What I've learned in 2012

1. No one should be praying for your husband more than you are.  No one.

2. At the end of the day, the only being you are truly accountable to is Jesus.  The same is true for everyone else.

3.  Let fear dictate nothing.

4.  When we let ungratefulness and entitlement in, we also invite ugliness and sorrow in as well.

5. Repentance is beautiful.

6.  The Holy Spirit's voice is gentle and specific.  An accusatory voice is grumpy and comes in the form of second person.  You're terrible at this. You should have worked out longer. 


 Learn to recognize the difference.

7.  It's going to get better.  In December, you will have your first fight with your husband in the parking lot of a most delicious restaurant.  By April, you will be ordering appetizers, holding hands, and wearing your favorite sun dress.

8. For some, Earth is the closest they will ever get to Heaven. For others, it is the closest they will ever be to Hell.

9.  If you want the power of The Holy Spirit, you have to ask.

10. When life feels Ridiculous.  You need to lean into it.

11. Pray consistently that God would show you your idols.  I spent years thinking they were all golden calves when in reality they come in all shapes and sizes.  For me, they largely involve food. body image. teaching.family. and housework.  Go figure.

12.  The answer is, as Mark Driscoll would say, "Always back to Jesus."

13.  The question is often asked, "Why do bad things happen to good people?"  The question should be "Why do good things happen to bad people?"  We are all sinners.


The answer is God's grace.

There is no measure as to what we are capable of without it.

14.  There will be seasons in which we will shut the mouths of lions and seasons of chains and imprisonment.   Run on.   Hebrews 11:33

15. Joy is not the same thing as happiness.  Chase the joy.

This is a combination of Mark Driscoll, Matt Chandler, and Sweet Meg Fee or, yet another blessed trinity.  

Love & I can't take credit for any of it, 

H.