I've made it a little tradition the past couple of years to write about some hopes and dreams I have for the new year.
I posted about the results of my hopes for 2015 here, in case you missed it.
I think the reality of this being a new year hasn't completely set in yet for me. December was such a busy month that I felt like I barely had time to breathe or think, let alone do some reflection on my life and where I'd like to see it going in 2016.
While this last year was really fun and I have a lot of really great memories from different moments and conversations spent with loved ones, I questioned my purpose a lot. I feel like one of my biggest hopes for this year is to try and figure out what I should be doing with my life. When Josh and I first got married, I was planning to finish school to become a high school English teacher. After some things didn't work out initially for me to finish school, I started thinking that being a teacher might not be the best career path for me. Around that time, we also started doing the college group at our church and it took up a huge part of our lives for over three years. I loved being able to serve in that ministry for the time that we did, and I know God taught us a lot during that time.
While that was going on, we were also in the midst of really trying to get pregnant, only to realize that our plans and our wants obviously weren't what God had in mind for us at that moment in time. It was a really hard road to get to that point, but we are both much happier being on this side of the heartache. Even though we may never have our own children (biological or otherwise), we have gotten to a place where our little family of two is enough...whether that be forever or just for a few more years. So being a mom was what I thought my purpose was for awhile.
After doing the college group, we continued to be involved in other Bible studies and ministries at church. We were both involved in worship (me-singing, Josh-doing the tech side of it), and I was co-leading Bible studies with a few different women. Then leadership changes started happening in our church and we lost and gained pastors. In the midst of those changes and transitional periods, we both stopped being involved with worship, and Josh started to help out with youth again. I have more recently been involved in women's Bible studies again, but there was a period of time where I wasn't doing that either.
So when I say I need to figure out what I should be doing with my life, I mean in an area of service. It's hard for me to commit to something too major because of my body issues (the biggest reason I stopped being involved with worship was because being up on the stage for long periods of time with the stage lights was giving me migraines), but I know I need to be doing more than I'm doing right now. I just don't know what that all looks like yet, so I'm hoping to do some more praying and seeking to try and figure out where I can best serve.
I also still feel very strongly about encouraging women. I think it's something I've been good at (totally not trying to brag here at all, but I really do feel like it's something God has continuously led me to do in my life) and I really need to get into the practice of doing it more often. I've gone back and forth about different ways to make this happen on a more regular basis, so I'm hoping to get some clarity on what this could look like as a ministry or a way to best help others.
As for other things, I know I need to continue to work on balance and letting go of fears in my life. Both are going to take time, but I know it's important that I continue to figure out how best to accomplish both of those things in my life.
I feel like it's ok for this to be all that I'm striving for so far this year. I love the freshness of a new year and how it feels like a clean slate in some ways, but I also know that things change and happen at other times in the year as well. So if things do come up that I feel I need to be working on this year, I will add them to my list for 2016.
Here's to what lies ahead and hopefully learning and growing more!
Monday, January 4, 2016
Sunday, January 3, 2016
Twenty Fifteen Part 12
I can't believe 2015 is over!
I have really enjoyed taking the time each month to recap what we did. If nothing else, it's a great way for me to look back on our year and remember the things we did, especially some of the things I may have forgotten about!
We started off the month of December with Josh being gone at a work conference. While he was gone, I kept busy with work and a couple of fun things. The first was a tradition with my friend S.S. We always go to a pottery painting place before Christmas each year. This year, I made a cute mug for Josh for Christmas! I couldn't wait to give it to him, so he got it in the middle of the month.
Later that evening, our church had a big tree lighting celebration. They erected a huge "tree" made out of a telephone poll and lots of pretty lights. It was a really fun night! Our friends K.W. and S.W. invited me to dinner beforehand and then we went together.
The following day, I hung out in the evening with K.W. and S.W. at our church's cafe! Normally it's only open on Sunday mornings, but this year they decided to have it open each evening to raise money for a local shelter. So we spent the evening enjoying some yummy hot drinks.
