New Year, New Dreams



For the first time ever, I asked my Facebook friends to contribute to my blog post today. I asked them to share their hopes for 2012, and mentioned that their responses could be serious, insightful or funny.

They did not disappoint.

I'd like to start with the mixed array of responses to this question. And then I'll share a few of my hopes for 2012. Enjoy...

"My hope is to be consistent in maintaining the relative order I have recently achieved in my home. Living alone, it's often hard to feel like it's worth the effort when no one else sees it. My hope is to continue to see the value of it just because it makes me feel better." Shirley Schuette

"My hope is to be preggers in the next 6 months!!" Monica Cauthorne McClain

"To make an impact." Brandon Lee Hinson

"James 1:27." Elizabeth Coley

"After the baby is here, to be able to look down and see my feet again. :)" Sherrie Lourdon

"To hear God... even if it is a needed rebuke." Dawn Burnett

"My hope is to see my dad healed physically and spiritually, to show love better especially to my family. And as one of the church fathers said to God: to see Thee more clearly, love Thee more dearly and follow Thee more nearly." Linda Whaley Johnson

My hope for 2012 is that God takes His time in our lives to show others how BIG He is and that we have the patience to wait on Him." Jennifer Harrison

"That God will bless my family way Beyond Expectations and that we can bless others way beyond expectations!!!!" Venus Newby

"That God will move in a big way to unify my whole family. That parenting will be less stressful and that I will achieve some personal goals. That God would birth some things that I know He has planned for me." Pamela Cole Thorpe

"Lol. My wish is 'to find a seat on the bus and sit down.' Translation: stay put for awhile, enjoy the scenery, settle down, and accept God's direction and timeline." Julie Franklin Haupt (Note: Julie and her husband just relocated their family of five.)

I can relate to each of my friend's hopes for 2012 (except my sweet expectant and wanting-to-be-expecting sisters, that is). I say Amen and Amen to every single hope in my own life (except expecting another baby, that is). Did I mention that already? :)

I'd love to share just a few more dreams for 2012 that I've got running around in my head:
  • I want to go deeper in Jesus this year. I want to grow in my knowledge of the Word and grow in my living of the Word. And I want to be more consistent in leading my children to the Word as well. 2011 was a great year of bible study for us, but I want to be more consistent.
  • I hope to grow as a writer. I want to write every single day of my life, consistently working on the hundreds of ideas that I have on paper. I want to continue writing my nonfiction book and begin a bible study series on the minor prophets.
  • I want to continue caring for orphans (James 1:27 from above), locally and around the world. I hope to use my talents and gifts to create awareness surrounding the needs of the 147 million orphans in the world.
  • I hope to encourage pastor's wives around the globe through our Facebook group and soon-to-be launched blog, A Pastor's Wife's Garden (www.pastorswifesgarden.blogspot.com). Check out the first post tomorrow, New Year's Day, and tell your pastor's wife about it!
So, as you can see, I've got lots of hopes and dreams for 2012. I'm sure you do too. Let's walk together as we trust God to give us His dreams for the New Year.

Trusting Him for an Amazing New Year,

Carla

Comments

  1. TarasviewDecember 31, 2011 at 4:46 PM

    those are wonderful dreams for 2012 :) I chose a one word goal for 2012- "peace". I want to be peaceful amidst the storms this year!

    Happy New year Carla!

    ReplyDelete
  2. anthonyJanuary 1, 2012 at 2:00 AM

    Tara, I love your word "Peace" and the hope it brings -- no matter what trials we face this year. Thanks for sharing that.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Ambassador: His Rise, Fall and Rise Again

Image
I recently began a Facebook Group called "A Pastor's Wife's Garden" with the goal of connecting hearts with other pastor's wives like myself. The idea for this group came totally from the Lord one day while I watched a recording of an interview on CBN. The topic of this interview: William Branch, also known as The Ambassador, also known as Duce, and his wife discussing the challenge of his emotional affair with another woman. To give a little backstory, Duce is a Christian hip hop artist that co-founded and led Cross Movement, a rap group that took the Christian world by storm in 1996. All original founding members, including Duce, grew up in Philadelphia. Having earned a Masters degree in Theology from Dallas Theological Seminary -- graduating with honors, by the way -- he began co-pastoring Epiphany Fellowship Church, a growing and vibrant multi-ethnic church in Philly. That is, until he fell into this emotional affair. At that point Duce was asked to leav
Read more

I'm not angry. I'm mad!

Image
I'll begin this post by explaining the title of this post. I'm a writer, so bear with my detailed way of doing that. :-) Many of us over age 35 grew up on the "Cosby Show." We loved watching this sitcom every Thursday evening, grateful for the positive image of an African American couple that loved each other and trained their children well. On one episode (which I'll have to relay from memory), Cliff Huxtable (played by Bill Cosby) corrects one of the kids for saying he was "mad." He goes on to say, "Dogs get mad . People get angry ." The children then go on to list fictitious accounts of activities they've partaken in, like sneaking out of the house to go to a party across town. After each story, the kids ask their father and mother (Clair, played by Phylicia Rashad), "So Mom and Dad, are you angry ?" Each time their parents state they aren't angry, but they would get serious about the offender's punishment. At t
Read more

Five Things Not to Say to Adoptive Parents

Image
The Hendricks Clan "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me."  Did you grow up hearing that adage? I don't think I reached age ten before I realized how false that saying is. The scars of sticks and stones heal with time. The scars of hurtful words? Many of us will take our share of those scars to our graves. If you have adopted, you've heard your share of ill-timed/insensitive questions and comments. Many will come from the lips of perfect strangers. This can be annoying, but in the end, feels rather harmless. Yet sometimes the offenses come from the people closest to us -- parents, grandparents, siblings, long-time friends. Some of those words have left scars on your soul. And maybe on the souls of your child. This post is not only for those of us that have adopted. This post is for our family members, our close friends, our fellow church and community members. This post is for our loved ones who may be very happy for us, b
Read more