typical December 31st... ATYPICAL NEW YEAR!!

In official New Year’s Eve fashion I am sitting here with a heart full of dreams and goals and resolutions for the New Year ahead… things that I want to accomplish, things I want to try, and things that I want to improve upon… I also sit with my Bible beside me: why you ask? Simply because I have learned that to embark upon a new journey alone would only lead to disaster – I need the guidance of my creator – he is the plumb line of my dreams and aspirations, he begins by instilling the dreams and passions within my heart and then he is the strength within me to carry them to fruition….

I read a quote yesterday that I am going to use again today: Something we were withholding made us weak, until we found it was ourselves. – Robert Frost…… It takes a life of complete surrender to live a life of true success. We cannot withhold who we are neither from our creator nor from those around us, let alone from ourselves. We were created for a passionate engagement and love affair with our Heavenly bridegroom and with all that he has placed in our lives. I look back at my year 2009 and see the times of purest joy and truest life were those times that I allowed the me that God created to shine beyond the fears that so often hold me back.

2009 was a great year, one that I will always cherish in a special way as it marked the joining of my life with the man my Papa gave to me… Matt and I were married in August at the riverside… This year – 2010 – it is time to jump into the river… the river of God… to quote a great artist: “sink or swim, I’m diving in!”

Ps 36:8 “They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house, and You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures.”

**Ps 46:4-11 “There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God shall help her, just at the break of dawn. The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved; He uttered His voice, the earth melted. The Lord of hosts IS with us; The God of Jacob IS our refuge. Come behold the worlds of the Lord, Who has made desolations in the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariot in the fire. Be still, and know that I AM God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! The Lord of hosts IS with us; The God of Jacob IS our refuge.

Rev 22:1-5 “**And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.”

I am excited to see what God has in store for myself and for my marriage and family this year. There are certainly a few ‘high priority’ things on my ‘to do list’ for 2010 – some of them being adapting a healthy lifestyle of nutrition and exercise (starting with completing a 90 day program with my sister!), saving some money for some upcoming trips to visit our family in Creston, learning how to care for my rose, organizing my house, completing some more courses for my nursing specialty, and of course spending more time with friends, growing with them toward the heart of God… And for my marriage, it is my goal this year to find ways that make my husband feel respected and appreciated and adored… ways to help him to succeed in his life and his calling as a man and a husband. I would love to really become a runner this year… so, one step at a time, one day at a time lived moment by moment with a glimpse of the prize leading me on… I will bring my body into submission lest by any means after I have preached, I myself might be disqualified (1 Cor 9:27)