Gratitude: January 2011

One of my new year's resolutions of 2011 is to share my gratitude review each month. 2010 went fast and it was hard to remember the "good times", so I'm hoping to do this each month for 2011. I do this to "brag about what Heavenly Fathers" does to help me not dwell on the "negative", but "positive" during daily life challenges.

Well, what were some of my highlights for last month despite the many "cold" below zero days here in Morris, MN?

-After many years since I started teaching ESL to the growing "Spanish-speaking" community in this area. I'm very blessed to see the many folks in our community taking the lead to "reach-out" to them, which I feel God has laid in my heart since I was in Mexico for a "mission-trip" back in 2001. Just some examples are the recent steady growth of the Espanol Services at the Morris Evangelical Free Church. Also, it's awesome to see a new community get-together to "bridge" this particular population through their sport of soccer, which started Wednesday, January 26th-thanks to a emerging "college student" (Great job Yuiry)!

Adult Indoor Soccer Jan27th 2011 from GoodnewsMorrisInfo on Vimeo.

-January is a big month in my family with my younger brother's birthday, parent's wedding anniversary, and my brother's wedding anniversary too! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to be present in any of them because of various reasons (e.g. cold weather, gas, financial, etc..). It was great to see that my family got together for these occasions.
-Speaking of finances, it was a blessing to see a prayer answered that's been long waited for with my house mate's "GI Bill" issue. Long story short, it was a financial blessing for him and me too as housemates! Praise God!
-Lastly, I've never feel so healthy and fit with my recent new year's resolution to be more "healthier" (e.g. not buying or as much "junk food"-> better budget) by participating in fitness classes at the local gym. I take part in an "anaerobic" class on Tuesdays and/or Thursdays after work, which a "new" friend (Scott-met through the "Espanol Services") and I started together in the beginning of the month. It's been a great way to meet other people in the community too!