just living,

Bethany

Oh, Oh, we need each other!

i’ve now officially crossed to the other side of the world, and the only time i have to write seems to be at 5am in the morning, when i’m wide awake because of TMJ and Jet Lag. 

I realized something yesterday. You see, i’ve been reading Scripture my whole reading life, and I love Scripture, BUT there was always something weird going on with the book of Proverbs. It’s one of the only books of the Bible that I would literally have to force myself to read. And I would just read it in hopes that the words would stick, even though I wasn’t enjoying it.

Well, my dear Rachel and I have been reading a chapter from the New Testament and a chapter from Proverbs every morning, and yesterday, it occurred to me that I really looked forward to what wisdom we might find in Proverbs that day. And as I read through the chapter, my mind was constantly “check-marking” good ideas for me to apply. 

Basically, some time in the past few months, I’ve fallen in love with the book of Proverbs. Finally, after twenty-billion years of reading scripture. (yay! it’s about time :P)

I think it has a lot to do with a book called “Girls Gone Wise in a world gone wild” by Mary Kassian. The way that Mary presented the wisdom found in so many proverbs made me crave for more wisdom, more insight, more knowledge of how to please God. More wisdom on how to bless others, live right, and live well.

There are just some things in my Christian walk that I don’t quite understand why they are so hard for me to do, but then overnight, they’ll become my favorite thing! Along with prayer for a changed heart, it takes the right kind of encouragement, at just the right time for this to happen. Like how Mary Kassian was there in my life at just the right time, I so want to be in other’s lives at just the right time.

It’s such a good reminder to get into other people’s business (in a sweet and loving way, of course) because you just might be that one person at that one time that makes the difference their life was needing. And when you are, the glory goes to God, because you have followed His leading, and changed a life for His Kingdom’s sake. 

That’s what I want to be- a person who steps in and out of lives, according to God’s Will. Having the right things to say and knowing the best ways to encourage. I know i can never be perfect at it, but I am getting better at it, every year. And I learn by experience, from those around me who feed Godliness into my life, by those who take the time to care about me, my problems, my weaknesses, my joys. 

One of the best teachers is experience, so let’s go around making each other’s experiences worthwhile, especially in the body of Christ. 

Cause as the lead singer from Sanctus Real says (I’m blanking on his name this early in the morning) “Oh, Oh, we need each other!"

Thank you, every believer who has made a difference in my life, who has put time into teaching me, correcting me, encouraging me. I’d be nowhere good, if you hadn’t! 

Keep up the good work... or join in, if you haven’t already!

Betkany

faith like a seedling

Today was pretty great. it was long, but still great. lots of great things happened. lots of great conversations happened. i’m not gonna talk about them though... you’ll just have to take my word for it when i say, “it was great!”

But ya know what? 

There was one thing today that stood out as the greatest of them all.

 It was this teeny, tiny little sprout.

no bigger than a pin-head. 

I planted some seeds gathered from a flower last summer. I planted them a long time ago. I faithfully watered and sun-bathed the little cups they were in. I waited and waited. Nothing grew. I gave them one last dousing with water yesterday, and told them “i’m giving you one more shot at this, little guys!” and this afternoon, I went to visit the cups, expecting to find them empty, getting ready to throw them out, and found this itsy bitsy lil guy pushing through the mud.

see how tiny!?

It was funny the amount of happiness that teeny little seedling brought to my heart. It was like a monster-rush of joy. I started talking to it, and smiling like a fool. 

don't ask me how my mind makes these odd connections, but my experience added a new depth to my understanding of these verses:

 “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water.  So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.”
 Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.”  And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.
 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?”
 So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.  However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” Matthew 17:14-21

Just because something’s close to invisible, doesn’t mean it can’t pack a powerful punch... especially when God’s in on it. Have faith and wait expectantly. Don't give up when God is at work under the surface, just about to burst through the mud!

i promise you, the seedling's in this cup!

Praying for faith like a mustard seed ~ faith that moves mountains,

Betkany

Oh, do I have a Birthday Story for you!