The next day, Josh came home!
The following day, we went to a fun Christmas party at our friends D.W. and F.W.'s house. We ate a lot of great food, tried mulled wine for the first time, and took some fun pictures. It was a great night! We left a little early in the evening because we had to get up early the next morning...
For a trip to Disneyland! You can read all about that trip here.
After we got back, Josh and I met K.W. and S.W. at our church's cafe. Josh wanted to go and see the tree since he missed the lighting celebration.
The following day, L.B. and her girls came over to watch Elf with us! We had a fun night munching on popcorn and laughing a lot.
Later that weekend, we had a little reunion Christmas party with our former marrieds group. We had a fun evening with great food, fun games, and great conversation. It was really fun to get together again to celebrate Christmas!
The next evening, we went out to dinner with some friends and then went ice skating! I did not participate in the ice skating, as I am horrible at it, and I knew falling would probably not be the best plan for my body. But I had a lot of fun taking pictures and videos of everyone else skating!
Later that week, we met some friends for a quick dinner before seeing Star Wars on the night it premiered! I will not spoil it for anyone that has yet to see it...but I highly recommend seeing it if you like Star Wars!
The following evening, I had a Christmas party at my house with some of my girlfriends. I read about this party in a blog post that The Honey Pot wrote a few years ago, and I've been wanting to have this party since. The basic idea is that instead of doing a traditional or white elephant gift exchange, each person brings a gift that represents something God has been teaching her this year. As each woman arrived, I handed her a number. When it was time to open gifts, the first woman picked a gift to open. After she opened it and showed everyone, the woman who brought that gift explained why she brought it. It was a really incredible night and I was so blessed to hear the hearts of all the women that were there. I think it's going to have to become a yearly tradition for us, as I'm really excited to hear and see what God does in their lives this next year!
The next day, Josh and I attended a white elephant Christmas party that our friends C.Z. and L.Z. had at their house. I think this was their 5th year of having it. It was a great turnout and we had a lot of fun. We left a little early, because I had a wine night planned with L.B. to celebrate Christmas! We had a wonderful evening together.
The next day, we had planned to go to a spot up in the mountains to check out redwood trees with dot35, but it was storming really hard that weekend, so we figured it probably wasn't the best plan. Instead, we ended up grabbing lunch and then we headed to a cider reserve and got to try some yummy ciders. They also gave us a little tour of their facilities and let us taste some of the other liquids they are distilling, as well as some of the apples they use to make their cider. It was a really fun experience! After that, we came back over to our house and had pizza and watched Inside Out. It was a really great day.
The next day, I wrapped all my gifts while Josh and I watched the live action How the Grinch Stole Christmas. I then watched the Santa Clause 2 after Josh went to bed.
The following day, I had a get together in the evening with some dear friends. We enjoyed some wonderful homemade hot cider, some yummy snacks and treats, and had a great evening talking and sharing our hearts.
The next evening, we went out to dinner with a couple of friends and then checked out a local Christmas tree lane! I had been wanting to check out Christmas lights all month and we finally had a free night to do so.
The next night was Christmas Eve! Josh and I spent the day together and then headed to a Christmas Eve service at our church with my sister. After that, we went over to my grandma's house to celebrate Christmas with my mom's family. After that, we went over to Josh's brother's house to spend some time with some of his family.
The next morning, we went over to my parents house for our traditional Christmas breakfast together. The boys took their annual Christmas pictures after we opened presents and then we watched part of A Christmas Story on TV.
After that, we headed to Josh's parents' house to spend Christmas with all of his family. His oldest brother and his family were in town, and almost all of Josh's aunts and uncles and cousins were also there. It was a full house but it was fun to see everyone together.
After that, we had the dot35 crew over to play games. We ended up playing Just Dance and the boys played a sports challenge game as well. It was a great way to finish off the day.
