Happy New Year! Welcome to 2003! I hope you had a wonderful new year's celebration. I always enjoy thinking about everything that's happened in the last year. It seems every web site does a "Year In Review" article, recounting the most important events of the year. Well, in tribute to our God, I thought I'd write a "Year in Review" for Bec and my life together. God has done some really incredible things this year for us, and we just have to share!

Psalm 136 recounts some of the most amazing events in the history of Israel. After each line, the writer repeats, "for his mercy endures forever." What the writer was saying is that it was the mercy of God at work in history.

These next few paragraphs are a kind of "Psalm 136" of our own lives this past year. We have seen God grant us mercy like never before. More than ever, we have seen Him provide for us as a family, and we just have to share it with you.

So, as you read, praise and give thanks to God, for His mercy endures forever!

Thirsty
As a member of the volunteer college and career staff at West Park, I was given the opportunity to attend a Passion conference for college leaders called Thirsty. Through many obstacles, God opened the way for me to go. The church paid for all my expenses except for food, so I took two days of vacation from work and headed to Atlanta with Jared for the conference.

There was no way I could have been ready for what I experienced there. I had come to the conference thirsty, and God filled me there like I had never been filled before. This conference wasn't about strategies or planning. Instead, it was about seeking the face of the Almighty I AM. And for three days, we worshipped and prayed and listened as God spoke through His word.

At the end of the conference, I truly felt closer to God than I had ever been before. And through that conference He taught me some very important truths, like

• He is the answer to every question. He is the great I AM.
• Successful ministry grows out of prayerful listening, not out of planning (See Acts)
• God blesses God's vision, not my own.

If that were the only event that had happened in 2002, it would have still been a banner year. But God did not stop there!

Our Miracle Car
Along about September, we started feeling the financial crunch of infertility. Bec and I had been trying for several years to get pregnant, but nothing was working. At that time, we were in the middle of fertility treatments that were draining our bank accounts. I remember plainly the Friday night in September when I realized that our bank account was overdrawn and we still had bills to pay.

Right in the middle of all that financial chaos, as God was teaching me to both trust Him for our finances as well as how to be frugal, we had one of those "Oh, no" moments. On the way back from visiting Bec's folks in Nashville, our car (the "good car"), just died. It made an awful racket and the oil light came on. After a few hours of finagling at the nearest gas station, my parents came to pick us up in their car. The next night my father, grandfather and I went to try to fix it, but after another couple of miles, the engine blew.

We were really in a fix now. We had only one working car, and that one was a 1988 Mercury Sable that has been on its last leg for a few years. Instead of worry about it, though, Bec and I worked hard at praying for God to show us what to do. It wasn't easy. We were tempted to worry a lot. But we tried our best to pray when we got worried. We reminded ourselves that God would take care of our needs.

As a step to trusting God, Bec sent out an email to many of our friends asking them to pray for our situation. The very next day, we received a phone call from some friends of ours named Mike and Jeanelle Lucas who in Michigan. Mike, Bec and I all hung out in college together several years ago. I could hardly believe my ears when Mike told me why he called. He had received our email, and he had a car he wanted to give us. Not sell us. Give us!

So, after some more prayer and tears, we thanked God for moving Mike and Jeanelle to give us their car. Then we arranged plans to go to Michigan to get it!

Our Michigan Trip
In order to get that car in Michigan, we needed to fly up there. Expecting to have to dig into our savings, I started looking for an airline ticket for myself. The cheapest thing I could find out of Knoxville was near $350! Then, my dad called me one night. He had found one way tickets to Detroit from Atlanta for $59 per person! It would be cheaper for both Bec and me to go!

The only problem was getting to Atlanta. As we figured out when we could go, it worked out that my dad could take us on a Thursday morning, because he had a company function to attend in Atlanta on the next Friday! So we didn't even have to rent a car to go to Atlanta. And, since we were going on a Thursday instead of a Saturday, we would be able to spend some time in Michigan with our friends instead of just showing up and taking their car!

Money for Nothing
This is when the cool stuff kicked up even another notch. During the several weeks between the time we had booked the flight and the actual travel dates, God provided almost $1000 out of nowhere. People gave us money out of the blue, even after we told them we didn't need it. Anonymous gifts were given to us at church, and a check for retro pay from my job all came in at once!

Birthdays and Memories
As it turned out, we would be in Michigan the weekend before Bec's birthday, which was on a Monday. When this became apparent to me, an idea entered my mind. Bec and I were married in Michigan and had stayed in a bed and breakfast in Chesaning, Michigan for our honeymoon. Why didn't I try to get the same room at that bed and breakfast while we were up there? So I contacted the Stone House Bed and Breakfast and worked out the arrangements. Bec and I hadn't really celebrated our anniversary this year, so this was even more perfect.

When we went to Michigan, Bec thought we were leaving Sunday. But on Saturday night, as we talked about our plans for leaving, I surprised her with the news that we wouldn't be leaving the next day. Instead, we'd be going to the same room we stayed in on our honeymoon. For dinner, we'd be eating in the same restaurant we ate at on our honeymoon. What a wonderful treat that was! God worked out every detail, and we had a wonderful time remembering those first few days of our marriage.

More Than I Can Say
Well, this is getting long, and there are more things I could tell you about, but I think you get the idea. This year, we have seen God provide for us in ways we had never seen before. We have a new understanding of what it means to see God as Jehovah Jireh, the God who provides.

I hope you know that God. Another one of His names is El Shaddai, which means, "The all-sufficient One." There is no water that can quench a thirsty soul like Jesus. He is more than enough for every thirst and every need! If you don't know this God, I'd love to tell you more about Him! Although I don't know your situation, I know my God. And I know that no matter what, He will be faithful to you like He's been faithful to us!

"Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever." -- Psalm 136:1