EDITOR'S NOTE: Yes, this is a typical "New Year's" post. I understand that it's almost March but better late than never, right? It took a combination of things slowing down and me actually being ready to process to arrive at this post. If you were like me and haven't processed last year or dreamed for this already-happening-year, then I hope that this inspires you some. It's never too late to dream a new dream or be thankful for what has happened so far.
ALSO: this is what happens when you let words build up inside of you. You just end up word vomiting and making this post become a lot longer than it should be, thus making a part 1 & 2 necessary. Sorry, okay not really sorry.
Two thousand and twelve was easily the best year of my life. And that's saying something considering the fact that I've had some glorious adventures thus far in life!
My life was enriched deeply in so many ways this past year. Family became a meaning that grips my soul and heart in a new way. I enjoyed beautiful memories with close friends and family on many occasions and in so many different contexts. He sent me on a thrilling journey of the soul that included many new friends, a lot of tenderness of heart and defining freedom that comes when you choose to let Him in more and more to bring the healing and restoration that you need. 2012 was the year that He shifted the plan and began opening up beautiful, life-altering doors for me. The majority of my year I started preparing to move to another country and one that I deeply love. Early on, I launched this website and let my fingers dance upon a keyboard more often as I desperately needed to let these words out of my soul. I'm surely forgetting to mention other momentous parts of the year, but I think that you get the point. It was E-P-I-C.
Even though it was strangely mundane a lot of the time since I worked at a grocery store part of the year, then I started nannying a lot. I mostly just spent time with family in my boring hometown. I used to cringe at the thought of staying at home for an extended period of time, but now I know that beauty can be found there too. If I didn't follow where He was leading, I would have surely missed out on it.
My life was enriched deeply in so many ways this past year. Family became a meaning that grips my soul and heart in a new way. I enjoyed beautiful memories with close friends and family on many occasions and in so many different contexts. He sent me on a thrilling journey of the soul that included many new friends, a lot of tenderness of heart and defining freedom that comes when you choose to let Him in more and more to bring the healing and restoration that you need. 2012 was the year that He shifted the plan and began opening up beautiful, life-altering doors for me. The majority of my year I started preparing to move to another country and one that I deeply love. Early on, I launched this website and let my fingers dance upon a keyboard more often as I desperately needed to let these words out of my soul. I'm surely forgetting to mention other momentous parts of the year, but I think that you get the point. It was E-P-I-C.
Even though it was strangely mundane a lot of the time since I worked at a grocery store part of the year, then I started nannying a lot. I mostly just spent time with family in my boring hometown. I used to cringe at the thought of staying at home for an extended period of time, but now I know that beauty can be found there too. If I didn't follow where He was leading, I would have surely missed out on it.
Photo Credit: http://tympanus.net/codrops/
So how do you follow such a stellar year?
Although that seems like a weighty question, I'm finding it easy to answer. For me, I'm realizing that you take what had worth & you give it room in your life, your schedule and relationships. Keep the Truths learned & turn them into pillars that mold your life like a stable structure, rather than just hills that made for a fun roller coaster ride. How often do we meet Truth yet we forget to move forward with her?
So, here's to hoping for even more in 2013.
I used to hate "resolutions" because they were mostly just terrible examples of man-willed dreams that usually end up in failure and discouragement (think empty gym on February 1st even after the full start of January 1st). Vanity repulses me. It straight up repulses me.
But then I was introduced years ago to the Resolutions of Jonathan Edwards (click the red to view them - Hey! Thanks www.ccob.org for the resource!). He's old school and I swear that most of the old school guys and gals know way better than we do. They always find a way into the depths of my heart, mind and soul. It's kind of creepy how much I love them. Really, it is.
Regardless, these Resolutions are phenomenal. They are solid and beautiful. So in light of resolutions like these, I've started making yearly resolutions but not like the ones you're used to. Instead of making it about losing weight or doing this or that, I try to focus on areas in my life and not overwhelm myself with too many. Kind of like a wise person who studies sections of their Bibles at a time. They may choose the Sermon on the Mount or a book like Isaiah to study for a season, but of course there is more to the Word of God than that. There is a lot of beauty in a season of focus and that is what I like to think of my resolutions as - a season of focusing with the Lord on something in my life and letting Him guide the necessary work. And similar to studying a particular topic, once you dive in deep and invest the time, life goes on afterwards and it's now a deeper part of you because you journeyed with that passage for a season. I hope to carry Truth with me in a similar way.
