~ Happy New Year ~

Another Year is Dawning

Another year is dawning, dear Father, let it be

In working or in waiting, another year with Thee.

Another year of progress, another year of praise,

Another year of proving Thy presence all the days.

Another year of mercies, of faithfulness and grace,

Another year of gladness in the shining of Thy face;

Another year of leaning upon Thy loving breast;

Another year of trusting, of quiet, happy rest.

Another year of service, of witness for Thy love,

Another year of training for holier work above.

Another year is dawning, dear Father, let it be

On earth, or else in Heaven, another year for Thee.

~ Frances R. Havergal ~

"So teach us to number our days,

that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

O satisfy us early with thy mercy;

that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

Let thy work appear unto thy servants,

and thy glory unto their children.

And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us:

and establish thou the work of our hands upon us;

yea, the work of our hands establish thou it. 

~ Psalm 90:12,14,16,17 ~

May the Lord guide us each in this coming year, draw our hearts closer to Himself, give us a deeper love for Him, cleans us and purify us, conform us to the image of Christ, grow us in our love for one another, and use us as lights of His kingdom for His glory and honor.

Happy New Year from the Alexander Family!

New Years Celebration in the Alexander Home

Bringing in the new year is a special thing in our house.  It's definitely a looked-forward-to highlight each year!  This year we really tried to put forth more thought into it.  Our family loves creating new family traditions, and we sought to do this this year both in a spiritual sense and with some fun activities.  So here's a little piece of what it looked like at the Alexander home bringing in the new year for 2015.

At our house, New Years Eve isn't complete without some special favorite treats. :-)

This was something new we did this year.  Mom placed a slip of paper inside each balloon.  Then she blew them up and wrote various times of the night on each one.  At whatever time it was, each person got to pop a balloon and read the slip of paper to see what activity was next.  It was fun, especially for the kids, and helped us keep our time structured enough to get more in.

Sarah had her turn first.

Bell helped her read her slip of paper.

First up was making the food preparations.

Titus melting chocolate...

...and Sarah and Brittany blending Oreos and cream cheese.

Oreo Bon-Bons are a favorite treat here, especially for Tayte.

Elizabeth preparing our tray of cheese and crackers and salami.

Definitely a stand-by treat for special occasions.

After the food preparations, it was Esther's turn to pop her balloon.

Our snacky dinner was next.

Daddy with us kids.

We're waiting...... not everyone's here yet.

Taste-testing, just to make sure.

Yep; definitely good. :-)

The table-full of family favorites.

Now everyone's here!

Titus's turn. - Love his smile. :-)

Dad and Tayte telling a story.

I know it's a little blurry, but I love the picture.  It was such a good story. :-)

It's always fun to go back and reminisce.

Bell popping her balloon.

Next is a jelly bean game.

 The goal was to transfer all of the jelly beans from one bowl to the other using the straw.

And Dad was the winner.

Haha.  Love the look on his face. :-)

 Tayte was next.

 

Mom found this idea of hanging doughnuts from a string and having everyone see who could eat theirs first.  It was comical to be sure, and fun.

 

Ginger Bread Houses

Ginger bread houses are a New Years tradition at our house.

This year we tried something new and used graham crackers.  That worked really well.  A lot better than the huge ginger bread house kits.  And it allowed everyone to make their own small house.  It was fun to see everyone's creativity and style.

As you can see, we had a lot of fun. :-)

We played cards.

Something new Mom and Dad have taught us this year that we enjoy doing from time to time.

Sweet Mom playing "War" with the little girls.

We decided to do sparklers this year, as something different and fun for the kids.

Keeping in mind, that up north in January it's too cold to be hanging out outside with sparklers.  We had never thought of such a thing. :-)

Love Essie's face in this one. :-)

 

We did a few other things as well, including a balloon release and devotion time.  As we watched the balloons  up in the sky for as long as we could, Dad read from the Bible about when Christ ascended to Heaven and spoke about watching for and being ready for Christ's return.  It gave a really neat thought-provoking analogy.

 

We also decided to do something special for New Years Day this year.

We took a family bike trip, only the second time we'd been out on our bikes as a family since our move, so it was a real treat. :-)

 

The place we went was beautiful!  It was so peaceful and quiet.  Their weren't a lot of people around, and it was a perfect day to be out.

That evening Dad and Mom took us all out for dinner.

We had a wonderful dinner, which happened to be our first experience at a southern buffet :-), and had a nice time of talking and reminiscing about the past year, seeing how the Lord has worked and blessed, and discussing goals, thoughts, and hopes for the new year.

