Thank you!!!

August marked one year of for His purpose blog—100ish followers, just over 30 posts, and lots of thought.

I want to take the opportunity to thank every one of you readers. Thank you for taking the time to read, to hit the like button, to comment, to encourage, to support, to drive me to want to continue writing.

Thank you!!

Because of this blog I’ve been able to put words to major parts of my life—parts that never made sense before. Parts of my life that seemed so broken and life shattering—I’ve now found the words to piece the broken areas together for His purpose, and goodness have I ever drawn closer to Him in the midst.

God is good.

This weekend our family finds ourselves at one of our favorite camping spots where we can include our four wheelers. I’m convinced every time we show up at this campground that the most important things in life are (without a doubt) God first, then family and friends, and then of course four wheelers.

My daughter (Paige) and I rode together while the little kids rode on the big four wheeler with Nate yesterday evening. A fresh rain had just come through so the pine trees were soaked and it smelled like Christmas all over as we blazed along the sandy trails.

I allowed Paige to drive the two of us and she insisted we bring her dog. He’s just a teeny tiny Yorkie which is a good thing—because I can’t imagine myself with my arms around Paige and then trying to hold a bulldog on her lap…that’s right he’s very in love with Paige so he had to ride on her lap BUT since she had both hands on the handle bars that meant me holding him while I sat behind her on the four wheeler, trying to hold the dog on her lap. We got some funny looks as other riders passed by us.

Paige is a good driver—she knows when to upshift, and downshift at the right times with me prompting her just every once in a while. Honestly I’m not sure what the deal was last night though, maybe it was the awkwardness of her dog bouncing around all over her lap, he’d lay content for a bit but then pretty soon he’d want to climb up so that he could sit perched up on her shoulder, it was quite comical…nevertheless he really does love riding, he doesn’t get scared so no worries about feeling sorry for him..besides a dog on a four wheeler-ride sounds pretty spoiled to me! And that he is!

Anyways Paige, for whatever reason, kept driving a little too close to the embankments, drifting from one side to the other. At one point she even ran over a small log that popped up and smacked my shin. I probably have a bruise from that one. Either way we had fun regardless.

The two of us love to sing when riding and right now our current jam is anything from the movie The Greatest Showman. We’re slightly obsessed, so as we rode along we sang and thankfully the noise of the four wheeler drowns out “my voice” anyway. Paige, on the other hand, has a fantastic voice and I LOVE to hear that girl use it just as long as it’s not when she’s being mouthy.

Riding deeper into the heavily wooded sand hills the temperatures dropped dramatically and the fog nestled in around us. The trails were covered with decent sized balls of hail from the storm that was traveling along minutes ahead of us. It was such a beautiful sight, like a winter wonderland. We were the only crazy ones out on the trails at this point and we were loving every bit of it.

Yet again I’m reminded of how incredibly amazing God is. I’m thankful for these moments He orchestrates and I count them as blessings.

Time spent with my family is one of my greatest treasures; I love the adventure and memories. I’m thankful I recognize God in the midst of it all. This blog serves as a way to note all of the good things God has and is doing in mine, my husband, and our kid’s lives. I love the idea of being able to read it in the years to come and see the ways of God’s goodness and faithfulness with us.

Thank you once again for reading—for His purpose.

I’m going to (very soon) repost a blog from last year titled The Three “F” words: Faith, Family, and Four-wheelers. It was one of my first posts but never got much attention because I didn’t have many reading my blog at the time..it’s probably one of my favorite posts to-date and one that was written last year at this time…

My family is now begging to go ride, so until next time…enjoy! and more importantly don’t miss out on the adventure God is giving you.

What’s your idea of a great adventure?

Do you make it a priority to include Him? …Because I can guarantee if you aren’t, you’re not fully living that adventure.

Author: alimw2013

About For His Purpose~ My name is Alicia and I'm a thirty-something year old who loves Jesus. Only through God’s amazing grace and mercy I have been redeemed from past regret and shame. Reading His word has allowed me to look past Satan’s forceful lies, to see myself for who Christ says I am in Him. Through writing I have learned why I made the choices I made in my younger years and I now have a better understanding of why I desire to love God like crazy these days. Despite my daily failures, God remains faithful always. I am reassured of His unconditional love for me by every ink-drop spilled out on paper, each committed prayer as I cry out to Him, and deep understanding reflected through reading His word as truth. Yes keeping a blog will make me vulnerable to others’ opinions- there will be some who don’t understand, some who may criticize or judge, but on the other hand if just one piece expressed through my writing grabs someone’s attention and directs them to God, then pouring out my heart in a blog for the world to read is worth it. I choose to glorify Him alone through words streaming across a glowing screen. And it wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t reveal the fact that I’m incredibly quirky; I’m my loving husband’s best friend, my vivacious kids’ craziest cheerleader and spiritual trainer (3 John 1:4). I love anything farmhouse and rustic style. I think cupping a warm coffee mug in the palm of my hands is more satisfying than the contents within. I share a common obsession with my husband for the mountains, but I would (without a doubt) settle for waves crashing against my legs at the Atlantic Ocean just as well, and I almost always have a Yorkie curled up on my lap while writing. *All photos are photographed by forhispurpose.blog and therefore may not be stored or photocopied in any manner. View all posts by alimw2013