Adios to 2014: Looking ahead to 2015 and what's to come

Holly and Kelly: With the end of 2014 just 2 days away, we thought this would be a good time to wrap up our blogging for the year and look ahead to what the new year may or may not have in store for us. We decided to do this today because tomorrow we're packing up to head to Ohio, working, taking care of things before we ring in 2015 on the road. To start, 2014 was a great year for the two of us! We both experienced some firsts, went to a lot of concerts and met some awesome musicians who love the Lord, went to A Long Expected Party and bonded with fellow Ringers and bonded over why and how Tolkien's work has changed our lives for the better. Saw the end of an era with The Hobbit. Holly found a job that makes her happy (from Holly: finally) and as for me, even after thinking earlier this year I was going to lose my job found myself getting my act together and not only being a better nurse but just an all around better person. Having said that, here are a few goals we have laid out for 2015 and perhaps beyond:

Remember who we are and whose we are: A simple reminder that we are children of God and that God made us because He loves us so much! This point was in a sermon a few months ago and it has really stuck with us. It reminds us of what He has brought us through and that He will continue to provide our needs, no matter what they are. It reminds us to not worry about what may or may not happen but to really just trust in Him because He's going to take care of us!

"Let me get that." From another sermon that the youth pastor at our church gave. The youth group went on a mission trip earlier this summer, and this was their mentality and sort of motto in order to prevent burnout from a long week of hard work. For whenever we are feeling worn out and just tired, this simple phrase will hold with us to remember to always extend a helping hand, whether we're at work, church, home, wherever. This rolls into Romans 12:11-13, which starts out by saying never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. It's so easy to do that when you're doing something you love. It's easy for the two of us because we absolutely love our jobs. But even the best loved jobs have crappy days, and sometimes we really don't feel like being enthusiastic for Jesus. But we've found even the simplicity of just putting on a smile can go a long way. Give it a go.

Clean up song: I know some of you are thinking....ok, what? When we saw tobyMac last month, he was talking about when he was cleaning up the kitchen with his family he played one of his new singles as the "clean up song." We just looked at each other and were like...we need to do that. So before we clean up the kitchen or whatever, we pick a clean up song, usually a dancey one, and clean up while we sing, dance and whatnot. It's prevented a lot of arguing about who does what and it makes the mundane tasks more fun!

Eat at the table: I know this seems simple, but we rarely eat dinner at our dining room table. We did this while growing up as kids, and it helped us all reconnect with our days and just life in general. Granted, this won't be possible every night, but we're going to try and make it a regular habit.

So there you have it! We hope that 2014 has been great to you all and that you have some goals set for the new year to come. We'll close with a bit of this awesome song from for KING & COUNTRY and we hope these words encourage you. Thank you all for continuing to follow and read our blog! We can't wait for what 2015 has in store for us!

When I'm stuck out in the cold, let me be warm hearted
When the weight's too much to hold, let me be light hearted 
When all I have is not enough, I won't be broken hearted
'Cause you taught me how to love, to live, to learn, to live whole hearted. 

Family pic from Christmas!