Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Onward and Upward

Please visit our new blog site here at www.c3wives.wordpress.com. We have a beautiful new site for 2008, and all of the posts of 2007 are there too!

See you on the flip side!

C3 Wives.

Me and My Guitar

I'm not big on making New Years Resolutions, mainly because I never keep them. I start out with a bang, but usually start slacking off around week 2 of January. Barry and I are going to write out our goals for 2008...maybe if we call them "goals" instead of "resolutions" we'll have more success.

I'm not going to tell you all of them (because then you might actually ask me about one of them in February or March!) Maybe in December I'll write about the goals that actually got accomplished.

One of the goals I have for this year is to learn how to play my guitar. About 2 years ago Barry and I went to a conference and I heard a young lady sing and play the song "All for Love". It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever heard and I vowed at that moment, even though I had never even strummed a guitar, that I would learn how to play and sing that song. Well, a year passed by and I still hadn't attempted to play a guitar.

Then for Mother's Day last year, Barry surprised me with...you guessed it...A GUITAR! He even got me an electronic tuner and a couple of books that teach you how to play the guitar in just a few easy (ha!) lessons. I was really into it for a couple of days...then my fingers hurt!

Anyway, I still have visions of me being able to sing and play "All for Love" just like the girl I saw, so 2008 will be the year that I learn how to play my guitar...or at least learn the major chords! Anybody have any tips on how to keep my fingers from hurting?

Here's To Tomorrow...

(Thanks for the memories!)

The path of 2007 has been a challenging - often painful - part of the journey, and few understand this like "The Real Staff Wives of Orange County": the pastor's wives at C3 Church. These, my sisters, know what the past year has been - for me, for themselves, their husbands, friends, and for the church.

Amanda, Andrea, and Sandi are the "Real Staff Wives of Orange County", but they are not defined by their position, who their husbands are, how "well" they perform, what others say about them...etc. They are defined by "whose" they are - THEY ARE HIS: Christ followers with a passion for others to know Him.

It is because they know whose (and whom) they are that they can love with abandon, give 'til they feel it, lose and not look back, and be...really be barbaric in their spreading of grace.

I love these "graceful barbarians", and I thank them for their patience, their sacrifice, their endurance, their support...and for their love, in return.

Sandi, Andrea, and Amanda:
You rock! Thanks for being warriors on this path of peace - I wouldn't trade you for anything.

Here's to 2008 - It's gonna be a crazy-great ride. Thanks for being in it with me.

Love, Angie

Saturday, December 29, 2007

Goodbye 2007!

Now that Andrea has a blog of her own, I feel more of a responsibility to blog. She was the glue holding this site together! I'm not promising something everyday, but I will try to be more consistent.

We have had a busy and fun-filled week celebrating Christmas. Barry and I are so blessed to have both of our families living within about 3 miles of each other in Melbourne. We were able to spend lots of time with our families, visiting 3 sets of grandparents having the kids get to see all of their aunts, uncles, and cousins from both sides. We had 3 babies born in 2007 in our family and it was special to have them all together for their first Christmas.

As I look back on 2007, I have to say that I'm not sad to see it go. I have personally experienced many lows throughout the year, more than I care to count. However, there is nothing more exciting to me than being able to look back on an event or a series of events and see how God not only brought me through the fire, but made me stronger because of it. I'm not saying that I've "arrived" or that I have all the answers, but I can say that I am thankful for the lessons God has taught me throughout this year, even if those lessons did come with great pain.

There are several verses that I have clung to over the past year, but I think these are the ones that spoke to me the most...

Romans 8:35 - 40
35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."[a] 37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[b] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I am so excited to see what 2008 holds for my walk with Christ, my family, and c3 church. I know that no matter what, NOTHING can seperate me from the love of God!

Friday, December 28, 2007

Whoa... I must calm down!

I'm mentally preparing for a relaxing day. Sounds weird, I know. Mentally preparing to relax?! I just now feel like the holidays are finally winding down for me and I have today off... what do I do with myself?! My house is clean. My husband is fed. My cat is fed. I am fed. There aren't many errands to do. This is stressful for me! I think I'll visit with some friends today. Maybe I'll take a trip to Miss Amy's or my new friend Carrie's with Monica. We may go hang out with Angie and Byron tonight. I can't wait for that! That is always super exciting! Why can't I just sit still?! Oh well... welcome to my crazy little world! I got some blogging in though and that counts for something. Check out my new blog if you have a chance at www.andrealoper.wordpress.com. It is a place for me to filter even more crazy thoughts. I've become a bit of a "blog hog" so I created my own little blog haven.