Christmas Joy

My days have been filled with many plans. Before the wedding, each day, Jim and I would look at our "today's list" and complete as much as was possible. The wedding day arrived. Clear and cold. It was reported to be the coldest day recorded for December 7th. There is much to write about that--but that's for another time.

Cutting our first piece of cake. What fun!

After the wedding I thought,  Surely, things will calm down and we won't have to plan every minute any more! Well, as you might guess, that isn't the case! After a glorious honeymoon trip to cold, cold Whistler, Canada, we returned to our home in Vancouver.

There was a nearly completed remodeling project to home and back yard. Unopened boxes packed from two households. And of course, CHRISTMAS! Gifts. Cards. Plans for Christmas Day, Christmas Eve. Our new blended family gift list. Just to give you an idea of how many people in our blended family, here's a shot of those who were at the wedding. It doesn't include all of the family, but gives you an idea of the size of the family. We are blessed!

Rudberg/Graybill/Mozena Families

We sang Great Is Thy Faithfulness at our wedding and it seems appropriate to include in this blog:

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;

There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide; 
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!




What more can I say? God has been so faithful to Jim and I.




Many blessings to each of you. Merry Christmas and may each of you find joy this Christmas season.

Write Them Down!

What do we write down? Our prayers and prayer requests! Why? So you can see how God is working in your life every moment! While relaxing one day, I was thumbing through my personal journal. There's a lot of private things I wouldn't reveal to everyone, but this excerpt caught my eye.

Luke 11: 9, 10

So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

That was the verse that stood out to me from the chapter of my daily Bible reading that day on July 5, 2013.  My prayer was this:

OK, God, I am asking. For a godly, loving husband. Someone who madly loves me and wants me for his wife. That I will love and want him, too. I am asking seeking, knocking.

It was a bold prayer. But I knew I could ask. You see, He's been with me through some dark, difficult roads these nearly four years. He was there during those sleepless nights. During the lonely Sunday afternoons. During quiet evenings. During the holidays where I kept myself busy and tried to be as happy and content as I could be. During travels--alone or with a friend--when I longed for a mate at my side. I rested in the request that day, though three days later, I said to God:

Future mate. It isn't Simon. It isn't Jake. It isn't Mike. You know, though. I'm waiting on you to show me.

Proverbs 27:14 

Wait on the LORD;

Be of good courage,

And He shall strengthen your heat'

Wait, I say on the LORD!

I said to God:

OK, Lord, I will wait.

Another day, another Scripture passage:

Psalm 16:11

You will show me the path of life;

In Your presence is fulness of joy;

At Your right hand are pleasures evermore.

On September 4, 2013, I was hopeful my coffee date with a man named Jim would be a good one. Would we like each other? Would he be the man he seemed to be on the internet dating service? The short version would be YES he was! So quickly we went to polite strangers, to really good friends, to quickly fall in love with each other. And then, YES, engaged to be married! In two days, we will be married. Jim is that man I was asking for in that prayer on July 5th of this year. The godly, loving man who was madly in love with me and wants me as his wife. That I would love and want him too. Does God always answer prayers that quickly? Yes and no. For you see, I had been asking for about twenty months. I am so grateful to the Giver of Life. That He cares about every detail of my life and listens. Particularly on July 5th. 

Day after tomorrow, on December 7, 2013, at eleven o'clock in the morning, Jim and I will stand before our pastors, our family, our friends and declare our vows to be faithful the remainder of our days. The most important Person in the audience will be both Jim and my loving Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. It is before Him our vows are most important, for He will be the third person in our relationship.

I will share more thoughts later in the month, when my name will be Shirley Mozena. God bless us everyone!