Signs of an Upcoming Grace-Filled Year

As we reflect on the events of the past year, we invite you to see them in a glance by taking a look at our "collage" of photos that we sent out with our Christmas letter.  (You can click on each to view them in a separate window, and then click on the photo to zoom in).  It was hard to choose just a couple of pictures to summarize each month, but it was a blessing to remind ourselves of how God has blessed us and continued to bring forth so much life even in our humble beginnings.

We enjoyed a beautiful celebration of the new year.  On New Year's Eve we attended "Help Us Get Our Habits On," a benefit event to support our friends Anna and Amanda in their journey to become TOR Sisters.  (If you are interested, visit their website to find out how to support these awesome young women.) Before midnight we returned to the monastery and relaxed with a few friends and then closed the year with some silent prayer of thanksgiving and quietly welcomed  the new year as we prayed compline.

On the evening of New Year's Day, God blessed us with a stunning gift--a promise of His continued guidance and His blessing on the new year.  The year ahead of us is veiled from our eyes, but the splendor of God's providence pierced through the clouds...literally...in a perfectly clear and full rainbow.  What an unusual gift in January, and without a drop of rain to be seen!

May we all trust in the beauty of God's plan for 2011!