Someone told me once, "The days are long, but the years are short." Isn't that the truth?! How in the world are we getting ready to celebrate Christmas and finish out 2014 already? Didn't the ball just drop in Times Square?
Since then, the year has been FULL of long days, countless messes, sisters bickering and arguing, tears cried, tantrums thrown, and several head wounds treated.
BUT, the year has also been jam-packed with laughter and giggles, smiles and joy unspeakable. We have crammed as much as we possibly could into 2014: trips to the zoo, storytimes at the library, playing at various parks, nature hikes, exploring around our own yard, making crafts of all kinds, baking cookies and muffins and more, learning about the sun, moon, leaves, apples and tons of other cool stuff with our homeschool curriculum, play dates, family vacations, and who knows what all else. Most importantly, memories were made!
On a personal level, I reached my goals of running a 5K, a 10K, and my first ever half-marathon. I even crossed the finish line under 2 hours (a huge surprise to me, but goes to show you can do more than you think)! I made MANY new friends, reconnected with people from high school and college, and went deeper with some dear people I already knew. I was able to retire from my in-home daycare, grow my It Works business, help people invest in their health, and spend more time with my girls on a daily basis. Lawrence and I celebrated 7 years of marriage with a surprise trip to Hot Springs, Arkansas. We have grown closer together as we served as a family at Ponca Bible Camp and opened up our home each week to a group of middle school and junior high kids. Our girls turned 1, 3, and 5 and are such a blessing to us. 2015 truly was a wonderful year as God worked in and through us...
As I reflect on the past 365 days (well, almost that many - still have a couple days left in 2014 to sneak in a few more special times), I am simply OVERWHELMED. There's really no other way to put it. God has been SO good and faithful to us, as He always is. He seems to be doing a NEW work, though, or at least opening my eyes, ears, mind, and heart in new ways. He's probably been extremely consistent all 31 years of my life since He is UNCHANGING, but as He transforms me from the inside out, I am becoming the woman He created me to be, learning to think more like Him, to walk by faith, and to carry out the amazing plans He has carefully prepared for me before time even began.
That's a crazy thought right there - God has a specific purpose for my life. It's not a haphazard, last-minute plan thrown together in haste, but rather something He laid out before He spoke the world into existence. Before I was born - before the sun, moon, and stars were in place - all my days were written out in God's book. And all those pages are filled with GOOD plans, plans for a future and a hope. I am His workmanship, crafted with care. I am His masterpiece on display for all to see, so that He might be glorified and honored and praised. I am fearfully and wonderfully made by a God who does not make mistakes of any kind. I am filled with dreams, to big for me to fulfill on my own, so that as they come true, all will see my life and HAVE to exclaim how wonderful God is, how powerful and majestic and utterly awesome He is. I am broken, imperfect, ordinary - just like YOU. BUT, I serve a perfect, extraordinary, supernatural God who specializes in using the weak and weary to showcase His strength and love and faithfulness.
So, as I prepare to head into another year, I am EXCITED. I am eager to see what God has in store for me, for my family, for YOU, in 2015!
Just as we have been counting down the days to Christmas, waiting in expectation for the day of Jesus' birth, I am anxiously awaiting something even bigger and better - His return!!!! We don't know the day or the hour when Jesus will come back, but it could be ANY day, maybe even TODAY. Going into 2015, I want to make more of an effort to live in this way, to wake up looking forward to the possibility of seeing my Savior face to face. This will require intentionality and dedication on my part, but I truly believe I will get so much more out of life as I do. Jesus Himself said He came to give us abundant life. That life can be found in Him and Him alone. Thus, I want 2015 to be a year where I practice ABIDING in Him, treasuring His Word, following in His footsteps, walking hand in hand with Him as He guides me along the path He has picked out for me. I want 2015 to be a year where I learn to DELIGHT myself in the Lord, to find my ultimate pleasure and joy and satisfaction in His presence.
We were going through an Advent devotional this year and towards the end read something that struck me deep in my heart, "Jesus doesn't give you what you need; Jesus IS what you need."
Only as I seek Jesus will I become the woman I was created to be.
Only as I long for Jesus, wanting HIM more than anything or anyone else, will I experience the abundant life He came to give me.
Only as I make my heart at home in Jesus will 2015 be the best year yet.
My prayer for this coming year is that I will be able to do as Louie Giglio challenged in his book Waiting Here for You: An Advent Journey of Hope:
Don't settle down today as if the earth is your retirement home.
You, my friend, are just passing through.
Everything you see is passing away.
Perhaps the greatest tragedy of all is to live as if this world is all there is,
when God's promise is for so MUCH MORE.
So MAKE THE MOST of every moment while you're here.
If you see something wrong, seek to fix it,
but as you do, know that Jesus is preparing something brand new (and exponentially better)
for those who have put their hope in Him.
LIVE LIKE YOU ARE HEADED TO FOREVER.
Endure like you believe this world will fade, but Jesus will remain.
With that, I wish you the very best as you celebrate CHIRSTmas and prepare to begin this new year!
May 2015 be full of long days spent with Jesus, soaking Him up and cherishing His presence above all else.
May 2015 be the year you realize God created you, loves you deeply, has a special plan for your life, and wants to work in and through you in ways you could never even begin to fathom, ways FAR beyond your wildest dreams.
May 2015 be the year you experience the abundant life Jesus came to give you.
May 2015 be your best year yet!
*Photo credits to Ashley Alexander with AAlexander Photography
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