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Dec 28

Written by: Julie Arduini
12/28/2009 11:00 PM 

What were your decade highlights?  Off the top of my head, here are mine.

2000

Turning 30, I felt so alive and ready to conquer.

I think this is the year my sister took me to Charlotte for a NASCAR race.  It was a great trip.

 

2001

Was there a highlight from this year?  Not in my mind.  Before 9/11 I miscarried and the depression and anger was a deep veer for me.  It took a year and a great friend to bring about healing in my life.  Although we lived in Upstate NY at the time, 9/11 was still a time where you never looked at airplanes the same. 

2002

A big highlight for me was taking Beth Moore's study, Believing God.  This absolutely transformed my life and brought me to a new place of faith.  I took the online course and at one point she asked participants to stomp on the ground and watch our mountains crumble.  Thing is, God literally showed me this scene and I saw the mountain of my life turn to pebbles.  Not long after God answered such a desire in my heart, the medical reason behind the miscarriage, as well as a pregnancy to announce at the end of the year.  I still tell people Beth Moore is one source God uses to move me closer to Him.

2003

It was a year we saw our daughter born, a promise God gave us straight from 1Samuel 1:27.  Shortly after she became critically ill and on Thanksgiving Eve, we nearly lost her.  I ended the year with a baby dedication where I vowed to take nothing for granted.  I'm so glad I did because...

2004

This is the year I didn't think I'd survive.  It was my own Job experience---my dad passed away of lung cancer right when my husband lost his job right when a company 300 miles away hired him after one phone interview where our daughter remained sick the entire year we were in Upstate NY where I was selling a house while being a single mom for a season where the house sold in the time frame God said it would, in cash no less, and a move to Ohio two weeks after our son has tonsils removed...it is hard, SO hard to look back on that time.  The paragraph you read is a blip of emotion. 

2005

It was a year we settled in Ohio and God really blessed us with our daughter's health stabilizing, our son made great friends and excelled at school, my husband loved his job (still does) and just fell into place at our new church with choir.  Where was I in all this?  Miserable.  Death remained around me and I woke only to take care of everyone else.  I didn't share the easy transition the rest of the family did and still wondered if I would survive.

2006

Yet another difficult year filled with insurance battles over our daughter's therapy.  It ended up being as God promised, a total and complete victory, just not in the way I envisioned.  It was a huge growth time for me in the Lord, and by December 31, 2006, I hit "submit" in creating a blog and obeying God to surrender to fear, especially in writing.  We also celebrated our 10th anniversary.

2007

This is the year God pulled back the curtains on the previous years and showed over and over again how every single moment had purpose.  My heart now is to encourage others that life is not a cruel, cosmic joke.  You can become bitter or better, and I want better for all of us.  I was blogging and entering stories and challenges on FaithWriters.  Lori Wagner contacted me and asked if she could use the story I placed in the reprint section about our daughter's near death.  That question launched my first experience in being published in a book---Lori's Quilting Patches of Life.  I'll never forget receiving an invitation for the book signing and realizing if I was able, I would be one of the signers, not the reader!

2008

Besides writing, God moved me behind the scenes praying for others and stepping out giving His messages as He prompts.  I'm quick to say I'm not a "thus saith the Lord" gal, but He'll use me from time to time to help give someone a time frame, or He'll ask me to ask them a question that in turn will lead them not to me, but to Him.  I've seen AMAZING things God has done from praying over $500 hearing aids, lost Bibles, and life issues.  I don't take this part of my life lightly nor am I too public about it.  It's come with a lot of Bible and practical study, as well as solid mentoring and accountability.  Writing continued, as well as watching everyone blossom at home.  Chronic pain issues subsided after a total hysterectomy.

2009

This year feels like the bow on the package that ties it all up.  I don't even remember who I was in 2000, the worry I had over what people thought of me is gone.  I still fear things, but nine times out of ten I'll "do it afraid."  I'm not afraid to step out and encourage others, especially if I see no one else is.  God is using surrender as a platform to reach people as young as school age for Him and as old as senior citizens to bring freedom in Him to their lives.  I continue to be challenged and asked to surrender, and I look forward to sharing those things with you in the future.  The kids are healthy and both at the same school.  My husband remains at the same job and loves it.  We have a great church family and pets that are just a treat in our lives.

I definitely don't take things for granted and I close out this decade with hope and anticipation, just as I started 2000.  I enter 2010 with God confidence and a sheer focus to move forward with Him.

Two themes I have throughout these years that I strongly encourage you to check out are:

MOPS.  Also known as Mothers of Preschoolers, this ministry SAVED me during the preschool years.  Whether it was baby blues, miscarriage, move, death of parent, pacifier woes, potty questions, MOPS was the one constant in my life.  MOPS was what gave me the courage to say yes to moving from NY to OH.  If you're expecting through having children in kindergarten, do yourself a favor and check out MOPS.

FaithWriters.  Once I surrendered fear and started writing for Him, FaithWriters was that lighthouse that guided me through murky waters.  Everyone who asks me where to start, even over the wonderful Christian Writers Guild, I point them to FaithWriters.  I especially ask them to consider a membership with FaithWriters 500.  This membership gives great benefits and keeps the site running, and costs about 3 Starbuck mochas a month.  I'll be honest, this site is in financial dire straits.  Of the thousands and thousands who use FaithWriters, only a handful contribute to FW 500 and the site is in critical condition.  2010 could be the end of FaithWriters, and it's not a "sky is falling" chant.  It's the real truth.  If you are in any stage of writing---hobby or career, please consider FaithWriters.  No one asked me to write this, it's how much FaithWriters means to me.

What are decade highlights to you?