Ooooooh, ooooooh, oooooooh. do I have a birthday story for you!

Well, my day started out pretty normal, except I had like, twenty facebook notifications when I woke up at 6:30... that made me smile. and the love kept pouring in all day. Let me tell you- if you ever feel that no one cares about you, switch your FB birthday to “tomorrow” and see what happens. I might as well have been famous, I felt so popular. But more importantly I felt indescribably blessed and loved. It’s a wonderful feeling.

Then, circa 7:25 I opened a present, from my soul sister Rachelka, that’s been sitting in my room for 3 veryyy long weeks. it was a SPEC.TAC.U.LAR green and purple UMBRELLA!!! 

Now the thing about my birthdaies (and don’t cite me on this, cause I’m not the almanac) is they’re always sunshiney. at least, that’s how it seems. because God always seems to wow me with a spectacular sunrise. not today though. it was over cast and dreary. I was a little sad, until my mother pointed out that God is rather obliging, to give me the chance to use my new gift right away! I had to smile at that. So, I carried it with me all morning.

Well, I left for work. Allie, my dear, sweet, two year old, soon-to-be-FINALLY-sister, and I sang Hymns ALL the way to work. Cause you know what? I found out she LOVES them. Old Fanny Crosby hymns, Old Spirituals, whatever. She Loves. I Love. So we sang. That was the best birthday gift she could possibly give me!! At work, my co-workers (which are more like a bunch of friends, but hey, we gotta keep a somewhat professional appearance going) blessed me by singing happy-birthday, giving me hugs and smiles, and my boss even brought me a delicioso birthday cookie-cake! So it was pretty sweet. 

About half-way through the work-day, I started feeling strange. Like I do before a heart episode is about to kick in. Oh.My. I was worried. I kept praying, “not today, God. Please, not today!” and other than my balance being slightly off, and my head spinning occasionally, I kept a pretty cool mood. I left work and here’s where things got kinda funky:

You see, I started feeling worse, with a little bit of a weather-headache setting in, and It hadn’t rained yet, so i didn’t even get to use my umbrella. I got home, brought my bags, and my sweet little sis inside, and turned back around to go pick up mayonnaise for a recipe my mom was making. I grabbed my purse, headed out, and as I pulled up to H-E-B, low and behold, the rain comes. 

Now here’s the part where I wish I could say, “So I whipped out my handy-dandy, brand-new and gorgeous umbrella, and skipped through rain puddles all the way to the door and back” but i can’t. You see, low and behold (again), I LEFT MY UMBRELLA IN THE OTHER BAG AT HOME!!!! :( so i sighed, and then I had to laugh. after all, who said just because it was my birthday things had to go my way? They Don’t. Let me tell you, it’s much better that they go God’s way anyway... keep reading and you’ll get it.

Not even an hour later, I find myself in a car full of sweet friends plowing our way into Houston for dinner and then on to Bible Study. My spirits rose, even as my physical strength fell. We had a lovely and fun time talking together, laughing, eating, navigating and consequently evading death. You name it, and we did it- with flourish! :)

Dinner at the Spaghetti Warehouse

We went into HFBC for the last session of Beth Moore’s new study on James, and met up with some more friends... two things I want to say before I go on.

Number 1. Tonight one of the “more friends” I met up with, is a rather young lady who is most affectionately dubbed “Medium” Bethany (because I am “Big” Bethany and she’s too big to be called “Little” Bethany). I’m glad she came! Keep reading and you’ll get why...

Number 2: As embarrassing as it is, I must tell you I haven’t always liked Beth Moore. Not that I know her personally, but what do slightly rebellious, early-teen girls do when their moms “force” them to attend Bible Study? they buck. they scoff at anything they can. I chose Beth. silly me. Wouldn’t God use the very thing I mocked to bless me so distinctively? keep reading and you’ll get it...

