Merry Christmas!
We have been
married almost two years now - we can hardly believe it! Time flies and we can honestly say we
enjoy every minute and are so thankful for life together! (Our favorite night of the week is date
night! J)
Apply your heart to instruction and your ear to words of
knowledge. - Proverbs 23:12 ESV
This year has been a time of seeking for us. Understanding how to prioritize and balance ministry, work
and family isn’t an easy thing to do.
Marriage requires a lot of work, but the rewards of a great relationship
far outweigh the time and effort spent!
Prioritizing a set amount of time each day to be spent in prayer (together
as a couple) has been a great new habit.
Reading has been a big part of 2012, and thanks to EntreLeadership, we developed personal mission statements that
helped to push us to a more purpose driven life. Another book that we learned a lot from was Boundaries, about relating with people
and how to say yes to the truly important things. We love to ask questions and listen to the advice of Godly
role models we would like to emulate.
Our ‘Christmas wish’ this year, and every year, is that we are doing
what God wants us to with our lives, our time and our careers.
Naomi became a certified emergency medical First Responder and though our
rural area does not get many calls, she appreciates the first aid knowledge
gained and sense of responsibility, and loves serving her community. She also learned how to drive a manual
car. J After
an additional summer job as cashier at Walmart, Naomi switched from that and
serving pizzas, to investing in children’s lives at Walnut Grove Elementary
school! She is a
paraprofessional (teacher’s assistant) in preschool, working with 30 three,
four and five year olds every day!
We love living
close to Ben’s family and often are a part of the action and excitement that’s
happening over on their hobby farm (including a new baby sister, Alaina
Blessing)! Towards the beginning
of the year, Ben had time to work on the house we hope to someday live in and
buy, but for now we are still across the road in Purves’ rental. We are so blessed to have such
wonderful neighbors! We became
members of Tracy Alliance Church and also teach Sunday school for 1st-6th
grade. The past few months Naomi
headed up Operation Christmas Child at our church, and the grand finale was
taking a group to the Minneapolis processing center where we shipped the boxes
off to bless children in Uganda!
We are saving up $$ and planning a big trip to visit Naomi’s family in
China, Lord willing sometime in 2013!
Ben continues to work for Sahlstrom’s Heating and in
September became a Journeyman plumber.
He not only passed the difficult test, he did so with such a high score
the proctor personally called him to congratulate him! Being a Journeyman is one year away
from his Master Plumber license. Those of you who knew the big-spender Ben
would hardly recognize the wise, frugal saver he is now! Listening to The Dave Ramsey Show has sparked a growing interest in
finance. We are seeking God for
life direction and long-term career plans for Ben and our family in the future.
One of our biggest
highlights this year was learning a lot of practical things about wise money
management according to the Bible through Dave Ramsey’s 9-week course,
Financial Peace University! Since
the class wasn’t offered in our area, we became class coordinators so we could
host it. The first time we went
through it as a small group with several other young couples, and then this
fall hosted it at our church with 40+ people from the church and community
attending! God has given us a desire to help people in this area of life, and
we are passionate about continuing to live as an example and offering hope to
others!
Ben & Naomi
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