I think it's necessary to note that I try to process the year before because why go forward if you are not through with the last year? Processing through each year is like closure for me. Obviously, 2012 and I had a hard time parting because our "closure" came pretty late into 2013. So I get my closure and with an open heart, open hands and a lot of talking to my best friend, Jesus, we begin to dream together for the next year. If you're willing, dreaming with Him becomes a possibility and it's extremely fulfilling. He's incredibly WILD!
With all of that in mind, here are my resolutions for 2013. These are the places in my life that I wish to walk hand-in-hand with the Lord through. There are eight of them, but only because they all seem to be intertwined.
Although that seems like a weighty question, I'm finding it easy to answer. For me, I'm realizing that you take what had worth & you give it room in your life, your schedule and relationships. Keep the Truths learned & turn them into pillars that mold your life like a stable structure, rather than just hills that made for a fun roller coaster ride. How often do we meet Truth yet we forget to move forward with her?
So, here's to hoping for even more in 2013.
I used to hate "resolutions" because they were mostly just terrible examples of man-willed dreams that usually end up in failure and discouragement (think empty gym on February 1st even after the full start of January 1st). Vanity repulses me. It straight up repulses me.
But then I was introduced years ago to the Resolutions of Jonathan Edwards (click the red to view them - Hey! Thanks www.ccob.org for the resource!). He's old school and I swear that most of the old school guys and gals know way better than we do. They always find a way into the depths of my heart, mind and soul. It's kind of creepy how much I love them. Really, it is.
Regardless, these Resolutions are phenomenal. They are solid and beautiful. So in light of resolutions like these, I've started making yearly resolutions but not like the ones you're used to. Instead of making it about losing weight or doing this or that, I try to focus on areas in my life and not overwhelm myself with too many. Kind of like a wise person who studies sections of their Bibles at a time. They may choose the Sermon on the Mount or a book like Isaiah to study for a season, but of course there is more to the Word of God than that. There is a lot of beauty in a season of focus and that is what I like to think of my resolutions as - a season of focusing with the Lord on something in my life and letting Him guide the necessary work. And similar to studying a particular topic, once you dive in deep and invest the time, life goes on afterwards and it's now a deeper part of you because you journeyed with that passage for a season. I hope to carry Truth with me in a similar way.
I think it's necessary to note that I try to process the year before because why go forward if you are not through with the last year? Processing through each year is like closure for me. Obviously, 2012 and I had a hard time parting because our "closure" came pretty late into 2013. So I get my closure and with an open heart, open hands and a lot of talking to my best friend, Jesus, we begin to dream together for the next year. If you're willing, dreaming with Him becomes a possibility and it's extremely fulfilling. He's incredibly WILD!
With all of that in mind, here are my resolutions for 2013. These are the places in my life that I wish to walk hand-in-hand with the Lord through. There are eight of them, but only because they all seem to be intertwined.
Not sure who to credit for this infamous picture, so thank you Internet.
1. Find out what fitting into my own skin feels like.
This is something that has been stirring in me for a while but I find that this year will revolve a lot around identity and a non-new age form of self-discovery. In Shauna Niequist's soon-to-be-released book, Bread&Wine (with a review by me soon forthcoming), she often uses the term "take as much a space as I need." That term makes me uneasy for more reasons than one. It's just not welcomed in today's society. This whole, who-you-are-is-OK mentality is desired but not a real reality. So I want to learn how to take up as much space as I really need. These are the forming and endlessly adventurous years of my life. These are the years where I should be finding out who I am, who He made me to be. This year I want to adventure into more of this area in a deeply personal and profound way with Papa God.
Give me eyes to see and a heart that understands who You have formed me to be.
2. Learn to love me.
Following along with #1, I think my life that is full of loving God & loving others -- though terribly flawed at times and full of good intentions -- needs some focus in the "loving myself" department. This is not to be confused with self-obsession or the formation of the Courtney show. No. I'm looking for the more healthy version of considering what's best for me and tending to those things in my life that I may have pushed to the back burner when it shouldn't have. I think this is a lost art in life today because so many fear of being egotistical or some variation of that. So I want to uncover this mystery with God.
This is why I think it's important for me. The first & second commandments from Jesus (Matthew 22:37-40) are some of the main focuses of my entire being. Like if I could accomplish anything in my life, I would love for it to be what's within those verses. So if you read them, you can see that Jesus puts this loving yourself myth into what He calls the Greatest Commandments. If I want to love my neighbor well, which I do, it would be wise of me to remember that loving myself is a necessary factor to doing that well. Check the verse - these are not my words, but His.
Give me balance to learn this love of self without tipping the scales into some crazy, unhealthy way of life, God. Show me how You desire for it to be.
