#2018Blessings by: Julie Wicker
As 2018 comes to an end, I reflected on my blog post called “Lets Rejoice” posted December 2017. In that post I shared with you my word for 2018, “Rejoice” and my mantra, “Be Brave”. Wow has God shown off this year. The scripture that comes to mind is; Isa 55: 8-9, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than yours and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

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#timetoreflect by: Deborah Ard
It’s that time again. This year is coming to a close and the New Year is approaching. As 2018 is ending, let’s each take some time over the next few weeks to reflect on our year. As you may know, Julie and I started a practice several years ago of choosing a “word of the year” to focus on. So I have been reflecting on 2018 through the lens of my word hospitality. My goal for 2018 was to be more hospitable and to teach my children to also be aware of practicing hospitality. However as I look over the year, the greatest lessons in hospitality did not come from me or my demonstrating hospitality. Instead, our family was on the receiving end of a most gracious act of hospitality.

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#Singinganddancing by: Deborah Ard
Thanksgiving was always my grandmother’s favorite holiday and now it is one of my favorites too. I love watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. One Thanksgiving I was blessed to have the opportunity to travel to New York with the Summerville high School marking band for them to perform. It was a wonderful experience, but I must say it proved to be somewhat disappointing. Having always seen the parade on tv, we wanted to be sure to see everything, so we rushed to find our viewing spot at the beginning of the parade. But to our dismay, the singing and dancing performances are not done at the beginning of the parade, so we missed all of that.
Life is kind of like that isn’t it? We want other people to only see the singing and dancing and happy moments. Let’s face it, life is more than singing and dancing. But those other moments, the hard times, the everyday routine, and the busy madness are all the things that make the singing and dancing special.
So, this Thanksgiving I will reflect on the hard times, the everyday routine and the busy madness so that I can truly enjoy the singing and dancing. And I will be watching the parade.
“Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; Surely, I have a delightful inheritance. I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken”. Psalm 16:5-8
#Wishbonedreams by: Julie Wicker
Thanksgiving for me brings many memories of family get togethers. Every year we would either travel to family or host family and friends to feast at our table. Mom and Dad would always cook a turkey. Dad would save the wish bone for my sister, Leaha and I to pull apart and make a wish. In the recent years I learned to cook a turkey myself and enjoyed passing that tradition onto my children.
Our days are filled with wishes and dreams for ourselves, our families and friends. Our heavenly father loves for us to daily pull on that wish bone called prayer and tell him what we are thankful for along with all the wishes and dreams that our hearts are filled with. Just like the wish bone, our prayers holding all our wishes and dreams will not always come true. We can pause and thank God for both answered and unanswered prayers and know that his timing is perfect.
Today I pray everyone takes time to thank our heavenly father for the good things he has provided. Thank him in advance for the good things to come. Go ahead and journal those wishes and dreams, so you can look back and give all the glory, honor, and praise when God answers in His way and His perfect timing.
“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name” Psalm 100:4.

~Wishing everyone a Happy and Safe Thanksgiving! We are in the process of prayerfully writing new content for the blog. We are looking forward to finishing 2018 strong & the New beginnings 2019 will bring! ~ Love, Water Walkers

#Inthegrey by: Julie Wicker
Previously working in the medical field and now working for the school district, with both medical records and with students’ records, it is rare that you can tackle every scenario with a black and white guideline. My co-worker said it perfectly one day when he said, “We live in the grey”.

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#legacyoflove by: Deborah Ard
What a beautiful blessing to watch sorrow unfold a legacy of love. As our small community has been dealing with many tragedies, death, and sadness recently, one particular death has especially impacted my ten year old daughter. This has been the first time she has been old enough to understand and deal with grief. I have been touched and blessed by her tender and pure way of processing death.

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#weepinginthenight by: Deborah Ard
The definition of sorrow is a feeling of deep distress caused by loss, disappointment, or other misfortune suffered by oneself or others. We suffer different degrees of sorrow nearly every day. But sometimes the sorrow we suffer is so overwhelming that we don’t know how to process or deal with it.

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#NewBeginnings by: Julie Wicker
I can’t believe summer is gone. I was so blessed with my career move that I was able to have five weeks off with my children. Many days were just spent relaxing at home. My husband and I also took time this summer to teach them how to be entrepreneurs.

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