So, since my rebellious 13-year-old days, I’ve come to respect and cherish my time under Beth’s encouragement. I was sad that it was going to be the last of an 8 week study. But I was so happy and joyful- How could I not be, as I lifted my voice in song with hundreds of other ladies, worshipping our Father, Savior, our God! It was like a birthday playlist, as Lisa, Star, and the rest of the team led us in songs like “A Mighty Fortress” by Christy Nockles, “Come Thou Fount” -the way Gateway does it, “Revelation Song”, “How Great Thou Art”... it was marvelous!

As they got off the stage, at the end of an anointed session, Beth stepped up like usual and we sat down like usual. then Beth said, “I don’t usually do this” and from here on out, things get, well, unusual. but keep reading, you’ll see what I mean...

Beth went on to tell us that she felt God was calling her to do something that she “couldn’t remember the last time” she had done. She asked for all girls 25 and younger to come to the altar, so she could pray a blessing over them. I stood up with two of my friends and we walked down our aisle, toward the front. It was then I had the privilege to grab little miss “Medium Bethany’s” hand and guide her down to the altar to receive the blessing Beth would pray. The whole time, I was thinking, “what in the WORLD, God? On my 20th birthday of all nights?” She told us that in our lives we are going to do some crazy things beyond what we felt we are able, so that God will be obvious. She reminded us we have the Holy Spirit to help us do what we can’t do on our own. She encouraged us to learn from our “mothers” in the faith. She encouraged our mothers in the faith to teach us. She asked the spiritual mothers to place their hands on the young ladies nearest them. She read this scripture over us:

Joshua 1:6-7

Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.

  “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.

Then she asked the mothers to rise, and she prayed over us. She commissioned us, I guess you could say, to loving the Lord with EVERYTHING we had. She rebuked the devil from having place in our lives. She thanked God. She praised. 

Mom snapped some pics,
so I thought I'd post them

I'm in the far left of the pic,
barely visible...

I teared up, you bet. And I felt somehow strengthened. With my knees to the ground and Medium Bethany in my lap, I couldn’t contain my amazement at my oh-so-special birthday gift! and the fact that I was sharing it with every other woman, young woman and girl in that room. Oh, you just can’t describe the feeling that brings.

Beth went on to teach one of her most impacting lessons I’ve been to (and I’ve been to a LOT). It was on prayer. and praise. and well, God. And i knew it wasn’t her talking, I knew it was God. because He spoke to every SPECIFIC trial, hope, joy, pain, that I’ve faced or am facing. He ab.so.lute.ly LAVISHED His love on me. 

I’m still in awe. and tears are once again forming in my eyes, as I reflect on the night’s happenings. 

So I’ll close up with this:

Last night as I drifted off to sleep, I contemplated how I had spent my last 19 years. God has given me so much more than I ever would have even known to ask for. 

He’s given me incredible family and friends, ministries, talents, struggles. Hope. And all this, He knew of, that very day I came into this world, twenty years ago today. He not only knew, He PLANNED it. EVERYTHING. From learning to trust by dealing with heart issues (physical and spiritual), down to learning to speak Slovak because it’s the native tongue of some of my dearest friends, down to getting a job at a wonderful preschool as a chapel director,  down to Beth Moore, one of the greatest teachers of the faith praying a blessing over me on my 20th Birthday.

 He. Is. RIDICULOUSLY indescribable. too great for words. He’s done so much. 

I trust He’ll do more. Because that’s who He is.

He’s my God,

Betkany

February 9, 2011. best day in all of my nearly 20 years. (verbose title, i know)

Okay, seriously, there are days when I’m so shallow minded that I run into the bathroom wall because I was looking in my mirror. (slightly embarrassing, but true)

And then there’s days that I go out of the house without even glancing twice, ‘cause there are just more important things in life, you know?

Well. let me say, the ninth day of this February was a new day entirely. how i looked, where i went, blah blah blah and all that stuff didn’t matter. at all.

God, on the other hand, COMPLETELY overwhelmed me. completely.

