Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will you Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
~ Matthew 7:7-11
These verses have been the theme as I’ve looked back on this year at all the blessings and experiences God has given me. I am thankful that I serve a loving Father who delights in giving good gifts to His children!
Here are some of God’s gifts to me of this year:
In early May, I travelled to Gatlinburg, TN to go hiking in the Smoky Mountains with my cousins Tiffany and Angela.
In late May, my family enjoyed a relaxing beach vacation in beautiful Spanish Wells, Bahamas.
Kristen, Melissa, Jenny, and I enjoyed a sisters’ trip to the Indiana Sand Dunes in June.
I gained a brother in September when Isaiah Rios married my sister Melissa.
Language school for 6 weeks in Costa Rica, October through November went very smoothly!
This month I have been enjoying not working and spending time with friends and family.
Up next I’ll be leaving for South America for 10 months. January 2nd I will head to Harrisburg, PA to join up with a team from ABWE and go to Lima, Peru with them on the 4th. This is a Storytellers Abroad trip (same trip that I did to the Balkans last year and to Nicaragua in 2016). I will be helping the team produce stories for the missionaries in Lima. After a week, they will return to the States, and I’ll remain in Peru for a couple of months. Please pray for this trip that the transport of all the equipment would be issue-free, that we would all learn a lot, that I would be able to help others well with their projects, and that the stories would further the Kingdom and cause people to give glory to God. Please also pray for me as I prepare to live abroad for 10 months and that the transition would go smoothly.
May you grow in your relationship with our Heavenly Father in 2019, and may your heart be filled with thanksgiving for His many good gifts this Christmas season!
Gloria Images 