10 Years in Tiff's Life

Wow. I kind of forgot that 2009 signaled the end of the first decade of this millenium. Well, at least until I got the "Decade in Review" issue of Entertainment Weekly. So first, I'll say that I wish that at the end of the decade movies and newspapers did both the year in review issue AND the decade in review issue - because I think the good things of that year get short shrift when competing with 9 other years.

That being said, I'm totally just posting a decade in review update rather than both. Forgive me - on the bright side, 2009 was pretty uneventful compared to 1999, in "Tiff's Life." To make this post most efficient, I decided to categorize some of the happenings.

Births: I celebrated the births of SO MANY of my friend's kids; including 3 new Fergason children (Jared, Drexel, and Brooklin - though Andi was also born during the decade), and 1 of my two Godchildren (Evan). As I try to enumerate the other births, the number skyrockets as so many of my high school, college, and post-college friends began to have babies. In the last decade, there have been upwards of 20 kids born to friends of mine. What a joy this has been to see, and I can't wait to see how many more are added at the start of the next decade, including those who will come early in the year: Baby Cruikshank, Baby Martin, and Baby Peterson! These three babies are ones I have been praying for for some time, and so are especially precious to me!

Weddings: Similar to births, masses of my friends were married in the last decade. I was able to be a participant in many of the weddings and was grateful for the opportunity to serve my friends in a variety of ways. In the last 10 years, I served the Browns, the Wangs, the Koonces, the Martin-Werntzs, the Smiths, the Cruikshanks, and maybe a few others that are lost in the haze of memory as scripture reader, house party, bridesmaid, and maid of honor, among other things. These weddings are just a drop in the bucket of weddings I attended all over the country as my friends came of marrying age, and as my college students also began getting married. Being a part of these weddings often reminded me of my committment to God as his bride until I take a husband, and also filled me with great joy as I saw friends make lifetime vows to each other.

Deaths: The most important loss to me in this decade was my Grampa Dick, who passed away at a family reunion in 2008, while we were together celebrating his 60-year marriage to my Grama Joy. His loss is a shadow on a terrific decade, but knowing that he is rejoicing in Heaven and that we will see him again someday brings me great peace. I also lost an old friend, Mike Cook, to suicide, and a dear elderly friend, Rosella Kessler, to illness. Rosella is Scotty Kessler's mom (my old football coach at Greenville) and was a sweet supporter of mine from 2003 until her passing. She even called me when she got the email that my Grampa had died and gave me sweet words of kindness and support.

Moves: I remember ringing in 2000 with old college friends at Ryan and Julie's house in Redmond - and I also remember having no idea what was in store for me in the upcoming years. In the last decade I moved from Bremerton to Renton (back to my old neighborhood, actually) and moved from JCPenney to Eddie Bauer. After that I moved across country for the first time to Greenville, IL to work at Greenville College. Next I moved down the country to Waco, Tx to work and study at Baylor University. I moved back across the country west, with a brief stop (for the summer) in Phoenix and eventually landing at UCLA in Los Angeles, CA. All told, I think that I have driven approximately 5,000 miles (just in moves!) in the past 10 years.

Jobs: Likewise, I have been a Jill of All Trades this decade. I started the decade as a Merchandising Manager at JCPenney, went on to be an Allocator and then Store Planner at Eddie Bauer; later I was a Coordinator of Football Operations and then Fitness Center Director, Recruiting Coordinator for Softball, Senior Women's Administrator and Consultant for Football at Greenville College. Following that, I was the Graduate Assistant for Chaplain Ministries in the
Office of Spiritual Life at Baylor University. Before starting my "job" as a PhD student at UCLA, I worked as a Nanny and Housekeeper in Phoenix one summer. Yes folks, apparently I do it all!

Birthdays: In 1999, I celebrated a really fun 25th birthday in Las Vegas with Anne and Shawn Brown and my folks (that was a terrific time!), in 2004, I broke into my 30's with a field-day party (which meant barbeque and three-legged races, etc) and Greenville friends, and in 2009, I welcomed 35 by celebrating with some old friends in TX after we finished celebrating Sarah's and Myles's wedding. All of those celebrations were terrific!!

As this decade comes to a close, I am so grateful for the friends I've made and experiences I've had. I started Bible Study Fellowship in 1999, and learned so much about my faith as a Christian and who the Lord was calling me to be. I also made many great friends through my years in BSF. The Lord's provision through that ministry has been awesome! I went on my first international mission trip (to Chile in 2002) and domestic trip (Hurricane Katrina relief in 2005). And led 17 students on a trip to Kenya, Nairobi to serve there in the summer of 2007. I also ran my first long-distance races: The Seattle Half-Marathon in 2000 and the Honolulu Marathon in 2001. I was baptized in this decade, which gave me a great opportunity to share my testimony with family and friends. And began mentoring and discipling women in the Christian faith - the women the Lord has had me work with have been tremendous and taught me as much as I taught them!

Also, as a new decade begins, I look forward to what the Lord has in store for me and my family. I'm praying for an increase in hope and expectation as I think of the things I wish for in my life. I pray for you, also, friend, that this new decade would bring an increase of faith and an increase of hope, and that the things you have been hoping for would be made incarnate.

Happy New Year!