Farewell to 2008

Greetings from the last day in 2008,

I am thankful I no longer write checks.....it would take me at least 2 -3 months before I would remember to change the year.

But wow what a year this has been. Lots of good times and too many bad. It's hard to believe Big H is gone. Several times this Christmas season I would pick up an item in a store that I thought would make a great gift for him. Only to remember he is not with us anymore. Time heals all... or so we are told, but it just seems difficult still. And even harder during the holidays.

In 2008 we packed up all our belongings and headed to Greece. Without a clue in the world as to what life would be like fully relying on Him. This past year was the first time in our Christian walk that we allowed God to fully control our financial destiny. It may sound easy to say I trust God. I listen to God. I am the co-pilot and God is the pilot.

It was easy to go tho church like good Southern Bible belt goers. It was somewhat effortless to tithes. It was no problem to take a mission trip. Not even difficult to stay 2 or 3 months then bounce back to the states for a few months.... then off again. Seminary took a while, but Harry enjoyed most of it.... maybe not Greek so much. (How ironic...his hardest subject was Greek and we find ourselves smack in the middle of Greece) Preaching for Harry came natural... well a few Sundays we rough, but he got the hang of it. Even the 2 year stint of Youth Ministry was fulfilling, rewarding, and trying at times.... But almost everything we did for Him we enjoyed.

Little did we know, we were prepping ourselves for what was to come in 2008. A call to ministry unlike anything we had ever done before. A call for Harry to leave a lucrative career and work for literally peanuts. (Like that... not like the airline was the one with Honey roasted Peanuts.. I miss those a little.) 2008 brought a change of life. A change in geographical location. A new career path. A new home dweller (Peabody). And a new attitude toward the phrase "Fully Relying on God."

And God knew how to make Harry fully trust Him. In financial matters. Harry is the kind of loving husband who knows how much you shop before the loot even makes it home. (we have online banking) I think he may even have some sort of thingy that alerts his phone if I use my debit card prompting him to immediately check the Delta Credit Union web site. Any of your banks offer this service?

True story: I took a girls trip to Paris. Arrived safely, but did not call Harry until later that day at the hotel. When our friend Mary talked to her husband... he replied, "We knew you had arrived, Harry saw that Kristie had bought something at the Paris airport. So we knew you guys were okay."


Yelp.... that's my Harry. Always making sure I am okay.... or maybe his ending balance.

But if God wants Harry's attention... he does it through $$. But He has taken care of us this entire 2008 year. We have kept our house in Atlanta, thus keeping a pilot salary mortgage. And GOD has kept us faithful renters. We had no idea how to make it all work financially, but it has.

So 2008 has taught Harry and I a different kind of relationship with Christ. And I cannot say it too many times. Trust.

Trust. In a way we never knew before. Trusting Him with our livelihood. Trusting Him to find us a new family of friends in a world so foreign. Trusting Him to provide for our family. Trusting Him to allow Harry to prosper ministerially in His name. Trusting Him that our 3 loved ones are in a better place today than here on earth with us. Trusting Him with every breath we take. Through the good times and the bad. Through 2008 and beyond.

So farewell to 2008 & May God Bless and keep you safe throughout 2009,

Harry & Kristie