Anne of the Island

...would be too few
To carry all my love for you.
~Author Unknown


Hello friends!
Long time no hear, right? What can I say - life in my corner of the world has been busy, and it's been difficult at times to stop and analyze my thoughts, much less put them into words.

Christmastime was wonderful- not perfect, but still memorable. Gran was hospitalized during that time, so it was different not having her a part of our family's celebration. Since the beginning of this year, she has returned home again. Her condition has stabilized, and we are so happy for the blessing of more time to love and care for her. Some wonderful friends of ours also joined us over the holidays and we enjoyed the time spent with them.

This past month, I've listened to the story of Joseph on the Daily Audio Bible, and what an encouragement it has been! By our standards, we would consider Joseph to be a very unlucky guy: His brothers despised him because he was his father's favorite and things got even worse when he told them his dreams of them bowing down and honoring to him! They devised a plan to get rid of Joseph, and he was separated from his family and forced into servanthood in Egypt. There his master's wife tried to seduce him, and then bitterly accused of him of rape after he refused her. Thrown into jail, Joseph worked quietly, at one point interpreting the dreams of two of Pharaoh's servants. "Remember me", he told the man that would return to Pharaoh's presence, but the man forgot, only remembering him years later when Pharaoh himself had a disturbing dream. It was then that things began to look up for Joseph.

Yet despite the years of heartache, loneliness, and suffering, Joseph never lost his way. After his father passed and his brothers began to fear he might still hold a grudge against them, Joseph had this to say:"Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children." And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them. (Gen. 50:19-21)

Isn't it a relief to know every step, every tiny detail of our lives are overseen by God, and that He puts it all together to tell a story of His love and faithfulness, in spite of (and because of) the trials that we face? With all that we've been through last year 'til now with Gran, this promise has meant so much to me. No matter what happens, her story will speak of God's goodness, as will ours, as it intertwines with hers. God takes every single thing, and works it out for our good. God is amazing!

In other news, we had our first major snowfall of the season on last Friday, with a whopping two inches or so of snow! I know, you Northerners probably think that's just a dusting, but for us, it was a blast. We had fun sledding and playing in the snow, as well as spinning donuts in our car, thanks to my slightly-crazy husband. *wink*

I'm very excited about Valentine's Day, and one of my gifts for Brent arrived yesterday. I'm thisclose to showing it to him, because I can't wait to see what he thinks of it, but I'm trying to convince myself to wait. He says he also has a surprise for me. Next Sunday can't get here soon enough! How I love my wonderful man! <3

My niece Emma will be turning one tomorrow and we are celebrating with a party tonight. I still find it hard to believe a year has passed already since the call came and we rushed over in the wee hours of the morning to meet our just-born niece. I'm sure her mamma feels that way too.

Well, time for me to wrap this up and head out for some groceries for our Superbowl celebration. Y'all have a wonderful weekend. Keep looking up! You have a Father who desperately loves and cares for you, and who will take every heartache and tear you've cried and transform it into something precious, something valuable- something good.

Love & hugs,
Anna