Hello, 2016

Hi there,

Chris and I are two of those boring people, who believe that while it’s great that December 31 is the last day of the year and January 1st is the first day of the new year, there is really no reason to stay up and celebrate it as if it wouldn’t come otherwise. : ) So we didn’t stay up any longer we would have on any other “normal” day. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with staying up and “welcoming” the new year awake, but it was more fun when we were younger, now we value sleep at night over almost anything else. : )

I’m not a big fan of New Year’s resolutions, I believe that once you see that there is something you need to change in, don’t wait until January 1st to work on them. And there really aren’t a lot of things that people all the sudden realize they can do better on December 31st. 🙂 Anyway, this is not to say there is anything wrong with New Year’s resolutions. 🙂

I made a commitment 3 years ago to read my Bible from cover to cover every year. I did it in 2013, 2014, 2015, and am in the process of doing it this year. I try to study each book as I read them, but I usually don’t do a deep study on each book. If you spend only about half an hour a day reading the Bible, you will easily finish all 66 books in 6 months. Then you have half a year to do deep studies on books you would like to.

I recommend reading each book in one sitting (as much as possible). I understand that longer books are hard to read at once, but there are plenty smaller books that are easy to read through. You can learn so much reading through the Bible in a year (or less). I always take notes and my Bible barely has any space on the margins anymore. But rest assured, every year I find new things and understand new things. The Bible never gets old. I could tell you quite a few things that I have never noticed for years and when I did, it was an “aha moment.” 🙂 God’s Word should be always studied and read.

A great free Bible Reading App is Olive Tree. Here is their website: https://www.olivetree.com/

The kids are doing well, we love them and they love us. 🙂 Amy will be 5 next month (crazy!!!) and Haley will turn 17 months old tomorrow. Does that mean that Chris and I are also aging? That can’t be, right? Amy told me yesterday how she is going to be a mom and when I told her, yes, that means I will be a grandma, it hit me. I will be a grandma!!! I know… not tomorrow, but if 5 years have gone by this fast, I can only imagine how soon it will be.

And since we are talking about babies, one of my cousins gave birth a few days ago to their first little bundle of joy, Balázs. And another dear friend of ours had her first baby, Caroline yesterday, too! We are so excited for them! We have a few more dear friends whose due dates are around the corner or are already past their due dates. This time is so exciting for both them and us, as we anticipate their babies’ arrivals.

We are looking forward to this year and all that God has in store for us for the coming 12 months. We thank Him for all He has done and for all He will do. What an awesome God we serve!

God bless,

The James family