4 verses for 2015.

525,600 Minutes. What goes into a year?
 Is it the moments that take our breath away?
Is it the laughter with friends?

Is it the breath-taking beauty of nature?

How is it that when we peel back the memories and the scaly skin of time, we discover true love and beauty in the midst of the hurts and the pain?
Where in the midst of a year do we find meaning?

This year was slower in the adventures. I didn't get any new stamps in my passport, but it was an adventure of the heart. I played with children all day with the best job a girl could ask for. I traveled to the foreign land of Arkansas, I flew on a plane for the first time all by myself. I applied to college and completed my first semester at college. I bought my first car. And most importantly God, changed my heart. At the end of this year I hope I can say, I'm a little more sanctified and a little more filled with Jesus.

4 Important verses for 2015.

The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. Lamentations 3:35
Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord! Psalm 27:14
At the start of this year, there was no direction in my life. I didn't know what I was doing and I had no idea where I would be at the end of this year. My heart's desire was to be a missionary somewhere. But that was not God's plan. I am amazed at the lessons I learned in waiting. Some days the waiting was so much I was scared I might let go of God, my faith. It was on those days that God was good to me, and spoke to my restless heart. And Lamentations is right, the Lord IS good to those who wait for him. He was good to me. In his timing, in his way he spoke to me about my future.

Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 27:4
Oh my, do I understand this verse now. The desires of my heart at the beginning of this year were much different then they are now. This verse does not say, "Tell the Lord your desires and then delight in the manifestation of them." It says FIRST and foremost, Delight yourself in the Lord. This year, I learned what it means to delight yourself in the Lord. Even when it's hard, even when you want to let go and give up. Even when you don't see what He is doing. And then he will give you the desires of your heart. The thing is though, that when you delight yourself in Him, He has a way of changing your desires for his glory. The beginning of the year, I wanted desperately to be a missionary with YWAM fulltime. After I learned to give Him my whole life, my desires shifted as he sifted through my heart.


Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. James 1:16
There are gifts that are too deep for words. Gifts that God gives us when we don't even ask, but He knows we need. Gifts that we aren't even looking for, and suddenly we don't know what we would do without. My need was a soul friend. My need was a friend who would understand me here in Lancaster. And God provided a friend for me, for this year, who flipped the loneliness I was feeling upside down. I am grateful for that gift of the Lord and how he sees even the needs I am completely unaware of.


 He who calls you is faithful, He will surely do it. 1 Thessalonians 5:24
Finally, God showed me his faithfulness repeatedly. He provided me a car when mine gave up. He provided me adventure when my heart couldn't take anymore mundane. He is continually providing money for me to go to college. I have a lot of dreams for 2016 and along with the dreams, a lot of worries.. But He has called me. And HE IS FAITHFUL.

So what goes into a year?
It is the daily adventure of following Jesus wherever he takes me. From nannying to college. From Arkansas to Kentucky. From youth group to Starbucks. The moments that make up a year are filled with the people that touch our lives and we touch in return. The beauty that is bottled up in a sand timer is wonderful and dreadful, but so worth it.
As I step uncertainly into another year, I am confident only in the fact that the ground I am stepping on is steady because Jesus is holding my hand. Wherever I go, whatever I face, He is right here by my side. And for that I am forever grateful.