This past year was filled with some pretty amazing events and milestones. As I look back, I am very grateful and amazed at ALL that God has done and ALL He has given to me and my family. Let me just recap some of those things……Click Each Picture to expand and see full size!

Family in 2009

This has been an amazing year in the Robison household. This year Noah turned 2 and even turned 4. Tyhe graduated from baby beds and toddler beds to “big boy” beds. They are growing up so very fast. Plus, Evan started school this Fall.

Allison and I celebrated our 7th anniversary, and our 12th since we started dating! We’ve been together for a lifetime! I am so in love with my bride. My family is the greatest gift God has ever given me.

This year God worked in our hearts to expand our family. In January we started the process of adopting a little girl from Ethiopia. In September we received the first pictures of our little baby girl, Kaia. God willing we will be going to Ethiopia in the late Winter to pick her up and bring her home.

We also had a great family vacation in Charleston. My aunt and uncle let us use their house in Isle of Palms for a few days. It was a great chance to rest, relax and recharge. I love spending quality time with my family, and this was no exception!

God has been so good to us this year. We recently moved into a “new to us” home. This house will allow us room to expand and grow. It will be a great place to facilitate ministry for various opportunities. We cannot wait to see what 2010 will have in store for us.

Grace Church 2009

This past year has been nothing short of WILD around Grace Church. We have grown from about 175 people to over 400. We have seen over 80 people meet Jesus this year, and baptized a few dozen!!!! We have seen Connect Groups get started and lives being changed. Plus, we got a new location to call home! Let me share some of the details to recap….

We saw some MAJOR life change in some great folks from Grace Church. I can think of 2 people in particular, Jeff Hicks and Kayla Bailey. We had a front row seat as God set their hearts on fire for Him. These two people have allowed God to use their lives in HUGE ways to change others. It is awesome to watch this happen.

One of the highlights as well, was watching God change the lives of some of our students at camp this summer. I love seeing students begin to really understand what it means to fall in love with Jesus. All I can really say about that is wow. My little brother Kevin lead our student ministry for the bulk of 2009, and under his guidance we have seen God explode the lives of the students in that ministry.

The other MAJOR highlight was adding Cory, Krystal, Ethan & Bryton to the mix. Cory is the Associate Pastor at Grace Church. He has added more than I could have ever imagined to the ministry and life of Grace Church. I am so very thankful that GOd brought him this way.

I think for me the most awesome event of this year has been watching God meet our needs and grow Grace Church like crazy. We desperately needed a new place to call home. In April we located and old grocery store in Kingsport, the old Oakwood Market. In May we signed the papers and got to work! Over the course of 4-5 months we renovated about 23,000 sq ft of space into a functional space for ministry. We have been in our new building since October and we have seen God changes lives, restore families and use that place to heal lives that were falling apart. The things most of us have missed is seeing the “Before & After” of that building. So, for you enjoyment, take a look at these 2 pics of the inside of Grace Church……

Other 2009 Highlights

My parents were young when I came along. As a result I have the opportunity to watch some awesome milestones in their lives as well. This past February we celebrated my mom’s 50th Birthday. We threw her a surprise party with family, friends and some surprises from her High School crew! It was Awesome….

This summer we took our kids to the aquarium in Gatlinburg……They LOVED it! I love going places and seeing my kids smile.

We also had a blast on Halloween with the Bolducs. We decided to dress up as a bunch of Emo Punks. Our kids thought this was amazing. Evan still talks about the chain I wore! You should’ve been there for this one!

I think one of my personal favorites was the privilege I had in October to officiate a wedding for Tom & Amanda Dyer. Amanda was in my youth group for years and Tom was my intern in that same ministry. I was there the first day Tom & Amanda decided they were an “item”. So the opportunity to be part of their wedding was awesome. Of course the highlight could be that Tom cried like a baby through the whole ceremony! It was a great wedding and a major highlight to 2009.

Needless to say 2009 was full of incredible events and opportunities. I CANNOT wait to see what 2010 will bring. I am praying daily that I will make the best of every moment God gives me in 2010.