It's a New Year

Happy New Year! Bryan and I just got back from a Christmas trip to South Carolina. We spent a couple days in Charleston. It's a beautiful city with quaint shops, rich history, and characteristic houses. Bryan, an SC native, was my tour guide (see him pointing to Fort Sumter out in the harbor!) so with maps in hand, so I knew we would see as much as possible in 48 hours.

Most of Charleston is best seen by walking around, or taking a carriage ride. When we set out for the east coast, I thought spending a holiday at the beach would mean an escape from winter. But when it snowed and the frigid temps hit, it was a rude awakening. I came to discover that even Myrtle Beach (100 degrees sometimes in the summer) gets cold in the winter. My father-in-law got the fireplace lit and it felt like a classic Christmas. I was missing my Colorado family, though. Thanks to Skype we were able to video chat with Mom, Dad, Elissa and Chad on Christmas Day.

Bryan's family dog Wilson is a Boston Terrier. I rarely saw him calm. He apparently stole Santa's cookies early Christmas morning. We woke up to find the plate licked clean, but the milk was untouched.

Looking back at 2010, I have had a very full and blessed year. I got to marry an amazing godly man and begin a new journey with him. As the Sonflowerz we toured many great states and saw God work in the hearts of thousands of moms and daughters at the regional “You and Your Girl” events with LifeWay all year long.

Between wedding planning (for two couples in our double wedding...that got interesting!), seeing my only sister get married, to going on the road with the team and enduring long drives and airport layovers, it’s been a crazy ride in 2010. And with each year, I see God’s faithfulness in a new way.

Remembering what God has done is such an important thing. It is one way we are drawn to worship Him. Sometimes I'll grab a piece of paper and a pen, and take some moments of silence to pray, it’s amazing what God brings to my heart and remembrance. Writing down a list of things we’re grateful for isn’t just for Thanksgiving day. How easy it is to leave these things to the holidays, or "special times". It should be a part of each season of our lives, shouldn't it?

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has gone, and the new has come." 2 Corinthians 5:17

Our salvation brings something new, leaving what was behind. We step forward into a new destiny and discover that we're made for relationship with God. When a new year comes, we are leaving the old and moving into something new.

Don't let the worries of yesterday keep you from walking out 2011 in faith and obedience. Christ has made all things new.

Here are some of my favorite pictures capturing highlights from 2010...

The Perfect Size?

Somewhere in our culture, an idea formed. It's the idea that there is a perfect size out there and every girl needs to fit that perfect size. We compare and contrast ourselves with other girls all our lives. It doesn't stop with age. The older we get, the more money we're able to pay to get the look we want.

The battle is inside of each of us. As women, our hearts and identity is so wrapped up in the things we believe about ourselves. And often it's the media, the culture that tells us what to believe. If we can fit the perfect size, have the hair and the clothes that make us feel pretty, we believe we are beautiful. But the moment one of those things doesn't work, it's like a set of dominoes lined up and knocked down in a moment.

What are your core beliefs about yourself? Write them down. Examine where you got that belief from, and if it is a cultural idea or a biblical idea. The Bible is a foundation for the truth of who we are. I don't get any of my beliefs from another source than the Bible.

The voices in our society are quick to label us imperfect. For the girls in middle or high school, the competition is a daily battle. And it can be devastating battle to lose, when rumors and gossip spread like fire, and friendships betray. It seems hopeless when each school day brings another attack. But what does God say? Check out Psalm 139:14-16 to start with:

"For You created my inmost being. You knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in the secret place. All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be."

God created you as beautiful. A picture of His glory. Though the world may not always applaud us, we aren't looking for approval there anyway. The game they want us to play will just cause us to lose in the end. No matter your size or your shape, we are stamped with approval from God, so we don't need approval from other people.

You are the perfect size! Don't believe the lies you hear, and if that takes putting down some of your magazines and picking up the Bible, do it. A confident woman is someone who knows her worth is not in what she owns, or how she fits a certain image. She smiles on the days ahead and keeps her eyes on Jesus, letting all the other voices disappear.

"She is clothed with strength and dignity. She can laugh at the days to come." Prov. 31:25

-Becca