A feeling of accomplishment and relief...tax season is over!!! Tax season is always more than just my job from January through April 15th; it never ceases to provide opportunities to work on myself. Tax season always begins the same for me. I get excited about the challenges that may lie ahead and my annual visits with our clients. It feels like the beginning of a race...my adrenaline is pumping. The office comes alive with clients constantly coming and going and the phone buzzing with clients calling for appointments and tax questions. The passion to help others and to help them feel comfortable about a mandatory task is one of the many responsibilities of my job that I love.   But about half way through the "race" my self needs begin to rear up. The intensity I held in the beginning starts fading away. Working six days a week takes it toll on my roles as a wife and a mom. The demand of my time and attention at work leaves me with little to give at home. I start mentally beating myself up for not being more patient with the kids, for not giving my husband the quality time he needs and deserves, for not having the desire to clean up and fold the clean laundry....I JUST WANT SOME QUIET TIME ALONE!!!!! NO MORE DEMANDS OF MY ATTENTION AND TIME!!!

Thankfully, each year brings about an opportunity for improvement and personal growth. A four month "appointment" to work on striking a balance between self, home, and work. This year was perhaps the best ever and I attribute it all to my deeper relationship with the One who is in control of all things. I found that spending some quiet moments with him every day was not an option but a necessity to survive. If the mornings were rushed, then I left the office for lunch and quiet time at the park. What a difference to align soul, body, and mind with God who provides the direction and fruits of the spirit that I desperately need. A recurring theme this tax season that ran through my mind was "When I am weak, then He is strong."  2 Corinthians 12:10

"My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness." 2 Corinthians 12:8

"I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit." Ephesians 3:16

"Now all glory to God , who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think." Ephesians 3:20

I am ever thankful that each tax season is different from the rest. Each year I learn something different about myself, but this year was the best yet. For I was able to draw upon the strength of my God to finish the race.

God's Wild Hope

Whew...I have been wanting to blog about this for the last couple of weeks. From one great book to another....I am currently reading perhaps one of the most influential books I have ever read, besides the Bible of course. Winning Him Without Words is about focusing and preparing myself as a wife. Cultivating and nuturing my own relationship with God in order to be equipped to consistently live a Christ-centered life. What word do you think this book is full of??? Hope. Not just hope but God's wild hope. I LOVE this new concept of hope. I can not possibly summarize this idea so here is just one of many paragraphs I have highlighted in this book:

With God we can soar above the murky waters of hopelessness. With God we can rise above our own limited ability, and we can trust completely in a God bigger and stronger than anything we are dealing with...with God we can have wild hope-the kind that perseveres even when someone asks you, "How can you be so sure?" I know my God. I believe my God. I hope in my God. He can do anything. We can choose to believe this completely. When we keep our eyes focused on God and place the burden of proof, so to speak, on Him, we are free to walk in a hope that is not of this world. It's God's wild hope.

Although this book has touched so many places in my heart and I have been able to relate to sooo many things, no book is greater than God's word. I am grateful when writers lead me back to the real truth. The following verses will definitely be placed upon index cards:

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Hebrews 11:1 

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

Hope in 2012

My focus in 2012 is on the word HOPE. Over the last few months this word has been showing up for me everywhere and I am convinced it is where God wants me to focus. I ended year 2011 by finishing up the book "A Perfect Mess" by Lisa Harper, which I posted about earlier. A true message of hope resonated throughout this journey of Psalms, which led me to my verse for 2012

"Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you."   Psalm 25: 4-5

Another verse I will hold close to my heart for 2012

"Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him." Psalm 62:5

In reflectling what hope means to me I came up with this:
H~hearing God's whispers
O~opening my ears, eyes, and mind to God in my surroundings and his calling
P~patiently waiting for God's timing
E~earnestly seeking him daily through prayer and his word

A few items of HOPE on my list

1. to be able to recognize and respond to God's calling and purpose for my life.
2. public display of salvation for loved ones whom I know and feel have a relationship with God
3. family prayer time
4. new insights and growth within my own relationship with God
5. continued answers to prayer in coming out of a financial slump
6. to maintain some form of exercise
7. to remember "my mess is my message"~Lisa Harper
8. to let go of my wants in order to provide other's needs

Looking at this list through human lenses it seems impossible and lofty, but my hope is in the One who has the power and ability to make all things possible.

Blessings for a hope filled 2012 year!

Part 1...Success

Due to new IRS regulations, I am working on becoming an enrolled agent with the IRS. This requires passing a three part test. After many, many hours of studying and practice questions I took part 1 of the test on December 29th. I was extremely nervous about taking this test. After all the cost of the test is $100 per part and I did not want to let my employer down, even though he assured me no matter the results he understood this is a hard test. The night before I was to leave for the test Morgan and I were saying our prayers together and she told me "Mom you just have to believe in yourself. You can do it!" Amazing how God used my daughter to speak to me :) So powerful! Well I passed!!!!! I was elated!!! But just as important to me was Morgan's reaction when I told her I had passed. She said "Mom I prayed for your test and it came true!" ♥♥♥ Thank you Lord for answered prayers!!