3. Give extravagantly.
First off, finances feel extremely personal to me for some reason. Am I the only one who feels that? Nonetheless, I think that this is important enough to share for no other reason than the fact that it brings so much joy that many miss out on.
Last year was the first time that I gave this yearly resolution focus a shot. It actually was really successful and proved to bear good and meaningful fruit in my life. This was one of my main focuses for 2012 and it has brought such new perspective and even greater joy in my life! By no means am I an expert on this topic, but apart from Jesus, who really is? Still I want to continue focusing on this area of my life until it becomes a perpetual habit formed deep within the makeup of who I am.
So it made the list again this year. I desperately want my life to be marked by extravagant giving rather than by the slavery of consumerism. As a young adult, I want to learn the wisdom of stewarding well and giving extravagatnly so that it will be a learned skill in my future. Last year was also the first year that I really starting taking tithing seriously. (Side note: Lore Forgeson's post: "Why I Don't Tithe" has really been a positive game-changer for me this year on the giving aspect.)
I used to really envy those people who would write those big checks to fund different organizations, ministry opportunities, etc. Now, I'm learning that even as a young, some-what-broke missionary I can be that person as well. I just have to be willing and available. But I'm also realizing that this can mean giving my time, my possessions and my skills away extravagantly. The statement "it is better to give than to receive" is quickly becoming a pillar that I want to uphold my life with, both today and forever.
Give me discernment to partner with You wherever You may be, Father. Help me to love You endlessly more than any mere tangible thing like money or stuff.
This is something that has been stirring in me for a while but I find that this year will revolve a lot around identity and a non-new age form of self-discovery. In Shauna Niequist's soon-to-be-released book, Bread&Wine (with a review by me soon forthcoming), she often uses the term "take as much a space as I need." That term makes me uneasy for more reasons than one. It's just not welcomed in today's society. This whole, who-you-are-is-OK mentality is desired but not a real reality. So I want to learn how to take up as much space as I really need. These are the forming and endlessly adventurous years of my life. These are the years where I should be finding out who I am, who He made me to be. This year I want to adventure into more of this area in a deeply personal and profound way with Papa God.
Give me eyes to see and a heart that understands who You have formed me to be.
2. Learn to love me.
Following along with #1, I think my life that is full of loving God & loving others -- though terribly flawed at times and full of good intentions -- needs some focus in the "loving myself" department. This is not to be confused with self-obsession or the formation of the Courtney show. No. I'm looking for the more healthy version of considering what's best for me and tending to those things in my life that I may have pushed to the back burner when it shouldn't have. I think this is a lost art in life today because so many fear of being egotistical or some variation of that. So I want to uncover this mystery with God.
This is why I think it's important for me. The first & second commandments from Jesus (Matthew 22:37-40) are some of the main focuses of my entire being. Like if I could accomplish anything in my life, I would love for it to be what's within those verses. So if you read them, you can see that Jesus puts this loving yourself myth into what He calls the Greatest Commandments. If I want to love my neighbor well, which I do, it would be wise of me to remember that loving myself is a necessary factor to doing that well. Check the verse - these are not my words, but His.
Give me balance to learn this love of self without tipping the scales into some crazy, unhealthy way of life, God. Show me how You desire for it to be.
3. Give extravagantly.
First off, finances feel extremely personal to me for some reason. Am I the only one who feels that? Nonetheless, I think that this is important enough to share for no other reason than the fact that it brings so much joy that many miss out on.
Last year was the first time that I gave this yearly resolution focus a shot. It actually was really successful and proved to bear good and meaningful fruit in my life. This was one of my main focuses for 2012 and it has brought such new perspective and even greater joy in my life! By no means am I an expert on this topic, but apart from Jesus, who really is? Still I want to continue focusing on this area of my life until it becomes a perpetual habit formed deep within the makeup of who I am.
So it made the list again this year. I desperately want my life to be marked by extravagant giving rather than by the slavery of consumerism. As a young adult, I want to learn the wisdom of stewarding well and giving extravagatnly so that it will be a learned skill in my future. Last year was also the first year that I really starting taking tithing seriously. (Side note: Lore Forgeson's post: "Why I Don't Tithe" has really been a positive game-changer for me this year on the giving aspect.)
I used to really envy those people who would write those big checks to fund different organizations, ministry opportunities, etc. Now, I'm learning that even as a young, some-what-broke missionary I can be that person as well. I just have to be willing and available. But I'm also realizing that this can mean giving my time, my possessions and my skills away extravagantly. The statement "it is better to give than to receive" is quickly becoming a pillar that I want to uphold my life with, both today and forever.
Give me discernment to partner with You wherever You may be, Father. Help me to love You endlessly more than any mere tangible thing like money or stuff.
