I say Hello 2013!

Monday, December 31, 2012

2012 was a very good year. We had a lot of joy, some tears, disappointments as well as incredible victories. I always start the year celebrating my birthday. It was my first party in years and thanks to my husband it was awesome. This year my husband and I celebrated 6 years of marriage. I learned a lot about marriage in 2012. The greatest lesson is the importance of working together towards a stronger Christian marriage. I saw amazing development in my in-law relationships. I have been working on this for years and I give thanks for God's healing in my life. I learned that forgiveness never loses its power. I found several ways of celebrating the power of community. I noticed that some of us are held back for fear of asking for help but reaching out to community brings many benefits. 2012 was also the year I learned that leaders don't always have to lead everywhere, every time. Sometimes there is power in practicing what I call 'shut up and eat the casserole.' We celebrated our first year living in Houston and I learned the anatomy of friendships a little deeper. I learned that good friends give you access to their lives. One of the happiest days of our year was the birth day of our third daughter. We thought we had a week to spare but she arrived a bit earlier bringing us so much joy! Once we got to our new normal as a family of 5 I decided to work on my weight loss after baby. The third time has been quite interesting. The encouraging thing is to know that it can be done and the motivation factor I have are the 4 most important people in my life, my husband and our three kids. A little later in the year I learned about starting a Scripture Study Journal and I started my own. It has been rejuvenating to my devotional life! I decided to leave a few things in the old years, one of them being friendships not worth pursuing. One of my most popular posts called The Pursuit of Friendships explains why. What I am taking to 2013 are great expectations of seeing the goodness of God in my life. Through all we've lived one thing remained: God's great faithfulness. I pray that you are expecting an amazingly blessed new year. 
“Do not remember the former things,
Nor consider the things of old.
19 
Behold, I will do a new thing,
Now it shall spring forth;
Shall you not know it?
I will even make a road in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert." Isaiah 43:18-19
Unknown said...

I love these!! Way to keep it positive.
Have an AMAZING 2013.

Paulistana na Califórnia said...

Cintia...
Encontrei o seu blog pelas minhas andanças na internet e apesar de ter colocado ele na minha lista de blogs para receber update, por muito tempo não entrei aqui para ver o que estava acontecendo e fico feliz que retomei a leitura dos seus textos.
Obrigada por dividir conosco suas descobertas, insights, amor, simpatia e principalmente palavras valiosas de uma mãe, esposa e cristã dedicada. Seus textos trouxeram muitas horas de reflexão da minha própria vida.
Que Deus abençoe o seu 2013 com muita saúde e amor para você e sua família e obrigada mais uma vez por suas palavras.