This year can very easily be considered one of the best. Considering that though, I experienced some great things, and some not so great things. I made smart decisions and I made pretty stupid decisions. But we are all human though, right?
Major highlights of 2013: - all the amazing festivities of my senior year of high school - CMHS graduating class of 2013 - made the decision to move back to Ridgecrest - 18th birthday - first tattoo - started college - had a very successful end to my first semester - endure some losses of relationships, but later gained new ones On this final day of 2013, of all my highlights, the most important and significant is the closeness I feel with God that I have never experienced before. My mind, my heart, and my eyes have been opened to knowledge about God and who He is in my life like never before. I won't get into every single detail of all that amazing stuff right now but what I do want to say is I believe we all have a relationship with God. To whatever capacity that may be - whether believing there is a higher power out there, or being an evangelist to strangers in your everyday life - we all have some sort of relationship with God. What I have learned throughout the course of this year and come to realize, has taught me a great deal, but here are just a few: 1. I am here for a very precise reason and purpose. I am not just taking up space in this huge world. I am not a metaphorical doormat for people to take advantage of and walk all over without noticing. My goal is not to be a "people-pleaser". You and I have an incredible and unimaginable future. I can't even wrap my head around the future my Father has planned for me! Once you have a clear understanding of your purpose, your days through school, work, and everything else that life offers, becomes a whole lot easier to work through. I spent forty days of the last 365 reading Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. If it interests you, I challenge you to read that as well. 2. I make mistakes, but God has grace for them all. I have made countless mistakes throughout the course of my life, let alone through the course of this year. Obviously, some smaller and bigger than others. This year I have worked in two different food businesses. So in that area of my life, I have messed up orders, given the wrong food, given too much food, didn't get customers their food at all, given wrong or too much change. I have had to apologize so many times to customers and the people I worked with. What I am getting at is one of our main purposes and callings in life to continually be more like Jesus Christ - who He was when He walked this earth and who He is today in our lives. Meaning, if you go out for a bite to eat, or running errands at the grocery store or bank and someone helping you makes a mistake - like I did many, many times - show them grace. We are all human. We have, we are, and will make more mistakes. The grace that God is always showing you when you mess up, can be shown through you to other people. Be an example to other believers and people who do not know God yet! 3. Knowing and still learning who I am, has become vital in my Christian walk. Who are you? A friend of mine asked me this a few weeks ago and I am still pondering the question. This is not a question of what other people view you as, who what your occupation is because those are things that do not define who you are. What are your values? What personnel values do you set for yourself? More importantly, who are you in Christ? Like I said, 2013 has been an incredible year. Which gets me even more excited and thrilled for the new realizations God is going to present to me in 2014! Bring it on! Happy New Year my friends!!
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New chapter, new ideas, new thoughts, new opportunities.
Since the start of this semester and when I moved back to Ridgecrest, my mom and I have been living with a couple friends until we were able to find a place of our own. A few days ago we did, and it has been such an answered prayer. Perfect amount of space between the two of us, and just what we needed to start up this new chapter. It is truly amazing what can happen when you let God and HIS ways work throughout your life on an everyday basis. My mom and I had to truly come to this realization during the moving process. Between searching, filling out applications, and having to decide between a couple different places; then there's the part of actually moving in and realizing I have so much stuff! For a few weeks all we did was worry, worry, worry and then have to constantly remind ourselves not to because God is in control, God knows what is going to happen, and he has already worked it all out. During the moving process it was all about if this would go through or if that would be approved. I really don't like worrying and I don't like planning. That being said, God is the master planner and we are called to put our complete and total trust and hope and willpower into his way and knowing that he will in fact work everything out for our benefit. I have had to learn and teach myself that being able to put all your trust in God takes time. It does not happen over night. Remember this: you are not where you want to be but you are not where you used to be. You are and will always be a work in progress. |
This is a blog about the ups & downs of early
adulthood, God's goodness & faithfulness, & life in other countries. “Look at the nations and watch— and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told."
Habakkuk 1:5 NIV Archives
June 2017
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