numero uno

Then King David went in and sat before the LORD, and he said:
"Who am I, O Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought me this.


I read this during my bible reading this morning and I definitely feel David's sentiment. I can't believe its already July! And while Brett and I will soon be leaving washington and our first year of marriage behind, in a lot of ways I am incredibly grateful that God has given us an entire year of marriage without him being deployed! It could have been a lot lot worse...so yes, we have been held in His hands.

This year among many small things has included the following:

-An amazing wedding that went without a hitch.
-A honeymoon that was great- in fact, I didnt get a terrible stomach bug until we were on the plan headed home! Amazing!
-We were blessed with a lovely two bedroom apartment and a guest bedroom so we could have guests anytime we wanted.
-We were given Mike and Katie as neighbors-who, I mean, how often do you get a couple for friends-where everyone likes to hang out with each other equally?! ( apparently its rare, although we were blessed with it right out of the gate!)
-I was able to get a job at Lacoste Coffee, which turned out to be a joy pretty much every single day.
-Brett was assigned to A Company as a platoon leader, not his first choice of company, but it turned out to be exactly where God wanted him.
-Brett was able to develop many important relationships at his job.
-I was able to develop relationships with those that I served at the coffee shop as well as those i worked with.
-We were able to be a part of the very beginnings of the Navigator Thurs night bible study and watch it grow from just a handful to doubling and tripling in size.
-We have been able to meet with amazing believers every Sunday night for indepth bible study, and we've learned so much from every one of them.
-We found a church that we have gotten a lot from, and been able to invite others and watch them grow from the teachings, as well. ( last count about 10 people are not attending this church because we invited them to come!)
-I was given many special girl friends when I was feeling particularly lonely.
-Brett was able to develop several close friendships and watch how God has worked in those guys lives in a big way.
-We got to have visits from family members over the Thanksgiving break.
-We were able to go back to Texas for an extended trip over the christmas holidays.
-We got to take multiple weekend trips to the beach, seattle, northern washington, portland and several islands nearby and Mount Rainer and Mount St Helen's ( with the Kinnairds! yay!) .
-I made it through many illnesses with lots of love and support...and lets not forget, free medical care!
-We bought our first brand new car and paid it off in less than 8 months ( God is good!).

And above all God has continued to answer our prayer for our marriage that He would give us one heart and one way, that we would learn to fear the Lord always ( Jer 32:39)