Leah Stirewalt

Well, there’s just a little bit of time left in 2010 (a matter of minutes actually), but what an incredibly full year it’s been. Yesterday, I reflected in words. Today, in pictures!

Becky and Dale’s New Year’s Day Wedding!

Anna and Alyse at the Melting Pot in Greenville, SC – Anna’s 13th birthday dinner!

With Kandi, Suzanne, and Becky at Scrap Camp!

A quick Myrtle Beach getaway weekend for Chris and me!

Lunch in Savannah on our way to Florida with my LLMI co-workers!

Strawberry picking with the Hampson family!

Mission Trip to Liberia, Africa!

Another new friend in Liberia.

Speaking in Africa.

The rest of our Liberian mission team: Frankie and Ginger!

She Speaks Conference with Lorie Newman!

Tubing fun on Lake James!

Goofing off with Anna at Hungry Mother State Park!

Mary Kay Fall Blast Off Retreat!

My husband, Chris, excited to be apple picking!

A spontaneous weekend trip to Pittsburgh for dinner with my hubby! This is our view from Monterey Bay Fish Grotto!

Reuniting with Liberian Baby Grace the night before her surgery at Vanderbilt in Nashville, TN!

Surgery Day – Vanderbilt Hospital! Posing with Baby Grace’s parents, aunt & uncle.

Baby Grace, with Anna, post surgery.

Anna getting ready for the semi-formal dinner at the girl’s Wisdom Conference at our church (and goofing off a little too!).

We love volunteering for our church’s Hoopla! each Halloween.
(Anna really is happy. The sun’s just in her eyes. Hee hee!)

We were happy to celebrate with the Toth family as they brought home their newly adopted China doll – Collins! (This is Collins and her new mommy, Jill.)

Kelly and I celebrating Lorie’s miracle conception at her baby shower!

Baby Grace and her parents visit our church in Western NC before returning to Africa a few short weeks later.

Thanksgiving with the Newman family during our moving weekend!

Christmas with the Hampson’s! Loads of fun and picture taking as always!

At the end of each year, I always love to reflect back on the prior 12 months. Did I reach any of the goals that I set at the beginning of the year? (No – not resolutions – I don’t like those things.) Were there any fun surprises? How about disappointments? Did I grow spiritually? I also like to reminisce through pictures, and being the shutterbug that I am, there’s usually never a shortage of photos to browse. So, in an effort to keep my blog posts fairly short (yes – my disclaimer word here is “fairly”), I thought I’d let you have a glimpse of my own year-in-review…today in words…tomorrow in pictures. I’ve discovered that 2010 is rather hard to capture in pictures, because many of the things that took place actually occurred internally or without photo opportunities. Therefore, pictures alone don’t do it justice. But, I know there are some of you out there that stick with me only for the pics. So, tomorrow’s post is for you! As for today…

2010 was one of the most joyful and one of the hardest on record for me!

The year brought:

1. My first ever mission trip – to Liberia, Africa in June!
2. A trip to Florida in April with a fun group of gals from work! (Side trip to Savannah included as well.)
3. My daughter’s 13th birthday! I can’t believe I parent a teenager now!
4. My first She Speaks Conference in July!
5. The start of my Mary Kay business – a way for me to earn some money to support mission trips & the orphan crisis!
6. A new job with a great Christian organization practically in my back yard!
7. Moving to a new house!
8. Joining the Speaking Thru Me Ministries speaking team!
9. The US visit of friends from Liberia I met on my mission trip in June!
10. The miraculous surgery of Baby Grace (read previous blog posts to learn more about this)!

The year also brought:

1. Deep conviction over my sinful self.
2. Sorrow over unmet expectations and wasted opportunities.
3. Godly discipline.
4. Extreme disappointment.
5. No changes in weight (good in one way, pitiful in another).
6. Health challenges – other than gallbladder.
7. Deeper bondage in some areas of my life.
8. Questioning…
9. Longing…
10. Spiritual “quietness” that was not wanted or expected.

There you have it. An amazing journey through a year! I wouldn’t trade any of it for anything – even the not-so-fun things. Because, God disciplines those He loves. I know He loves me. I know He has some exciting things in store for me, and He refuses to let me stay where I’ve been. Praise Him for that!

As a friend shared with me from her devotional yesterday, I was sweetly reminded and deeply convicted of my sinful nature and God’s ability to do amazing things in spite of it. The devotion says it better than I can, so I’ll Just share the brief excerpt that she shared with me:

“And being absolutely certain that whatever promise He is bound by, He is able to make good” (Rom. 4:20).

We are told that Abraham could look at his own body and consider it as good as dead without being discouraged, because he was not looking at himself but at the Almighty One.

He did not stagger at the promise, but stood straight up unbending beneath his mighty load of blessing; and instead of growing weak he waxed strong in the faith, grew more robust, the more difficulties became apparent, glorifying God through His very sufficiency and being ‘fully persuaded’ (as the Greek expresses it) ‘that he who had promised was,’ not merely able, but as it literally means ‘abundantly able,’ munificently able, able with an infinite surplus of resources, infinitely able ‘to perform.'”

How did God “perform” in your life in 2010? Are you ready to watch Him magnificently do so in 2011?