The Lord has truly blessed us very much this past year, and we are looking forward to seeing how He is going to work in this year as well.

 

"O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him"

~ Psalm 34:8 ~

"And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation."

~Isaiah 25:9 ~

"This is the LORD's doing; it is marvellous in our eyes."

~ Psalm 118:23 ~

 

~Brittany

Advance on Your Knees ~ Faith & Courage for This Year's Journey

And the Lord shall guide thee continually...

Isaiah 58:11

...and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places.

Habakkuk 3:19

Advance into this new year on your knees.  Faith doesn ot concern itself with the entire journey.  One step is enough.  That first step is all that is needed.  Breathe a prayer for courage to fill your legs as well as your heart as you face the unknown, the unexpected.  What matters that you know not your destination?  Put your hand into the hand of God.  He gives the calmness and serenity of heart and soul.  As He endures, you too, can endure the climb over sharp rocks and crags.  Climb with Him to the end of the year - yea, even to the end of life's trail.  "The peak that is nearest the storm-cloud is nearer the stars fo light."  He gives the courage for which you pray to rise above the valley.  Heed the Master's voice adn press bravely on to the fulfillment of your task.  You have a whole year to scale.

"A Voice said 'CLIMB.'  And he said, 'How shall I climb?

The mountains are so steep that I cannot climb.'

"The Voice said, 'CLIMB or DIE.'

"He said, 'But how?  I see no way up those steep ascents.

This that is asked of me is too hard for me.'

"The Voice said, 'CLIMB or PERISH, soul and body of thee, mind and spirit of thee.  There is no second choice for any son of man.  CLIMB or DIE.'"

Some of the bravest of mountaineers have related incredible tales concerning their climbs up the hills of earth.  Sometimes they were aware fo the presence of a Companion who was not among the earthly party of climbers on the mountains.
How much more positive is the presence fo the Heavenly Guide as God's mountaineers climb the high places fo the Spirit!
God's mountain climbers are created to walk in precarious places, not on the easy levels of life.
Do not limit the Limitless God!  With Him face the new trail and follow on unafraid, for you walk not alone!
- Mrs. Charles E. Cowman, Streams in the Dessert, Volume 2, January 2nd
~Brittany

Happy New Year 2015!

Happy New Year everyone from the Alexanders!!! May it be a year of drawing us all closer to the Lord, making us more Christ-like, bringing God glory, and knowing His faithfulness in a more real way each day!

~Breanna

Happy New Year!!!!!

A very happy new year to you all!!!!  What a blessing it is to have been given the gift of 365 more days...may we use them wisely and for the glory of Christ.   It's exciting and inspiring as we make goals for this new year.  I'm sure some of them will end up being shared here eventually.  :-) 

This post by Matthew Jacobson is such a good reminder as we begin this year.  I know for our family, looking back over everything that happened in 2013 is amazing.  It was a BIG year with moving and having so many changes in our lives.  It was a year filled with difficulty, excitement, many trials and testing of our faith, joy in being together, unknown, answered prayers and much waiting...but above all else, it was a year walked with God by faith, which made it an amazingly good year because we serve an amazingly good God who is faithful always!  I wonder what God has in store for us for 2014????  Like Mr. Jacobson says...

 

Are you ready for the new year? Doesn’t much matter because it’s here! A lot of life is like that, coming at us fast and hard.

 

Much of the time we can feel like Phillip when Jesus looked over the crowd of 5,000 (not counting women and children) and asked, “Okay, Philip, where are we going to buy food to feed these people?” (MLJV).

Philip knew it was impossible. They only had a little money.

Jesus knew it was impossible, too.

Jesus knows what we know. He knows the insurmountable mountain you’re facing right now. But, He knows something more. He knows what He intends to do, regardless of the enormity of our circumstances. The next verse says Jesus asked Philip . . . for a reason . . . to test him. (John 6:6)

Jesus wants to know how we’ll respond when faced with circumstances that only He can handle. Will we trust Him with the impossible? Jesus had a plan for Philip, for that huge crowd, and He has a plan for you, today, right now.

This is what God was reminding me, this morning, when I read these words from the Sermon on the Mount: The Father knows what you need before you ask. (Matthew 6:8).

Will you trust Him with that impossible challenge in 2014?

He knows what we need and He has a plan.

 

 Blessings and love to you all as we begin this new year!  May God's richest blessings be yours!

~Breanna for the family