Author | Steve

2015 has been a completely crazy year for our family. As we mark the end of this year and anticipate a new year, it seems appropriate to recount our blessings and the people for which we are so grateful.

1. Our Relentless God | He has pursued us and wooed us and knocked us down and picked us back up! He has been so obviously present with us, drawing us closer to Him and refining us in so many ways it’s hard to believe all this has taken place in only one year! Thank You, Father, for loving us. Thank You, Jesus, for pursuing our hearts. Thank You, Spirit, for filling us with courage and faith to trust and follow.
2. My faithful wife | I could write books about the impact this woman has had on me, but I’ll just say this: she time and time again helps me see and hear Jesus! I can’t imagine being on this crazy journey with anyone but her!
3. My amazing kids | Watching what God is doing in my kids is absolutely mind-blowing! Just like their mother, they help me listen to the Spirit of Jesus and give me courage to foolishly follow Him.
4. Our Dropnets.com readers | It has been such a surprise to us the number of people who are following and reading and sharing our story! It has opened doors to conversations and times of prayer. It has opened doors to sharing light and life with struggling people. Thanks for reading, and keep on sharing us with your friends!
5. The beautiful people of CrossPoint in Katy, TX and Peace Lutheran in Hurst, TX, (and our adoptive family at St. Luke’s Lutheran in Ann Arbor, MI) | We have been tremendously blessed with hundreds – shoot, thousands – of forever-friends in our two Texas church families! We are lifted up by their prayers, their care, and their support of us over and over. On top of this, the people of St. Luke’s embraced us quickly and fervently during our three-month stay in Michigan.
6. Westwood Ministries | These servants of Jesus gave us the most amazing beginning to our Trust Adventure of this last year: specific and prolonged time with the Father in prayer. They helped set the trajectory of this entire year by laying our souls bare before the one who created and redeemed us. Thank you friends.
7. PrayerCare | Our friends at PrayerCare have spent considerable time pouring into us and helping us listen to Jesus in prayer. Through them we are learning how to help others do the same.
8. All the people who let us live with them | I still can’t believe the number of people who opened their homes and their hearts to us! From Texas to Missouri, to Illinois, to Michigan, to Indiana, to New Mexico, to Colorado, to Oregon, to Idaho, to Arizona (and even Uganda!), God put humble and hospitable people in our lives who have made a deep collective impression on our hearts. Thanks for the beds, the yummy food, the fabulous conversations, and the faith-deepening time together!
9. Our families | Our adventure this year has probably been the most difficult for those closest to us, but they have stuck with us and loved us and been witness to what God is doing…even if it is a little odd. Thank you for listening to us and loving us in our weirdness.
10. The Texas District of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod | We have been so loved by our brothers and sisters in the Texas District, many of whom have sought us out, prayed with us and invited us to share our story of what God is doing in our family. What a great bunch of Jesus-followers!
11. Tomball Bible Church | Literally our next-door neighbors, we have been blown away by their open arms, their willingness to dig into God’s Word together, and their dedication to seeking the Lord.
12. Coffee | I don’t know where I would be without coffee. Probably still in bed.
13. Dear friends | God has so richly blessed us with friends who will pray for us, who check in on us, who openly share their own lives and struggles with us and invite us to intercede on their behalf. Many of them have given us food and shelter over this year. Some have sent us money out of the blue. Some have allowed us into intimate moments in their family. As we move into the next chapter of this new season of life and faith and ministry, I believe it is these people who will be instrumental in the what and where of all that God has planned for us. Thanks for helping us wrestle with and listen to Jesus, friends!

Thanks for joining us for this wild ride of faith this year. Our intention has always been to help people see Jesus more clearly. Often times this is through a letting go of something you’re holding a little too tightly so you can experience what Jesus has to give. I hope you will continue to join us next year – to drop your nets and follow Jesus into the great unknown! See you in 2016!