Another New Year

I'm not one to make resolutions.
My main reason...I don't like failure.
I also do not understand why changing a 1 to a 2 implies the necessity for great character work.
Shouldn't every day be a chance for God to work in us, to transform us?

But, if I'm really, brutally honest with myself... it takes change for me to see God in new ways, to experience Him more, and to see a lot of my flaws. Transition is, I think, one of the main ways God gets into my world because I'm finally in flux and out of control.

So, while I am not making new year's resolutions... God has invited me into new ways of experiencing Him and His inner healing. I will (vulnerably) share them with you:

1) Hope. God is inviting me into a season of hope. This is not because there are a lot of things that are making me hopeful, but because God wants to remove my doubts and fears. God wants to help me see His goodness behind my, and the world's, mess.

2) Joy. God is inviting me into a season of joy, I think mainly because of my coming marriage. If you know me and my background, you know marriage is a scary thing. You know that Brendan and I endured A LOT to get to this point (PRAISE JESUS!). I'm excited to see what God has for me in this area.
** while Hope and Joy sound like obvious good things... it puts a certain amount of expectation on God to make it happen. I can't magically summon Hope and Joy from no where. Those rely on God (and God in me).

3) Art. God has reminded me of how much I loooove art. All kinds. Painting. Photography. Sketching. (Admiring others' work and making my own). During this season I want to continue to explore art, mainly through my journaling experience and through a screenplay I am writing. (Gasp?! Screenplay?!?! WHAT?! Yeah... sorta random... but I no longer so secretly want to write for cinema. It's actually a passion of mine that I haven't done much with before.) So, I'm working on a piece that is oddly introspective. Really I'm writing because I can't stop.

So, Hope, Joy and Art. God is calling me to engage with Him in ways I have, until now, left quite neglected. I'm excited for what God has in store!

Oh, and #4...
4) Group hangouts. Sarah and Eddy both reviewed me in December and said I'm great at one-on-one interactions or small group interactions, that I clearly love and listen, and people open up easily around me. However... I haven't really gotten back into organizing big events. (Again, mostly because I feel failure...what if I plan smoething and... no one comes?!?!) So, it's scary, but I think it'll be fun!

Thanks for reading, I appreciate your prayers in all of these endeavors :D

God bless!