It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

Life has been really good lately. Almost unbelievably good. Luke and I have settled into the new house and I can't even begin to describe how great it is to FINALLY live under the same location roof as my husband. Work for both of us is great; we've grown a lot this year and God has opened many doors for us in this department. We are crazy about our child dog, Brooklyn, who seriously brings us so much joy. There is plenty of food in the fridge and Christmas presents are all purchased. But...

...for some reason when things are good, I can get to feeling pretty down. I feel guilty about times like these because I know there are other people out there struggling. And I don't just mean starving children in Africa, although I do wish that I could adopt 10 of them and bring them to live with me in my house. But I also think about friends that I know are having personal trials and tribulations and family members that are hurting. Why is it that in the middle of joy, I'm in pain?

At a work conference that I attended last week, one of the speakers said that, "The best time to build a relationship is when things are good. If you wait until times get tough, then your efforts to fix the situation look as if you're just trying to cover your tracks. Build the relationship when things are good. That way, when the tough days come, you're efforts to fix the problem are seen as sincere." Although he was talking about relationships with clients in a professional setting, I think that this theory could apply to our relationship with God. It is easy for us to run to God when we are hurting, sad, confused, angry, and beaten down. But what about when everything is going our way? It is at that point that we start to depend solely on ourselves because, of course, the reason life is great is because we earned it (most likely NOT!).

My favorite time of the day is from 7:15 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. because this is my new hour-long drive to work. In this hour, I can sit in silence and drink my coffee. I can think about appointments I have scheduled later that day or my to-do list that is sitting on my desk at work. But my absolute favorite thing to do during that hour is to work on my relationship with Christ. Over the last few weeks, He and I have had some great conversations. I just turn on my Praise & Worship Pandora station and sing to Him. I was worried about this drive when I first heard I was going to be making it every day. I just new I would be "over it" in a week. But I have grown to cherish this time of the day and have committed to making in an intentional time with my Creator.

So yes, life is good. And I'm sure before I know it, there will be a hiccup. Something will go terribly wrong (and I'm sure I'll blog about that too!). But I want to make sure that I'm building my relationship with God right now, while things are good. I don't want to just run to Him in the tough times. How sincere would that be?

To my friends, family, and even to those out there at I don't know, if you are hurting in any way, I would love to pray for you. I have an entire hour to do so every day. :) Would you email me? I would love to pray specifically for you, if you would like me to. And if there is any other way I can help you out (and I'm capable), I wold love for you to reach out to me about this as well. Sometimes life is wonderful and sometimes it sucks. But God is never-changing and He is mighty to save. I love that about our God.

Goodnight. :)