You see, it started in the morning, when God blessed me with a gift, an amazing confirmation of my Summer plans. Yes, I will be going to Slovakia. I’ll let you know the dates as soon as I buy my tickets. :D

That was enough to keep me smiling for weeks, but

Then. Ohhhhh then! it’s hard to write it in words, but I’ll do my best...

In chapel, I was teaching a lesson on God’s Great Love. I basically went through the plan of salvation, like, full on. Yes, to two, three, four and five year olds. No, I did not preach fire and brimstone, condemned to hell and the like. I focused more on the idea that those with sin could not be in Heaven with God. That was enough to mortify them.

Especially after I pointed out the fact that WE ALL HAD SINNED!

Oh no! We couldn’t be in heaven with the Holy and Perfect God. what could we do?!?

Well the simple fact is, we can do NOTHING. No. Thing. At. All. 

I paused and let that sink in. Most kids were listening, but when you’ve got over 60 kiddos under 5 years old in one room, hey, you can’t expect them all to listen at the same time... someone’s gotta go potty, or their friend is sitting just a bit to close and needs to know they are free to scoot over, or the teacher will be told, etc...

but back to the story... we could do nothing. 

BUT GOD loved us so much, that he sent His Perfect and Holy Son to earth, to save us. and Here’s what he did. He took our sins. in His own body. and he Died. HE DIED. With OUR sins. 

“Now, friends,” I said, “If you have sin, can you go to heaven with God?” *they shake their heads no* “Jesus just took ALL our sins. By that rule, can Jesus go to heaven?” The WHOLE ROOM was quiet. (that’s a miracle all by itself) EVERY EYE was on me. EVERY EYE was wide open in horror. I’m sure I had every child believing that Jesus wasn’t ever allowed back into heaven, because he had sin. Which wasn’t exactly my intention, but to them, it was over. done. gone. dead, dead, dead. Jesus had no hope.

“But, friends,” I said, “after Jesus had been dead for three days, the POWER OF GOD RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD AND INTO HEAVEN. HE WENT TO BE WITH GOD! and not only could He be with God, but OUR sins were forgiven too, and WE COULD BE WITH GOD!!!”

This is the best best part, the reason I’m telling you the whole story, right here, right now:

At hearing this, the whole room (still recovering from shock) was quiet. 

And then it happened. A sound. A joyful little clap. A HAPPY clap, an overwhelmed-at-such-good-news-that-i-don’t-know-what-else-to-do clap.

A little boy from a three-year-old class began clapping and smiling with EVERYTHING he had. Oh, the precious joy that spread through the chapel. Every child clapped. Some shouted “hooray”. Because Jesus is ALIVE and He made a way for us to be in Heaven with God.

Oh. the joy. I thought my heart would explode. It was such a sweet moment with “my” kids. I had to keep myself from skipping around town, hugging everyone I met. I won’t ever forget it. and I hope they won’t either. I pray that their little hearts will be turned toward that powerful God who loves us enough, that He sent His own Son to take the punishment WE rightfully deserve. Oh my dear. Oh. How can you not clap, Jump, Shout with Joy, knowing that wonderful, wonderful truth?

I hope you believe it. I hope you are overwhelmed when you remember what Christ has done for you.

These are the verses we are learning from this month:

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.  This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

 This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

   God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 

1 John 4:7-16

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 

Go ahead. Clap your hands! Give Him Glory! 

He loved you. Believe it. 

He LOVES you. Live like it.

so that's pretty much why February 9th was the best day I've had. ever.

Betkany

twenty-ten {and all that happened}

The year Two-thousand and ten is quickly fleeing from calendars all over the world and here I sit reflecting on this amazing, crazy, full year God gave me.

Oh, So much happened. 

To help myself with my reflections, I went back a whole year in my journals, to see exactly where my life was at...

The January 1, 2010 entry in my “dawn after darkness” journal summarizes the year pretty well...

“Well, It’s twenty-ten. The year I move to Slovakia for some months. The year my sister gets married. The year that God has already overcome. =)

I’m nervous and excited. 

I will not waste this year.”

