One Year Later...

The date on the calendar this coming Sunday will mark one year since I left WBCL for the last time. One whole year, you guys. I truly cannot believe all that has taken place over this last calendar year. Proof that God really does abundantly above and beyond all we could ask or imagine.

This was a scary day. I was about to voluntarily {and obediently to the Lord} walk away from the job I dearly loved and had grown to be good at, and I had no idea what would be in front of me when the alarm went off the next morning...or the morning after that...or the morning after that.

But you know what's so great?

God knew. He knew all that would be ahead of us, and He knew I needed to be at home, free to handle all the details. {Details known only to Him.}

One. 

Even though it was not the predominant theme of the year, Ryan and I did get to actually rest some this year. I am not sure that people understood how very little rest we had enjoyed since getting married. Double commutes with jobs in health care and radio did not afford much down time. My being home to handle some of the day-to-day tasks gave us more time {even if not a LOT of time} to rest. I cherish it.

Two.

I spent many of the early weeks combing through every square inch of our house and purging all the boxes and truckloads of things we didn't need anymore. It was another task that had piled up since our wedding, and to finally be able to look through it all and weed out the excess was a blessing. It was freeing to simplify, and because I had the time to do so, I was able to sort, price, and arrange everything for a huge garage sale. We made enough money from that sale to pay for our vacation last fall. I was so thankful to be able to contribute that way!

Three.

 In the four years I worked at WBCL, I had time to read about four books. And all of them were work-related. Since leaving the station, I have had the privilege of reading a book every week, and it has been a delight to me. I love learning and honing my own writing craft through reading the words of others!

Four.

 Another thing I didn't have time to do while working? Write. I could blog, but I didn't have time for anything beyond that. In the year that I have been off work, I have written an entire book manuscript and am working to publish it. And the ideas for more that swirl in my head tell me I need to keep doing what I'm doing!

Five.

 We trained for and ran a race, which is something I would love to do again, but it was the first time we'd made time for this since we got married.

Six.

 Though we are still learning to have more time for this, we loved being able to actually have a little more time to spend with friends this year. Dinners and parties here and there, connecting and reconnecting in ways we never had time to do before!

Seven.

 We started serving more together at church - as greeters and coffee makers. We found areas where we can serve TOGETHER, and it was freeing to have the time to make those commitments!

Eight.

 In the spirit of serving together, we also hosted our first small group in our home, a group formed through our church. We led the group for six weeks and loved sharing with them every week. We are looking to lead another group starting this fall, because we loved the chance to do this before!

Nine.

 We missed radio, so we started our own podcast, now over 30 episodes strong, where we banter about life, tell funny stories, and share what we're learning from the Lord! This has been one of the biggest delights of our year!

Ten.

Perhaps the most unexpected change of the year was our move! I have no idea how people who work full time ever manage to sort, purge, pack, move, unpack, and settle! That was a lot of work and consumed a considerable amount of hours. But I was so thankful that I had the time in my schedule to do all that. With the exception of a few attic and garage items, I packed our entire house myself {with my OCD planner in tow} and did the lion's share of the painting, unpacking, and settling at our new place. Oh how we love being settled in our new home!

Eleven.

 The freedom in my schedule has also given me the freedom to add more speaking to my work, and I have loved preparing and sharing with women in different groups. I have also loved it that Ryan gets to accompany me to almost all the engagements. Looking forward to much more of this in the months to come!

Twelve.

And the biggest change? Losing almost 30 pounds in the last six months and feeling better than I ever have in my whole life. Our switch to a clean eating lifestyle with much more exercise has been really good for both of us.

All these things have happened in the last year, and I am profoundly grateful for God's provision for us in allowing me to stay home and manage these things. What a busy, full year, and while I do miss my friends at the station, and I miss being able to share like I did on the air, I adore being home, serving Ryan, writing, investing in friendships, investing in our marriage, and being free to be used by the Lord in ways I hadn't been able to for the last four years!