The following day, S.S. had a girls day at her house. We played a really fun game called Jackbox and drank wine and ate yummy fudge made by S.S. and her family. Later that evening, Josh and some of his friends had MansMas (they watched Die Hard and did manly stuff, apparently), and I had a couple of girlfriends over to play games. It was a really fun day.
The next day, we went to see Star Wars (again) with my parents and my sister and her hubby. I unfortunately got a migraine right before it started so I spent most of the movie with my eyes closed. But I was glad they were all able to see the movie!
And finally, we ended the year with a little New Year's Eve get together with a few friends.
Things God has been teaching me this month:
I must say that I felt very honored and humbled to hear the ladies at my All About Jesus party share their hearts. Some of the things they shared really challenged me. One was about how we spend our time, as what we choose to spend our time on is what is important to us. Another was about how God made each of us with different personalities, like snowflakes, and we should give those that annoy or have different personalities than us grace. Some really awesome reminders for the new year!
Other things this month:
I'm pretty sure we were able to watch almost all of our favorite Christmas movies and we listened to a lot of Christmas music! And our tree lived for almost a month without completely dying! I'd say that was a win-win!
We also had some other random hang outs and such with friends. I had some really great conversations this month and I'm really excited to see how God continues to move in my life, as well as in the lives of those around me.
I still can't believe 2015 is over! Here's to 2016!
I had such a hard time picking pictures for this year's collage. I had over 300 to choose from, but I tried to pick some of the best ones from some of my favorite memories!
I have really enjoyed taking the time each month to recap what we did. If nothing else, it's a great way for me to look back on our year and remember the things we did, especially some of the things I may have forgotten about!
We started off the month of December with Josh being gone at a work conference. While he was gone, I kept busy with work and a couple of fun things. The first was a tradition with my friend S.S. We always go to a pottery painting place before Christmas each year. This year, I made a cute mug for Josh for Christmas! I couldn't wait to give it to him, so he got it in the middle of the month.
Later that evening, our church had a big tree lighting celebration. They erected a huge "tree" made out of a telephone poll and lots of pretty lights. It was a really fun night! Our friends K.W. and S.W. invited me to dinner beforehand and then we went together.
The mug I painted for Josh. I love that it has a cute tail!
The following day, I hung out in the evening with K.W. and S.W. at our church's cafe! Normally it's only open on Sunday mornings, but this year they decided to have it open each evening to raise money for a local shelter. So we spent the evening enjoying some yummy hot drinks.
The next day, Josh came home!
The following day, we went to a fun Christmas party at our friends D.W. and F.W.'s house. We ate a lot of great food, tried mulled wine for the first time, and took some fun pictures. It was a great night! We left a little early in the evening because we had to get up early the next morning...
For a trip to Disneyland! You can read all about that trip here.
After we got back, Josh and I met K.W. and S.W. at our church's cafe. Josh wanted to go and see the tree since he missed the lighting celebration.
The following day, L.B. and her girls came over to watch Elf with us! We had a fun night munching on popcorn and laughing a lot.
Later that weekend, we had a little reunion Christmas party with our former marrieds group. We had a fun evening with great food, fun games, and great conversation. It was really fun to get together again to celebrate Christmas!
The next evening, we went out to dinner with some friends and then went ice skating! I did not participate in the ice skating, as I am horrible at it, and I knew falling would probably not be the best plan for my body. But I had a lot of fun taking pictures and videos of everyone else skating!
Later that week, we met some friends for a quick dinner before seeing Star Wars on the night it premiered! I will not spoil it for anyone that has yet to see it...but I highly recommend seeing it if you like Star Wars!