I spent January studying the life of one of my role models, ‘Amma’, or Amy Carmichael. Her testimony has been a huge comfort and encouragement to me, as she served God wherever He brought her and in whatever circumstances surrounded her. I found a place at her feet through books like A Chance to Die, and looked toward where she pointed, at Jesus and the hope of His gospel.

February.... I saw my first Space Shuttle Launch. It was special because the pilot was our very own neighbor and friend Terry Virts! 

Another “Dawn after darkness” snippet says: “Those few minutes of complete sunrise in the dark were totally worth the 40 hours of driving and four days of terrible sleep. It’s been a long haul, but completely spectacular.” Yes, we drove 18ish hours straight both ways, waited up for a scrub at T-13 minutes the first night, and found the, like, only empty hotel room in the whole area to stay in. Sometimes, insanity = fun times!

I visited the “Happiest Place on Earth” with my family and grandparents In March... right after I turned 19. Those are some happy memories, right there... Staying at a resort, visiting Disney World, singing, playing games, cooking, wii, swimming, just being together. We had an absolutely wonderful time and it was only our second road trip to Florida this year! :)

The beginning of April brought on the beginning of non-stop-busy for several months, so we kicked it off with, yup, ANOTHER road trip to Florida! This time, it was to see our OTHER astronaut neighbor (Jim Dutton) pilot the Space Shuttle Discovery. It was a spectacular launch, a day I won’t be forgetting. Oh, and I do believe we had our Easter dinner at The Olive Garden, because we were in Florida waiting for the launch :) April also brought the packing, preparing and pre-travel jitters for me, as my trip to Slovakia drew ever-closer.

As planned, I left my job as  preschool chapel director a little before the school year actually ended, to head out to Slovakia on May 6.

WOW. Finding a place to start is... not easy! I guess before i get going on the summer, I’ll go ahead and insert a special story here: The day after I arrived in Slovakia, a new little bundle of love joined our family. We call this rambunctious, adorable, sweet little character “Allie”. Two years old, and quite the charmer, we’re hoping to adopt her soon after the new year. I cried (tears of joy) when I heard she had come to stay with my family. I got to meet her over Skype (oh, the wonders of technology) and I’m pretty sure she spent the summer thinking that my mom’s computer was named Bethany and could talk to you sometimes... 

Slovakia, *sigh* is where I spent most of May, June, July and August. It was by far the highlight of my year. Basically, I lived with my slovak “family”, the Abrmans, and joined in on whatever they were doing, as well as adding a bit of my own twist. I arrived, not exactly knowing what God had planned, but I was able to teach some Bible-focused English classes for neighborhood children, as well as help with craft classes, church events and preparing for the yearly Summer English Camp. I also had the opportunity to visit a Manna Center in Romania with some Slovak Christians, where we delivered clothes to children and had a story time and gospel presentation. I visited schools, spent hours with old and new friends, sang, traveled, baked cookies, learned (or at least tried) the Slovak language, laughed, cried, lived. It was a summer I will never, EVER forget. 

A snippet from my “Joshua 1:9” journal, “I remember coming, being shy of everything, being scared of doing something wrong, afraid of being real-- not perfect. These friends and experiences taught me oh, so much... I learned to speak love, not language. I learned to speak Slovak, sing it too. I learned (and am still learning) how to smile through pain.

-and to think I came here to teach! oh the irony of life...”

people aren’t missionaries because they have everything figured out already, people are missionaries because they just really, truly care about making a lasting difference in others lives. I pray I did that.

The very end of August brought me back to Friendswood, where I jumped back into the His Kids family, preparing for a new school year. I also jumped into the role of Maid-of-Honor, as we prepared for my dear sister’s October wedding. 

My last month with an older sister in the house, September, FLEW by. I was sick a lot, story of my life. Very quickly, ‘You Are For Me’ by Kari Jobe became my favorite song. “I know that You are for me, I know that You will never forsake me in my weakness...” As things changed so dramatically, I began to feel lonely and needed to ask myself some hard questions. Did I really, Really trust God? Or did I just say that I do. Did I trust that His plans are perfect, and that I could wait on Him? I went back and forth with myself: “I’m alone”, I’d think, “BUT GOD”, i’d know. God is so good. He never left me, and He never will. 

