With it being 1:09am on Monday, Jan. 1st... My prayer is that I'll spend this next year giving God praise for answering so many prayers and focusing on the daily discipline of not taking any of it for granted!
Without any further ado... here's my year in review's top ten moments!!
Honorable Mentions:
*) Dallas Cowboys (This has been a fun season... As of TODAY, it looks like the Boys will be not only going to the playoffs but have home-field for the first round or two! I've been to a lot of games and even got to see Jimmy Johnson FINALLY inducted into the Ring of Honor this week... But the best game in a long time, was being present for this home game against the Eagles. So stinkin' fun!).
*) Bible Studies (I'm sure if I was more involved in these it would make the top 10 but even though I didn't do anything, it still deserves to make the honorable list as both big kids stepped up this year to lead bible studies... Jackson with the Football guys and Creighton for Charleigh's volleyball team. #GodIsGood).
*) Journey Graduation (So Journey was my #1 last year, so it's fitting that the graduation, where I completed the process should make the list. I'm thankful for the time spent and though I don't think it is necessary for every believer nor the only tool out their to push deeper connection... I am forever grateful to have pushed through and finished with this group.)!
Top 10 Moments of 2023:
10) Unplanned Moments (I have no clue where to start with this note but as I reflected above... so much of this year was unplanned and simply trying to figure out if this was the life we always wanted. As mentioned, though minimal "big moments" took place, the daily unplanned miracles in the mundane abound. God is so good!).
9) Small Group (Going into last year, we knew it was time to get involved or bust. I'm so thankful for this group and to see them rally behind one another to dig a little deeper and do life together. Though so much as happened this year, the relationships have been made the investment of time and energy has been spent... Life with others matters!).
8) Kanakuk (Yes, Kamp is a regular here on the top ten list but this summer was a little different... probably the last time all three will attend as kampers! As I write this Charleigh just found out her big Christmas gift was going back but Creighton has a big Choir trip (Austria) and Jackson has officially applied and accepted to be a CIT at K-Kauai this next summer.).
7) Club Ball (Though both girls made teams this year, Charleigh's was one I wanted to highlight. Not only did she make the team on her own... she worked so hard all year to upgrade her game so she'd be ready for the 8th grade school team AND SHE MADE IT! Another cool note was that Courtney was able to coach this team and honestly, was the best group of girls and parents that I've ever seen... not one time was drama an issue, and let me tell you, that's not the norm!)
6) The Injury (Not sure what to say about this one... Creighton ended up going down at the end of this year's club season and it was so hard and sad. HOWEVER, as mentioned, it was essentially the end of the season so we didn't miss a ton and was able to jump into school ball. The sad news here, was it happened AGAIN at the end of the school ball season. Thankfully club allowed her to send a "tape" in for try-outs and she made the 17-2s... so proud of her!)
5) Board Games (Without planning, we have ended up with a bunch of family traditions... I'm not sure I love any of them more than the reality that boardgames, card games and basic hangout happens more nights than not. I love that this crew chooses to hang out together over and over again!! P.S. Yes, the victor still gets to sign their name and date the box lid after each win.)
4) Men of West (Though this is more about WINsday and Friday Morning Motivation... Men of West was also taken up a notch this year! Every Wednesday, I led the guys in different team competitions from tug-o-war to Pop the Balloon. Then every Friday I was able to come in and do a pep talk around our core values and how they can be applied for life: FAST = Fundamentals, Attitude, Selflessness, Toughness and Core, Committed, Community & Crowd. On Thursdays we did our traditional MoW and I was able to arrange a Walmart buyer to bring power tools one week, ties & dress shirts another and even meats from Hall of Famer: Earl Campbell).
3) Family Roadtrips (In 2023, we finished the NorthEast: We flew into Buffalo, saw Niagra Falls, Canada and ate the original buffalo wings. Then after our flights were canceled we decided to drive to Maine through Vermont and New Hampshire. We had lobster on the shore in Bar Harbor, saw Acadia National Park and so much incredible countryside. In Boston, we walked the Freedom Trail, visited Harvard and had the best Chinese of our lives in Chinatown. In Connected we visited Yale and had Frank Pepe's Pizza and in Rhode Island we saw the mansions and a few more pit stops on the beach!)
*As I write this, we are putting the finishing touches on our June 2024 trip where we will hit 6 of the remaining 7 states!
2) The end of Football (I'm still not sure what to write here... It's been almost two months since the season ended and I still feel I missed so much. Time will tell if he will look back on it with no regrets and decide if all the time, energy and hurt was worth it. It's the one sport you don't really ever get to do again...and I can't believe it's already over).
1) 20th Anniversary (No better decision have I ever made then asking this woman to be my wife. She makes me better in every way and more importantly, has continued to be exactly what I have needed in every season. God truly made her with me in mind and I couldn't be prouder to have celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary this year... We even got to go to the same hotel AND ROOM from both our first honeymoon night and our 10th anniversary.)!
Bottom line... God is good and oh so faithful, may I never forget this NOR take it for granted!!
