Saturday, April 14, 2012

April = New Growth

Easter morning 2012. It didn't last long though!! 

As spring approaches here in the Valley, I am reminded of God's faithfulness to us day after day and year after year. The new buds pushing their way open and crocuses peeking out to greet the sunshine. Spring is lovely and with Easter just past, celebrating the resurrection of Jesus, I pause at this time of year to embrace the joy of knowing and serving my risen King.

Beautiful crocuses popping up in our backyard.

With mixed feelings I have 10 days of work left as ministry assistant at our church. It has been a time of growth as I have been challenged to step outside my comfort zone. Some of the projects that I have succeeded at would have seemed very daunting 4 years ago. To be stretched and given the opportunity to become more of the woman that God has called me to be is amazing. I look forward to what He has in store for me next. I have felt privileged to be part of the staff at NMBC for the past 4 years and given the challenge of establishing this position. I know that it will continue to be an essential job as our church grows and we continue to seek God's direction.
Andrew has taken up a new venture and rides every Saturday with the Centennial Bike Club. They put together a route every week and 20-30 bikers (all ages!) gather together and spend a couple of hours cycling through the Valley. He thoroughly enjoys this and who knows, maybe I will get the nerve up to join him at some point.

Getting ready for his Saturday morning ride.

Along with spring comes the annual urge to 'spring clean'. There are times I feel so overwhelmed with the 'stuff' we have accumulated over the years. So, my goal is to purge a lot of the things we haven't used for the last 5-10 years and gain some more empty space in our home. Along with getting rid of 'stuff' I have decided to get rid of facebook. After seeing some comments and status updates last week, it made me realize that this type of social network is a rich breeding ground for gossip and useless information. Very rarely do I come across anything that I need to know or gives me encouragement for the day. There is a certain freedom in giving this up and I can only see benefits by detaching myself from this - time for more fruitful endeavours and distancing myself from unnecessary and meaningless updates. The only thing I will really miss is the photos of my children and grandchildren. For those who are 'friends' and need to contact me, I still have a telephone (I would love to hear your voice) and e-mail.
Well, that's it for my mid-April post. Spring is definitely beginning to show itself and it certainly gives me a sense of anticipation.