Can I say freaking in a christian blog post? Well now that I've said it twice, I guess it's okay.
2012 was an incredible year. I mean, I loved the HECK out of 2012. I'm not sure if it was because I go to a university that glorifies that number 12 more than any other number or because God truly changed my life.
I'm gonna say it was a pretty close (not close at all) call but God changing my life is for the win.
What I love about Jesus is that He never changes. His faithfulness doesn't change in the midst of my failure, His love doesn't change in the course of my anger, and His plans for me doesn't change in the existence of my disobedience. He truly loves me. He doesn't keep record of the things I do wrong (or right), in fact His love for me has nothing to do with ANYTHING that I do. Can I get a hallelujah for that? I remembered why I fell in love with Jesus in the first place in 2012. I remembered why His name brings a smile to my face in 2012.
I left behind some amazing things in 2012. 2012 was definitely a year of sad endings but beautiful beginnings. I left the wonderful dance team that I called family over the past 3 years, I quit jobs, and I said goodbye to Kenya even though my heart insisted on staying there.
New doors opened in my life in a way that I had never seen before. After saying goodbye to Kenya, I realized that goodbye truly meant "see you later." Through God's infinite wisdom, I have been given the opportunity (along with my amazing partner in crime, Shalee) to start a drug & alcohol rehabilitation center where I lived this summer in Naivasha, Kenya.
It's not a surprise that I don't love school. It's just not where my heart is. Studying? Not fun. Going to class? Boring. But, honoring your parents is a commandment so I did it. In May I will graduate from the greatest univeristy on the planet with a degree in psychology. I love psychology. I love people. I love learning about why people do what they do. I'm thankful for an education that will help me help others all over the world.
I truly have no idea what 2013 holds for my life (or yours) but I know that if 2012 was a picture of what God is going to do and continue to do, then 2013 will be out of control.
If 2012 was a crappy year for you then look at 2013 with hope. Look at 2013 with expectation, anticipation, and motivation. Don't just expect God to show up, chase after Him with your passion and run with Him to your dreams. Remember that our dreams don't work unless we do. God wants to rock your world and make your dreams come true but if we sit on our couch and watch One Tree Hill on netflix for 10 hours (clearly I have no experience with this) that makes dreamworking a little difficult. If you want to lose 30 pounds, go to the gym...if you want to read more books, visit barnes & noble...if you want to know more about Jesus, study His word and study with people who love Him. Don't let 2013 pass you by but also don't let life pass you by.
Whatever our Lord has for your life is HUGE and amazing and wonderful. Please don't let huge be limited by this world's standards. Huge for me is doing life with the people of Kenya and substance abuse users in America & Kenya. Huge for you could be speaking to highschoolers or doing probono work for those who can't afford or maybe huge for you could be preaching to those on some remote island in the middle of nowhere. Huge does not mean millions of people knowing your name or you solving world hunger. While it could be one of those things, that is not what I mean.
Just be passionate about something, ANYTHING and do it with great love and do it with Jesus. Wake up everyday with passion. Wake up everyday with Jesus. Wake up everyday knowing that you have one life and you get to do whatever you want with it.
I'll leave this blog post & beging 2013 with this quote from the late Steve Jobs,
"Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes... the ones who see things differently -- they're not fond of rules... You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can't do is ignore them because they change things... they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do."
"Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes... the ones who see things differently -- they're not fond of rules... You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can't do is ignore them because they change things... they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do."
Peace out,
Crissy
