Happy New Year ...!

I hope you all are doing wonderfully, and greatly blessed.  I want to thank everyone SO MUCH for praying for my family and me over the last two months, especially.  We went through, and are still overcoming, a very difficult period of family woes ... mostly due to our blended bunch.  But, through prayer, YOUR prayers, we are seeing the victory in Christ.  And, I can't help but profusely thank you for pouring into our lives in such a great and mighty way.  Thank you, truly, for your time and commitment to bring us before the Throne of Glory.  We are grateful.

I wanted to share a few things with you.  One of which is this amazing book that I'm currently reading entitled, Do Hard Things, by Alex and Brett Harris.  It is a wonderful read, and while specifically aimed at teenagers, I can't think of any people group who would not benefit from this duo's godly wisdom.  As the title suggests, it's about doing hard things, turning our mindsets and heart sets to God, and fully surrendering to the difficult but rewarding things He'd have us do.   One of the things they write about is the Myth of Adolescence, in which they discuss the fact that there is no biblical reference to teenagers.  You are either a child or an adult.  God has given us a natural desire to transition from youth to adult, without teenage pause, to accomplish great things in His name.  It wasn't until the early 1900's that teenagers were even invented, and thus ushering in generations of 'kidults' who dream big, but have either too few skills or too little ambition to accomplish big things.  I too, unfortunately, can see myself in these pages ... rising to low expectations and then never soaring beyond.  I fully intend to break through this barrier, and to never allow such a foothold to exist in my own children's lives.  I can't encourage you enough to check this book out.  You'll be enlightened, encouraged, and changed for the better!

Also, I recently came across this site: YouVersion.com.  It's a site dedicated to reading through the Bible in a set amount of time.  You can choose to read cover to cover, chronologically, biographically or with a set purpose in mind, such as outreach.  There are support systems, accountability groups, and tracking tools to measure your progress.  Sam and I have committed to a 90 day reading plan.  I'm currently on Day Six and have read 6.7% in cover-to-cover order.  Already, I feel my spirit being renewed and am thankful for God's washing my mind with His Word.  I can think of no better way to spend my time!

Hoping you'll give it a go!  ;-)

Our friends, David and Tina Chapek, gave our family this calendar.  Elijah took hold of it and scheduled play dates for himself with his brother and several of his friends.  Check this out!  Is this not the cutest thing ever?  Another keeper, for sure.  ;-)

Thank you guys!!

Connor's Christmas - 2009 from Monica Chadwell on Vimeo.

Though Christmas is still four days away we celebrated a bit early at the Chadwell House to present Connor with an early, and very special, Christmas present!  He left for Missouri this afternoon to spend the holiday with his grandparents, on his Daddy's side.  It's hard to believe that his Daddy passed away almost five years ago.  That being the case, I know that they especially savor these special moments with his only son.

I hope you'll enjoy sharing this sweet memory with us.  ;-)

Elijah just drew his picture of Jesus on the cross.  He did this all on his own and out of the blue.

It makes my heart sing that our Savior is on his mind during this Christmas season.  We talked about his art afterward, and he said he drew Jesus because he IS the reason for this Christmas holiday.  I don't know how to articulate the joy this brings me.  Knowing that my children are walking in the truth is incomparable to any other happiness.  Bliss!!

Elijah drew this for me today.  It is SO cute, and such a keeper.  This one is going in a frame!!!  It's a portrait of he and I.  He's in blue, and I'm in pink ... with blue cowboy pants.  Go figure, on that one!  I have never owned a set of cowboy pants, but his imagination blessed me beyond words.  I love my sweet boy!

Here's a painting I just completed for Connor's Youth Pastor, John, and his wife, Stephanie.  They are expecting the birth of their first child, Julia, possibly as early as tonight!!!  They are a wonderful couple, made even more beautiful by the Joy of the Lord, and it's our honor to help them celebrate this happy occasion!

Congratulations John & Stephanie!!!

It's been three weeks since MAFA began.  Wow!  Where does the time go?

I guess it truly does fly when you're having fun!

Below is an original 5th century mosaic from Ephesus' Curetes Street.  For our first project, I chose the symbolic Winged Figure of Victory which by the 5th century came to represent Christ and His victory over death.

This is a compilation image of my students' artwork and their attempt to recreate the Winged Figure of Victory.  My students range from Primary to Fifth Grade.  I thought they did a fantastic job, don't you?