The following evening, I had a Christmas party at my house with some of my girlfriends. I read about this party in a blog post that The Honey Pot wrote a few years ago, and I've been wanting to have this party since. The basic idea is that instead of doing a traditional or white elephant gift exchange, each person brings a gift that represents something God has been teaching her this year. As each woman arrived, I handed her a number. When it was time to open gifts, the first woman picked a gift to open. After she opened it and showed everyone, the woman who brought that gift explained why she brought it. It was a really incredible night and I was so blessed to hear the hearts of all the women that were there. I think it's going to have to become a yearly tradition for us, as I'm really excited to hear and see what God does in their lives this next year!
The next day, Josh and I attended a white elephant Christmas party that our friends C.Z. and L.Z. had at their house. I think this was their 5th year of having it. It was a great turnout and we had a lot of fun. We left a little early, because I had a wine night planned with L.B. to celebrate Christmas! We had a wonderful evening together.
The next day, we had planned to go to a spot up in the mountains to check out redwood trees with dot35, but it was storming really hard that weekend, so we figured it probably wasn't the best plan. Instead, we ended up grabbing lunch and then we headed to a cider reserve and got to try some yummy ciders. They also gave us a little tour of their facilities and let us taste some of the other liquids they are distilling, as well as some of the apples they use to make their cider. It was a really fun experience! After that, we came back over to our house and had pizza and watched Inside Out. It was a really great day.
The next day, I wrapped all my gifts while Josh and I watched the live action How the Grinch Stole Christmas. I then watched the Santa Clause 2 after Josh went to bed.
The following day, I had a get together in the evening with some dear friends. We enjoyed some wonderful homemade hot cider, some yummy snacks and treats, and had a great evening talking and sharing our hearts.
The next evening, we went out to dinner with a couple of friends and then checked out a local Christmas tree lane! I had been wanting to check out Christmas lights all month and we finally had a free night to do so.
The next night was Christmas Eve! Josh and I spent the day together and then headed to a Christmas Eve service at our church with my sister. After that, we went over to my grandma's house to celebrate Christmas with my mom's family. After that, we went over to Josh's brother's house to spend some time with some of his family.
The next morning, we went over to my parents house for our traditional Christmas breakfast together. The boys took their annual Christmas pictures after we opened presents and then we watched part of A Christmas Story on TV.
After that, we headed to Josh's parents' house to spend Christmas with all of his family. His oldest brother and his family were in town, and almost all of Josh's aunts and uncles and cousins were also there. It was a full house but it was fun to see everyone together.
After that, we had the dot35 crew over to play games. We ended up playing Just Dance and the boys played a sports challenge game as well. It was a great way to finish off the day.
The following day, S.S. had a girls day at her house. We played a really fun game called Jackbox and drank wine and ate yummy fudge made by S.S. and her family. Later that evening, Josh and some of his friends had MansMas (they watched Die Hard and did manly stuff, apparently), and I had a couple of girlfriends over to play games. It was a really fun day.
The next day, we went to see Star Wars (again) with my parents and my sister and her hubby. I unfortunately got a migraine right before it started so I spent most of the movie with my eyes closed. But I was glad they were all able to see the movie!
And finally, we ended the year with a little New Year's Eve get together with a few friends.
Things God has been teaching me this month:
I must say that I felt very honored and humbled to hear the ladies at my All About Jesus party share their hearts. Some of the things they shared really challenged me. One was about how we spend our time, as what we choose to spend our time on is what is important to us. Another was about how God made each of us with different personalities, like snowflakes, and we should give those that annoy or have different personalities than us grace. Some really awesome reminders for the new year!
Other things this month:
I'm pretty sure we were able to watch almost all of our favorite Christmas movies and we listened to a lot of Christmas music! And our tree lived for almost a month without completely dying! I'd say that was a win-win!
We also had some other random hang outs and such with friends. I had some really great conversations this month and I'm really excited to see how God continues to move in my life, as well as in the lives of those around me.
I still can't believe 2015 is over! Here's to 2016!
I had such a hard time picking pictures for this year's collage. I had over 300 to choose from, but I tried to pick some of the best ones from some of my favorite memories!
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