today marks my one year anniversary at moody and this saturday marks my one year of owning a home – my how this year has flown by. i was thinking on my drive home today, what have i learned in the past year? and the more i thought about it, the more i realized i’m just not one of those people who has profound wisdom to share. in fact, when i think about a lot of the things i have learned they seem rather elementary and basic, almost embarrassing really. i had a lot of “duh!” moments this past year. so let me humor you and make you feel really smart:

regarding owning a home:
1) owning a home really is a HUGE responsibility – HGTV and TLC make it look easy
2) if you don’t fix your healed shoes, the nail will make marks in your hard wood floors
3) if you have granite countertops, ask if the contractor sealed them. don’t find out by spilling coffee on it and noticing the stain will not go away
4) hire painters. it might seem like fun and cheap to paint your own place but it really isn’t worth it. spend the money!
5) make your home comfortable, a place where people can really feel welcomed and loved (still working on this one)

regarding work:
1) feeling inadequate forces you to rely on God, right where i need to be
2) to whom much is given much is expected
3) take a risk, you can only learn from it regardless of outcome

regarding life:
1) being desperate for God is the only place to be
2) God is bigger than the box i have a tendency to put him in
3) you can know someone your whole life and still not really know them, but if you share a faith that can move mountains, you may know a person 10 minutes and feel like you have known them your whole life
4) pride has many faces and they aren’t all obvious
5) learning to love yourself is a lot easier said than done
6) no matter how much i might think i know someone’s situation, i don’t
7) a blessing is a blessing, enjoy it

i am sure i could go on, but i think i have made you all feel smart enough. by the way, most of those life lessons i have learned in the last 6 weeks… hmm… why is it that when we are being refined we listen so much better?