Birthday Reflections

Birthdays- a time for celebrating and reflecting. I had mine this past weekend and it caused me to think back on all that has happened over the past year and what God has taught me along the way. Just thought I'd share a few of the life lessons-

Lesson 1. Surrendering every care to my Jesus. This is the lesson I've been reminded of time and time again. I can't even tell you how frequently I've had to relearn this over the past year. I shared some of these thoughts in this post.

Lesson 2. The importance of returning to the Word when I'm feeling weary and worn. His promises are always just what I need. Some of my favorites from the past year are- Lamentations 3:19-27, Hebrews 12:7-11, Exodus 14:13-15, John 1:16, Isaiah 41:10, 13, and Isaiah 46:4. And I could list many more.

Lesson 3. Willingly embracing the waiting periods in my life instead of rejecting them. This will bring an overflow of joy and peace. (And yes, I know it's hard. I'm in the midst of one once again.)

Lesson 4. Music has a special way of speaking to my soul. Favorite songs from the past year have been- Lord, I Need You (Matt Maher), Bless the Lord (Laura Story), Nothing is Wasted (Jason Gray), Sovereign (Chris Tomlin), Give Me Faith (Elevation Worship), and Here's My Heart (Passion- David Crowder.)

Lesson 5. Realizing that sometimes God takes my dreams and performs a wonder by replacing them with His own for my life. It's never an easy process, but well-worth it in the end.

Lesson 6. He is my adequacy. Far too often, I feel inadequate for what He is calling me to do in the present and in the future. Yet I've come to realize that is only my flesh as well as the enemy speaking lies. Jesus is the Great I Am and is more than enough for me. When I am at my weakest, His strength sustains me. He has called me to "let go and let Him." And then He says, "Accept My calling."

Lesson 7. Relinquishing control of various aspects of my life. I never realized how tightly I held onto certain things until God asked me to give them up. One of those was my health this year. I still don't have any answers, but I've learned that He will always hold me up when I feel weary and worn. It hasn't been easy; I've always taken my health for granted. Yet He has reminded me that I need to find my rest in Him alone and He will see me through.

Lesson 8. Discipleship and how to apply it in my life. I shared here about the journey God is taking me on in this area. It has been such a joy to see how God is using me to speak life into those He wants me to disciple and how they are doing the same for me. It has been a huge blessing and I can't wait to see how He continues to work in this area of my life.

Lesson 9. God loves to lavish good gifts on His children. We just have to have open hands to receive them. I have been blessed beyond measure to have the privilege of being loved on by a wonderful lover of Jesus and the gift of becoming his wife in less than 6 months. Yay! :) I continue to be blown away by how God has worked in our relationship thus far and how He keeps drawing us to Himself through it all. Looking forward to all He has in store for us in the coming year.

Birthday gifts, which will make great wedding décor :)

Our true colors shining :)

 

Thank you, my friends, for your friendship and encouragement this year. May you be blessed as you take some moments to reflect on the life lessons God has taught you in 2013 and anticipate all that He has in store in 2014.