Merry Christmas!

(These are the pictures and the copy of the letter we mailed out in our Christmas card this year)

Well, 2016 will for sure go down in the history books for our family as one where we saw God provide, grow, bless, and protect us.  As most of you know I was diagnosed with breast cancer on February 10.  I had mastectomy surgery at the end of March, chemo throughout the summer, reconstruction surgery in August, and an oophorectomy in October.  In the midst of the cancer journey we moved six days before my first surgery, put our beloved dog down in July, and I tore a ligament in my foot the day before my last surgery this fall.  But…God has been good to us.  (You can go to ashleyjansen.com and read all my posts from this year for those details).  There were some hard days no doubt.  And I don’t doubt there will be more hard days in our family’s future.  For now, His will has been to save me from this disease.  But even if he had not (or ultimately does not), I still serve a good God and gracious God that has saved me eternally.  He did this by sending his Son as a baby to grow up to ultimately be the redeeming sacrifice for my life (and your life).  And that, no matter what happens to my health, is so so good.  “…The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.” (Job 1:21)

My prayer for you this Christmas season is that you can recognize, maybe for the first time, who this Savior, Jesus, is in your life.  Because for me, He is more real than ever before.

*Photos courtesy of Shannon Holden Photography.