With the beginning of a new school year, I started my fourth year working at a Good News Club in a local public school. It has been incredible to be a part of the same children’s lives, year after year, watching them grow.

October 2 brought happiness and joy, my sister’s wedding day! It was positively the most perfect wedding, gorgeous weather, hundreds of family members and friends, a beautiful bride, a dashing groom. They exchanged vows early in the afternoon, and the celebrations went on for the rest of the day, so, so wonderful!

It’s been strange, not having Emily with me all the time anymore, but I’ve been so blessed to see her at least once a month. I went on a women’s retreat in mid-October to help lead the worship program. God really blessed me in the company of several wonderful women of God, as we spent two days studying the book of Ruth and just being together, encouraging each other. I finished out October in doctor’s offices, trying to discover why I spent two entire months sick. We didn’t really find any answers, but I'm trusting that God knows what He's doing!

November was probably the busiest, low-key month I’ve ever experienced. My mom spent a night in the hospital (don’t worry, she’s doing fine!) which sent our whole house into a “health-makeover”. The whole month was full of normal activities, doctors visits for several of us, as well as a new activity, called “taking it easy”. uhmmm, what else... I painted my room and we celebrated Thanksgiving.

Now it’s December (the 31, to be exact) and it’s been a pretty good one. The His Kid’s Christmas Program, a Michael W. Smith Christmas Concert and a weekend in Brenham are just a few major highlights of the month. Oh, and of course, Christmas! Every year, the story amazes me, of how a Deity, so powerful and perfect would give up his heavenly home and come to earth to be the Savior of all mankind. Jesus’ humility and love are so stunning. you can find my thoughts on Christmas here: 2000 Decembers Ago

As a new year is fixing to roll in, I have NO idea what God has planned, not really even an inkling, but I’m not worried. I do have tentative plans to return to Slovakia, for how long, I’m not sure.  And of course, I’ll continue serving wherever God drops me.

I don’t have any big New Year’s Resolutions. Yes, there are a stack of healthy cookbooks sitting on my floor. True, I’ve got some dreams I’d like to follow. But mostly, as this new year dawns, I’m just taking things a step at a time.

Out of the hundreds of verses I have claimed this year, John 16:33 was my “big picture” verse. I personalized it a little, but here it is:

“...These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In this year, you will have tribulation, but take heart; I have overcome this year.”

He did overcome it. And He has already overcome 2011 as well!

wow that was really long, yet there's so much more I could have shared... If you've gotten this far down in the post, I'm impressed! Thanks for sticking around to check out my year! I hope it's blessed or encouraged you in some way, or maybe reminded you of a memory we share. 

I think that's enough of my own words for a while, so I'll let the Psalmist speak:

 The LORD is gracious and merciful;

         Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness. 

    The LORD is good to all,

         And His mercies are over all His works. 

    All Your works shall give thanks to You, O LORD,

         And Your godly ones shall bless You. 

    They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom

         And talk of Your power; 

    To make known to the sons of men Your mighty acts

         And the glory of the majesty of Your kingdom. 

    Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,

         And Your dominion endures throughout all generations. 

    The LORD sustains all who fall

         And raises up all who are bowed down. 

    The eyes of all look to You,

         And You give them their food in due time. 

    You open Your hand

         And satisfy the desire of every living thing. 

    The LORD is righteous in all His ways

         And kind in all His deeds. 

    The LORD is near to all who call upon Him,

         To all who call upon Him in truth. 

    He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;

         He will also hear their cry and will save them. 

    The LORD keeps all who love Him,

         But all the wicked He will destroy. 

    My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD,

         And all flesh will bless His holy name forever and ever.

Psalm 145:8-21

Praying blessings over your New Year,

“Betkany”