Happy New Year!

Happy 2019 everybody! I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Years with family and friends. Personally, I had a pretty good time. I like giving gifts that people don’t expect and then seeing their reactions. It’s a lot of fun. Anyone have any delicious Christmas treats this year? I have my hand raised. At my house, Christmas day was quite relaxing. We had a meal and played some games. It wasn’t over the top, but in my mind Christmas should simply be a nice time to rest and relax. I hope you found some rest over Christmas as well!

2018 is History!

So, we are now in the year 2019! 2018 is history! I hope you enjoyed it, but now it’s over. You can never make another memory in 2018. That being said, I had some time over New Years Eve to reflect on the past year and all the wonderful things that happened in 2018. January started off last year with Recharge winter weekend camp at Word of Life. I was a student back in the day and had the opportunity of serving as a Customer Service Representative (sounds fancy!). I also had the awesome privilege of seeing teens get saved and dedicate their lives to Christ. In March, I took the trip of a lifetime and travelled to the breathtaking country of Israel. Travelling to all of the different biblical and historical locations was incredible. I got to walk basically where Jesus walked! The landscape of Israel is also amazing with mountains, hills, seas, wilderness, etc. I loved that trip and it will stay in my memory forever. I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in biblical history or even just natural beauty in general. You’ve seen my pictures, but being there is an awesome experience that I can’t really describe. You need to go and find out for yourself. 😉 I finished the academic part of my year at Word of Life in May and then started summer camp ministry in June. Summer camp was amazing. It was tough, challenging, and exhausting at times. However, the pure joy of simply serving God and seeing Him work through the lives of kids and teens is 100% worth it. Being able to have one on one discussions with the campers and see them come to Christ or grow in their faith was awesome! Make no mistake, and I’m sure the other summer camp staff would agree with me; the campers weren’t the only ones learning and growing. God taught me a number of things during my time of summer camp including to depend on Him for strength, trust Him, and realize that I’m not in control and need to leave the outcomes of situations to God. It was a fantastic time! About the beginning of September, I started working here at Word of Life as the Academic Coordinator. In being able to do that, I needed to raise financial support. I prayed that God would help me to reach full support during the month of June before heading to Word of Life for the summer so that I could keep my focus completely on the ministry of summer camp. God greatly blessed me with this as I reached full support about a week before I had to head to camp. My time here on staff for Word of Life has been such a blessing. I enjoy working here very much and the people are amazing too! Every year has its difficulties and challenges. I had a few of them in the past year, but I believe that I have learned and grown from them as well. One of the greatest blessings I have experienced the past year is wonderful community and friendships. I thank God greatly for the people He has placed in my life. God has also graciously let me be part of a team that is unified in its purpose of serving God and helping people grow closer to Him. Yes, now that I think about it, 2018 was a really good year! I hope it was a great year for you as well! I encourage you to take some time to reflect on the past year and see how God has been working in your life. What is one thing, specifically, that you learned last year that you can apply and take into this year? For me, I learned to live out Philippians 4:6 and not be anxious about anything. The reality is that God knows what’s going on in life, He’s fully in control, and worrying about things or getting stressed won’t change anything. Therefore, I believe that I have learned to exercise trust in God and stay calm no matter the situation. I definitely don’t do this perfectly, but it’s an area in which I can clearly see how God has worked in my life. What would that area be for you?

2019 is Here!

2019 is here! For some reason, I just have a feeling that it’s going to be a great year and I’m excited for it. Someone pointed out to me the other day that no matter the circumstances and what happens, 2019 can be a great year if we keep our focus on our great God! If you have trusted in Jesus as your Saviour, that He died on the cross for your sins, and that He rose again, then 2019 can be an amazing year for you even if your circumstances are rough. For a believer, life is good because we have a good God! If you’ve never trusted in Jesus to save you from your sins, I encourage you to do that right now. From experience, I can tell you that it doesn’t make life easy, but it does give your life meaning and fulfillment and is 100% worth it! Most importantly, it means that you can spend eternity in relationship with a loving God.

I want to finish this post by talking a little bit about a vision for 2019. First off, do you have a vision for 2019? What do you want to see happen in your life? Where are you headed? Do you have any goals set out? The New Year is often a time when people make resolutions. I understand that some people like to make them and others don’t. Regardless of which side you fall on, I would like to encourage you to give some thought to the upcoming year and maybe make some goals for yourself. Personally, I want this to be a year in which I live with honesty, integrity and excellence. I want to grow and develop in my relationship with God and be in a spot where He can use me for His purposes and plans. I want to live out my Christian testimony seriously so that I can also impact other people in a positive way. I want to love God and love people intentionally. Most of all, I want to bring glory to God. Here’s a thought for you to consider. Every morning when you wake up, ask yourself, what can I do today that would glorify God? Ask God for guidance and that the Holy Spirit would make you sensitive to what He wants you to do. Then, go out and do it. There is a lot of potential for this year. What is your vision for 2019?

Bible Verse:

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. – Matthew 5:16

I’ve used this verse a few times, but I think going into this year, I want to live with excellence and let my light shine so that others will give glory to God. If you are a believer, strive to live with excellence to glorify God, not only this year, but all the time!

2019 is going to be a great year! Hope you’re excited! God bless you all!