As I think back over the course of this year, I am shocked at all that it has held. We started the year living in Cleveland trying to decipher where the Lord was sending us for seminary. I was 7 month pregnant. We still had a house. I was teaching 4th grade. Keith was attending New Orleans seminary via their Atlanta extension center and working at Truett. Life was good and we had no reason to move except the restlessness the Holy Spirit stirred in us. We visited 2 seminaries within 10 days and after much prayer knew the Lord was calling us to New Orleans.
We put our house on the market and began packing our stuff. On March 14, 2008, Madison Rachel was born. I can hardly remember what our life was like before she joined us! She is now 9.5 months old and blessing our lives way beyond what we imagined. We lived with Mom and Dad for a few months after our house sold (Praise the Lord) and before we moved. We had fun this summer just relaxing with the fam. In June we got to go to Orlando with Keith's family and had a wonderful time!
9 of us packed up and trucked across the country in late July. Enter us into the ghetto. Before you make any false assumptions, I must admit that I love living in New Orleans. It definitely offers a different perspective and it is nowhere near as bad as you think it is. Keith has another successful semester under his belt and is still hoping for a May '10 graduation. A lot of people ask me where we are headed after that and my answer is still 'I don't know'. There are many different ministries on our hearts and areas where we feel skilled by the Lord, but we are leaving the end up to Him.
Both sets of parents frequent NOLA, which we greatly enjoy. Not only their company, but also their offer to take us to eat. Have you ever noticed there aren't many cheap seafood places? (Other than Captain D's Mom). I knew after Maddy was born they wouldn't stay away for long and I was right! Things will probably be a little harder this semester as we won't have many reasons to come home for visits. Keith got a job on campus, which is a huge answer to prayer, but will also limit our time away! My cousin Andy is getting married in April, so we will be home then, but other than that, I'm not sure what our travels will hold.
Spiritually this year has been challenging for me. You know how you can keep convincing yourself that something will be easier when ______ happens? Well, I guess satan is pretty good with that lie because I seem to believe it every time. I was thinking that doing my quiet time would be so much easier when I was staying home with Madison (instead of working). I was wrong. It is still something you have to sacrifice for and plan to do. Needless to say it's been an uphill battle to find that time and stick to it. I've had the awesome opportunity to attend some seminary wife classes at NOBTS. My favorite so far is the one I've just finished. We read through Living by the Book by Howard & William Hendricks. I would highly recommend it! It teaches you how to read the Bible in a way where it actually transforms your life. It's been liberating.
I need to wrap this up cause it's already much longer than I intended. Happy New Year to you from the Wades! We look forward to keeping up with you via blog, phone, email, Skype, in person, etc. My prayer for you is the same for myself: That I will look back in a year's time and be speechless with how much the Lord has molded me to become like Christ.
