Dustin is the basketball player on the left by the coach.
Hi everyone! I wanted to do an easy Christmas letter so that it would actually get done.
Merry Christmas from the Brenneman household! It has been a year of changes, some were big and some were little. In January, we took in Dustin, a then 13 year old boy who needed a place to stay. In June, we became his legal guardians. It's been a good thing and yet a challenging thing having this extra teen in our home. God has taught us a lot and is still teaching us a lot through this.
In April, Breanna had another MRI and we found out that her tumor had shrunk just a little bit. (She has a tumor at the brain stem that hasn't changed for 4 years until now.) The doctor was so surprised. "This never happens with this type of tumor," she kept saying. It only shrunk a fraction of a centimeter but it's a real miracle and we are so thankful to God! One of the pictures above is of Breanna and her doctor.
This was a year of "sabbatical" for Bob and I since we had stopped being Elders at our church in January. We had been Elders for over 7 years. We took the year to say no to ministry at our church and made sure we had time to rest. During the summer months, I only worked two days a week at work, too. I had worked at my job over 6 years and truly needed a break from the responsibilities. When the summer was over, I was ready to step back into the job as Administrative Assistant at our church again. I think if I wouldn't have had the clean break from all leadership responsibilities, I would have had to find a new job. Sometimes it can be very stressful and takes a toll on me. I've enjoyed it since, coming back refreshed and ready to move forward.
Amber and Matt are doing well. You can read her blog to catch up with her at http://amberandmattinnrg.blogspot.com/ She is a good writer and you will get a sense of what they are up to as a newlywed couple.
Kyle is a senior in high school. I think "senior-itis" has really gotten to him. He doesn't enjoy school and I think he's going to take a year off before deciding to go to college. His picture is at the top of the page where he's getting ready to present his "business idea" to real bankers for Econ class.
Jezra is a junior. He's driving but doesn't have his license yet since we say he can't get it until he has a job so he can pay his insurance. He's doing well in school staying on the regular honor roll. After his middle school years where he wouldn't do any homework and got such bad grades, I enjoy this guy who gets his stuff done without my prompting him and gets good grades. It feels to me like a real miracle. Jezra is in the picture above putting a puzzle together at Jenny and Dwight's house over thankgiving.
Breanna is a freshman. She loves school and has always gotten straight A's. She loves playing the violin and is very good at it. She is the typical modern teen who loves to IM all her friends. We sit in the living room and hear the computer make the noise it makes when someone sends you a message all the time! She giggles outloud a lot while she's typing and reading the messages. It's kind of fun to hear her.
Bob is still working in construction. It's a good paying job and has great benefits although it can be so hot during the summer and so cold during the winter working out in the weather. He's been at his job for over 9 years.
Bob and I are taking the online course called, Believing God, by Beth Moore. We watch a hour long video online every week and then do the weekly study to go along with what we are learning. It is very helpful and I'd recommend it to anyone. It's under $25 for all ten sessions. There is no time limit to getting it finished. WE learn to believe that 1) God is who he says he is; 2) God can do what he says he can do; 3) I am who God says I am; 4) I can do all things through Christ; and 5) God's word is alive and active in me. I'm believing God! You can find out more by going to: https://www.lifeway.com/.
We are both planning on taking a course called the In Christ's Image Training course from Francis Frangipane who wrote a lot of books including, "The Three Battlegrounds." This is a 6 months online course with the possibility of 2 more levels of training. During the third level, we would be facilitating this teaching in our local church. It will train us to become more like Christ and have the "unoffendable nature of Christ" in us. You can learn more about this training by going to: http://frangipane.org/ and clicking on the ICIT link.
We are thankful that God is moving in our lives to bring us into the fulness of whatever he's called us to.
I pray God's blessing on each of your households. May you find God to be everything you could ever ask or imagine. "We praise God for the wonderful kindness he has poured out on us because we belong to his dearly loved Son. He is so rich in kindness that he purchased our freedom through the blod of his Son, and our sins are forgiven! He has showered us with all wisdom and understanding." (Eph 1:6-8 NLT)
Amber got an exercise ball from Matt and we all had to try it out. It was a great Christmas celebration!
