Happy New Year
It's 2005. Wow, it's 2005. A year and a day ago I was with Amanda, Charlie, Danny and Bryant at Amanda's house watching The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers when 12:00 rolled around. We quietly acknowledged the presence of the new year and watched the rest of our movie. I'll jump on the 2004 memories-of-the-old-year bandwagon here. Top 10 best memories from 2004: 10. Helping a mom whose van was spinning in the snow attached to a U-Haul up the slope outside Harris Teeter. Sarah Ralston, Neesha Pretto, Jen Check and I pushed and brute forced that van and that U-Haul. We unstuck a mom and her children from spinning in snow. We prayed a lot. And it worked. 9. Becoming friends with a certain JJ Cooper ... he was supposed to teach me to run the sound board at the church. 8. Being asked to become a small group leader. Launching Agape with Heidi. Never have I been so stretched and challenged in growth in my walk with God. 7. The very first service I ran all by myself when I finally knew what I was doing at that sound board. What a rush. 6. The night JJ gave me a ride home, a kiss, and a date for that Friday night. 5. Our trip to Perry, GA in August -- meeting the rest of the Cooper clan. 4. Our trip to Wichita, KS when JJ asked my parents blessing for our marriage. 3. Curtis Mulder's arrival at newhope - he has changed the dynamic of worship. He is gifted, and talented, and inspires others to be challenged by God. 2. The night JJ said he loves me. 1. The night JJ proposed. Yes, I know. I jumped on the sap train there and a good 80% of these memories are directly JJ related. It has been the year that has been the story of our growth together and our developing love for one another. It has been the year when we have learned about ourselves by learning about the other. It has been the year when we found each other. Next year will be the year when we start spending the rest of our lives together. Happy 2005!