Happy New Year!

Happy 2014! My family and I were in Kansas over the New Year, and enjoyed a lot of activities with the extended family. I had a lot of fun watching my cousin Ashley as she worked on training her horse, Dixie. And I enjoyed walking out in the trees and the pasture around Grandma's place, taking in the warm sun and the smell of fresh cut hay. It was so beautiful that I took my Bible and notebook out to the pasture one morning and had my quiet time all alone with God out there by the hay bales. I don't know about you, but spending time out in God's creation is one of my favorite things to do! A lot of us older cousins and uncles went laser tagging one night, which was a blast. I also enjoyed meeting some of the new little ones that have joined the Bergen clan! And it was very entertaining to watch the boys with all of their bright ideas and experiments over the 6 days that we were there. One of their favorite pastimes was breaking up the ice on the pond...

...and jumping from chunk to chunk, seeing how far they could get. They all fell in at least 15 times apiece.
They had also gotten Frisbees for Christmas, and put those to use quite a bit. Riding four wheelers and dirt bikes was another favorite activity. And on midnight on New Year's Eve, they shook the house to its very foundation with the explosives they were setting off outdoors. Life would not be the same without all of these crazy guys! It would be pretty dull, to put it mildly.

And in between all of the fun times, we worked together as a family. We split wood for a whole day, working, joking, laughing, having fun. Many hands make light work!

I am so blessed to have the family and extended family that I have. Sometimes it's so easy to take them all for granted, but I know that I have been blessed far beyond what I deserve. To have such a godly heritage passed down from generation to generation, preserved by the hand of the Lord, is so amazing! I am so thankful to Him for His bountiful blessings!
He has helped me to grow so much this past year in my walk with Him, through family, friends, and one very special boyfriend. They have encouraged me, prayed for me, and pointed me towards Christ through their examples. I am so grateful to each of them!

And now it's 2014. I have decided to choose a new life verse each year, and this year my verse is Joshua 1:9 ~ "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."

Quite honestly, 2014 doesn't feel a whole lot different than 2013. Routines are the same, there is still school, although I am graduating this year, and violin lessons will be starting up again. But I'm excited to see what God has planned for this year, for "All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose!"