Looking back on 2005
2005 has been a great year. There's so much to reflect on and to be thankful for, it's hard to know where to begin.
Our second niece, Ciara, was born January 11th and our first nephew, Gavin, was born on the 24th, so we spent the first couple of months of the year going gah-gah over babies and spending time with family. Those were some of the warmest and most memorable moments of 2005. My sister and her two daughters ended up moving back home to Nebraska over the summer, but we just returned from visiting them over the holidays and they're all doing well. If only Nebraska had pro sports teams, more Starbucks per capita, and opportunities for career growth... Ah well. We always enjoy our visits there and we wish we lived closer to family, but both career and spiritual opportunities continue to light up in Dallas.
Angela and I started to develop some fantastic new relationships in 2005. Most of these friendships were born out of spiritual connections that formed at 20Something at Cathedral of Hope, and God continues to amaze us with the ways in which this community grows and develops. I've also made some fantastic friendships through my website and through my job in radio, and many of those have become an inspiration for both Angela and me. I guess God is showing us part of the blessing that can be in store when we become more faithful about opening ourselves up to others, and becoming active examples of the ways in which God works in our lives. Truth, unconditional love, and faith can have a tremendous impact upon relationships and can inspire growth in others beyond what we can even comprehend. Angela and I have become better partners, better friends, and better Christians because of these unique spiritual relationships.
I've learned numerous things about faith this year. God has challenged me to dig deeper on several occasions, and on each of those I've discovered a capacity for wisdom and faith that I never even know I had. God sure knows what buttons to push to get us to grow. I've been spirutally challenged--even attackted in some cases--by members of the Christians Right who disagree with the idea that homosexuality is embraced by God, and through those encounters it has become increasingly apparent to me that nothing can shake a faith that is rooted in prayer and love. What it all boils down to is a relationship between the individual and God, and if that relationship is fluid and alive with mindfulness, responsivenss, and love, then nothing that comes toward it from the outside can do any harm. Those things can initiate a search for more konwledge and a deeper truth, but they cannot destroy.
During the last two months of 2005, God has again proven to me that profound spiritual joy is independent of circumstances, and no matter how many doors seem to close another always opens. It seems that I have to re-learn these lessons quite a bit, but I'm hoping that this is the time they stick. By golly I think I've got it. I've been in a professional transition for the past several weeks and although at times it has seemed as if Angela and I were being presented with nothing but dead ends, new opportunities have since risen up out of that uncertainty and now I'm actually excited about what is next. 2006 will bring certain change, but every time I have reached this point of transition in the past, God has led me to into a new situation that was even better than the last, not always by human standards but by spiritual standards. I have no doubt that as God moves in my life over the next few weeks, the most desirable spiritual footing will follow.
So here are some summarizing thoughts about what I've learned this year. God knows best. A deep, prayer-filled breath is always necessary. A great new friend might just be an email away. Openness, awareness, and devotion combine to give God an environment in which to work. Stepping out in faith breeds opportunity. Attempting to put a cap on what God can or will do in our lives is actually self-limiting and a self-fulfilling prophecy. Babies are miracles. Families provide a human framework for our spiritual growth. Community makes prosperity possible. Gay Christians are a fantastic illustration of what it means to love God despite the obstacles, and they are happy about it. God loves us back. And the best place to be is the spot where God puts us. Life is fluid and circumstances change, so we might as well enjoy the ride.
I hope you've had a great 2005 as well. May we all come to know God even more intimately in 2006. Happy New Year.
Our second niece, Ciara, was born January 11th and our first nephew, Gavin, was born on the 24th, so we spent the first couple of months of the year going gah-gah over babies and spending time with family. Those were some of the warmest and most memorable moments of 2005. My sister and her two daughters ended up moving back home to Nebraska over the summer, but we just returned from visiting them over the holidays and they're all doing well. If only Nebraska had pro sports teams, more Starbucks per capita, and opportunities for career growth... Ah well. We always enjoy our visits there and we wish we lived closer to family, but both career and spiritual opportunities continue to light up in Dallas.
Angela and I started to develop some fantastic new relationships in 2005. Most of these friendships were born out of spiritual connections that formed at 20Something at Cathedral of Hope, and God continues to amaze us with the ways in which this community grows and develops. I've also made some fantastic friendships through my website and through my job in radio, and many of those have become an inspiration for both Angela and me. I guess God is showing us part of the blessing that can be in store when we become more faithful about opening ourselves up to others, and becoming active examples of the ways in which God works in our lives. Truth, unconditional love, and faith can have a tremendous impact upon relationships and can inspire growth in others beyond what we can even comprehend. Angela and I have become better partners, better friends, and better Christians because of these unique spiritual relationships.
I've learned numerous things about faith this year. God has challenged me to dig deeper on several occasions, and on each of those I've discovered a capacity for wisdom and faith that I never even know I had. God sure knows what buttons to push to get us to grow. I've been spirutally challenged--even attackted in some cases--by members of the Christians Right who disagree with the idea that homosexuality is embraced by God, and through those encounters it has become increasingly apparent to me that nothing can shake a faith that is rooted in prayer and love. What it all boils down to is a relationship between the individual and God, and if that relationship is fluid and alive with mindfulness, responsivenss, and love, then nothing that comes toward it from the outside can do any harm. Those things can initiate a search for more konwledge and a deeper truth, but they cannot destroy.
During the last two months of 2005, God has again proven to me that profound spiritual joy is independent of circumstances, and no matter how many doors seem to close another always opens. It seems that I have to re-learn these lessons quite a bit, but I'm hoping that this is the time they stick. By golly I think I've got it. I've been in a professional transition for the past several weeks and although at times it has seemed as if Angela and I were being presented with nothing but dead ends, new opportunities have since risen up out of that uncertainty and now I'm actually excited about what is next. 2006 will bring certain change, but every time I have reached this point of transition in the past, God has led me to into a new situation that was even better than the last, not always by human standards but by spiritual standards. I have no doubt that as God moves in my life over the next few weeks, the most desirable spiritual footing will follow.
So here are some summarizing thoughts about what I've learned this year. God knows best. A deep, prayer-filled breath is always necessary. A great new friend might just be an email away. Openness, awareness, and devotion combine to give God an environment in which to work. Stepping out in faith breeds opportunity. Attempting to put a cap on what God can or will do in our lives is actually self-limiting and a self-fulfilling prophecy. Babies are miracles. Families provide a human framework for our spiritual growth. Community makes prosperity possible. Gay Christians are a fantastic illustration of what it means to love God despite the obstacles, and they are happy about it. God loves us back. And the best place to be is the spot where God puts us. Life is fluid and circumstances change, so we might as well enjoy the ride.
I hope you've had a great 2005 as well. May we all come to know God even more intimately in 2006. Happy New Year.
posted by Jen Austin at 10:46 AM
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