Recently in My Life Category

Looking Back and Setting Goals

Happy New Years! 

2011 is going to be a pivotal year in my life.  I'll be graduating high school, saying goodbye to friends, making new friends, moving out, starting college...  There will be so many changes and new beginnings that I am going to have to face.  To be new-years-bucks-county.jpghonest, it's a little frightening.  I don't deal with change well.  Someone reorganizes the bottles on my bathroom counter and I can't bear the change.  How will I handle moving to a new city in a far away place, away from my bedroom and my friends and my family?  I know that my faith in the Lord will get me through a lot of trials and change I know is to come. 

2011 will be new, exciting, joyful... it will be an adventure.

This past year, 2010, has been amazing.  I've grown up and changed in so many ways.  There are so many experiences and highlights I remember when I think back on the last twelve months.  I've become a senior in high school.  I've interned at an inner city ministry called City Church.  I've learned things from both children and adults.  My best friend has lived with me for part of the year.  The 30 Days of Kindness taught me so much.  I've learned how to be a missionary without traveling overseas.  I've written a 65k word novel.  I've made top five on inkpop in August and received a review from a HarperCollins editor.  I've made a few friends.  I've grown closer to my family, especially to my mom.  I got a new puppy.  I've thrown two surprise birthday parties for my friends.  I turned eighteen.  I've gotten the opportunity to be a "big sister" to a few amazing younger girls.  I've conquered some fears.  I've made friends on this blog. :)

I'm not a big fan of making crazy New Year's resolutions, mostly because I think we should constantly be striving to improve ourselves.  However, I do believe that the new year can serve as a beginning of sorts where we can start anew.  Because of that, I have made two "resolutions" for myself that I will try to fulfill this year. 

quest study jpg1. I want to read through the Bible again.  I love to read the Bible, to be honest.  I like to read in general, so the stories and pieces of information always fascinate me rather than put me to sleep.  I've read the entire thing about four or five times and then I've read some sections over and over, but I know there is still much left for me to learn.  This year, I'm going to be using a schedule for the first time ever.  The Bible I'll be reading is the NIV Quest Study Bible, which you can check out here if you want to read along with me.  I'll try to share what I'm learning throughout the year, although I probably won't post something about my daily Bible readings every single day.  We'll see.  :)

Happy poor child.jpg2. I want to put more effort into ending poverty.  I want to be more self-sacrificing, and I plan to give more of myself to help others.  If you're a regular reader of my blog, then you've probably seen a lot of posts about Africa and poverty and helping the poor.  Over the last few months, I've slacked off a little, and I'm not satisfied with that.  I want to do more to help end world poverty, including the kids who are hungry in my own community.  You will most definitely see some more blog entries about helping the needy, so be prepared for that.  I also want to encourage my readers to stand up against hunger and poverty... and I have some plans in the workings already, so keep an eye out.

Those are the goals I've set for the new year.  Be my accountability.  Don't let me forget them.  What are your resolutions?   


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Because I'm Broken

It's New Years Eve again, a time where I look back over the last year and see how I've changed and how I've grown.  I've made mistakes this year that I regret.  I've learned things I didn't even know I needed to learn.  I went through some hard times, but I me jpgwas given amazing opportunities that still make my head spin. 

While I don't throw everything into my New Year's Resolutions like most people do, I still make goals for myself and for my future.  I'll share my New Year's Resolutions with you tomorrow on actual New Years Day.  Perhaps you can hold me accountable.  Today I want to share with you some of my goals of how I want to grow as a person and as a follower of Christ. 

Next year is going to be a huge change for me.  I'll be graduating high school and entering college.  I'll be making new friends and living in a new place.  I know I'll be vastly different by the time December 31, 2011 rolls around.  By the end of next year, I want to have improved myself in the following ways.

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I want to be more patient.

I want to be more self-sacrificing.

I want to be more nurturing.

I want to be more bold.

I want to be more forgiving.

I want to be stronger in Jesus Christ.

I want to be less afraid.

I want to be more confident in myself.

I want to be more confident about what God has planned for my future.

I want to be more joyful.

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I want to strive to develop these things not only over the next year, but over my entire lifetime.  I am such a broken, sinful person.  There is so much work that needs to be done on my heart, and these are only a few of the areas in which I need to improve.  Thankfully, I know that if I ask Jesus to help me and if I truly work at improving myself, I am capable of becoming who God wants me to be.

New Years isn't the only time to work on improving myself or to set goals, but in a way, it is a new beginning.  It's a good reminder of the journey I've begun as a little girl striving to be like Jesus.  And each year, I think I'll get a little closer.

How would you like to improve yourself and/or your relationship with God this year?

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