Gifts and Surprises - A Taylor 2013 Recap

"Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow."

I am not a gift-giver. Ha ha. I would LOVE to be - I'm just bad at it. This time of year is always a mental marathon as I try to decide what or how to give and to whom. What will be meaningful, but not wasteful? It's by and large because I'm not a "stuff" person. I value time. Want to give me a gift? Take me to coffee; let's have a philosophical conversation about ... well ANYTHING, really :D.

And then there is Dusty - the EPIC gift giver. Oh! And not only will he give the perfect gift, he'll have seen it materialize out of thin air for 25% of what one would normally pay for it. Ya. He's amazing.

All that and the focus of remembering Christ's entrance upon the stage of our planet - the gift and surprise of grace that His presence, life and death would bring - turns my mind to gifts at year's end. We have been given a great many gifts and surprises this year. Even struggle, I have come to see, is a precious gift from the Father as His hand curves around me and draws me into His side, under His wings.

Dezdin turned 5 in November. His life continues to be our favorite surprise to date. He is self-motivated, independent and a deep thinker. I'm often blown away by his assessments of the world around him and the depth of his spiritual questions. Though he would LOVE to be in school, the deadline holds him off until next fall, so he has been my little sidekick as we navigate the day. I've enjoyed teaching and prepping him for school this year and having the time to get to know him better - just us.

Draes turned 6 in June and is a delightfully-wrapped package of service and encouragement. Anyone who has met him is nodding as they read this. Dusty and I stand in awe at the ability he possesses to just pour love on people. It's amazing and humbling to unwrap aspects of your children you KNOW you have not passed on or cultivated. Every day, he teaches us what it is to find joy in serving and edifying others. My favorite thing is seeing the surprise and joy in a stranger's face when he randomly blurts out, "You're really smart! Have a great day!"

Daxton reached double digits this year. I can remember how terrified I was to be first-time mom. Now I wake each day to the gift of this young-man becoming. He's still very "kid," but has crossed new barriers of confidence and leadership this year. It's such a treasure to enjoy my time with him and realize with anticipation that I'm excited to be his friend one day down the road. His dad and I had the privilege of taking him with us to Thailand in August. We have always wanted to begin young laying a passion in our kids' hearts for missions and service. It was amazing to watch him adapt so effortlessly into a foreign culture and love the people like they were merely new neighbors (click for more!).

Dusty . . . I know I say the same thing about him every year, but it's true. He is like whirling, highly-productive tornado navigating ministry, (click to see Dusty!) business and family. I marvel at the way he relates to the boys - so thankful. Though I can meet their emotional needs, I cannot understand their "manliness" as he does. It's fun to watch their esteem and sense of identity grow in his presence. I don't know how, but in addition to all that, he still finds time to be my friend and do some of the things he loves. This month we are releasing a new album (click to link): songs he wrote sung by several members of the Connections worship team. I have loved watching him take songs that came from his heart and share them - even ownership of them - with others for their joy, worship and experience. We were also able to collaborate with some of our prior bandmates again. That is always a gift.

I (Tammi) have unwrapped a great deal of joy this year. The first gift being my precious family, I have also been able to watch God bring healing and freedom to many people through transforming prayer. Having journeyed - and continuing to walk - this healing road myself, it's cathartic to bear witness with others as the Spirit leads them into truth and sets them free. I have learned not to run from pain, but rest in it and let the Lord use it to knit my heart more fully to His (sounds churchy, I know, but it's the picture in my mind) and heal through it toward greater freedom. I experienced this in a very real way in Thailand - you can read that blog by clicking here. I've also learned that as difficult as it is, healing is highly preferable to "running" on a broken leg. After returning from Thailand, I was ill and in bed for close to a month. Thinking it was just jet lag ... led to wondering if it was a parasite ... led to scheduling a doctor's appointment ... led to realizing we were actually PREGNANT! Yup! Surprise! Ha ha. So although IN THAILAND I had told God my heart was content with three kiddos, He laughingly revealed #4 was already on the way. He does that with me - puts things on my heart so the crazy timing won't completely uproot me. Didn't plan to have a baby this close to 40, but we trust Him and know His gifts are more than we can ask or imagine.

I am thankful for this - that while I am not a great gift-giver, He is. And His gifts (even when they are packaged in ugly wrapping or come, seemingly, too early or too late) are true and lasting... even eternal in the case of Jesus. And we are grateful for another year of gifts AND surprises. Our prayers are with you and yours. May you have eyes to look back on 2013 with gratitude and ahead with hope and anticipation in the One who holds all things and from whom comes "every good and perfect gift" (James 1:17).

All our love,

Dusty, Tam, Dax, Drae, Dez and TBA Taylor ;)