ne treats you like a servant. I am so truly blessed to have had my eyes opened to such a life-changing truth from such an unexpected source-- my summer boss, but more importantly a mentor and friend, Rob Lutrull. My time this July and August was spent working on a Christian familydude ranch inEstes Park, Colorado. I came to Colorado expecting to give; and we were in fact expected to give as much of our time, effort, and hearts as we could. But I left more filled with the Holy Spirit than I could have ever imagined. My time at the ranch is a treasure to me, and I can't even begin to describe the love and selflessness of Christ I saw in the people on that mountain. I will always remember 2010 most as the year that I learned what it means to truly serve.Check out Wind River Ranch :-)2. "We settle for misery only because we are afraid of change." Forcing our own life
plans is much more painful and exhausting than just letting go and surrendering to the will of the Lord. It's also downright selfish and sinful and proud! I finally accept that I am not wise enough to know what is best for me. He will always guide us into a deeper beauty if we are only willing to follow Him. Plan only to be surprised.
3. "There is a friend that sticks closer than a sister." Girls need deep and meaningful friendships with other girls. 2010 brought me relationships with a few of the most beautiful and fiercely loving women of God I know, and my life and heart have been
blessed by them in too many ways to mention. I wish I could tell you each of their stories and gifts, but my blog space isn't enough! ;-) These special women have helped reveal to me my own heart for women's ministry...you have them to thank for the creation of this blog site!
4. If you play with fire, you will eventually get burned. Allowing "grey areas" in our lives to prosper is dangerous because it can open the door to becoming numb to sin. Asking how much we can get away with before we should feel guilty is the wrong question... we should
instead be asking how God can most be glorified in our behavior.
5. "Beauty in and of itself is a great and glorious good, something we need in large and daily doses." I was fortunate enough to spend my first month
of 2010 exploring Germany and nourishing my ache for adventure. The Germans sure taught me
how to enjoy simple pleasures that the American dream often forgets. Slow down...appreciate it.
6. Lasting joy can never be found in a person or circumstance. People are going to let you down. People are going to exit your life. No person is
ever going to fulfill you. Change is inevitable. We will always be restless until we rest in the Lord.
7. "Strength is born in the deep silence of long-suffering hearts; not amid joy." After years of fighting to hide any unpleasant emotion, it's like the floodgates opened this year! To my tear ducts that is. I tend to feel ashamed by any reaction to pain. But sometimes true strength means allowing ourselves to grieve. Numbing our hearts will never heal our deepest wounds, and it will always stunt us from growth and harden us to intimacy.
8. "Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." 2010 continuously taught me to look for the heart in others, sometimes hidden behind a lot of sin, anger, and filth. I've learned that loving can not be circumstantial; you can not truly love someone by seeing and evaluating only what they do, as if they were a performer on your own personal stage. The love of God surpasses our sin and goes straight for our hearts. The only way we can love each other on earth is to pattern our own hearts after this Divine Romance by seeing people with the eyes that their Savior sees them through. To see someone with all their filth and shame, all the darkest parts of their heart, and to choose still to love that heart, may be the closest miniature picture of Christ's love that we as humans could ever paint.
9. Never cut your own hair. Please remember this nugget of wisdom. It took me all of 2010 to finally grow out my infamous spike that was the result of an attempt to remove a cowlick on my own. Good riddance, "Nubs."
10. "The only thing that is good in me is Jesus." Maybe it was turning 20, maybe it was the people the Lord brought in my life this year, or maybe He just had faith that this would be the year He could trust me to finally hear Him when He spoke. Either way, this year has brought more change, more pain, more joy, and more wisdom than all 19 previous years combined. What 2010 leaves me most in awe of is my own inadequacy, and furthermore, the Love that I don't deserve that continues to pursue me regardless. It's a Love that will not let me go.
Happy new year, friend.
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