new year. new goals.

This year, I'm claiming Jeremiah 29:11-14 as my "Verse(s) of the Year". This passage reads,

 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.  I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”

So many crazy things are going on in my life. I'm growing up and about to graduate college, and honestly- it's a little scary. I spend so much time stressing out about what I'm going to do a year from now. I'm handing this over to God. This doesn't mean I'm never going to have a freak out moment- but, hopefully they will be less frequent. I'm handing over my future to the one who already knows my future. I'm going to let His light shine my path and lead me where I need to go- whether it be grad school, seminary, children's ministry, Walmart greeter....I'm going to lean on him. He has a plan for my future.

I've been working on a book since this past summer and hit a roadblock this semester. Most of the material in the book (so far) has been written on in one way or another on my blog, but I want to buckle down and work on this thing. It's got a long way to go, but I really want to finish it.

Last Spring, I read through the Bible in a month. While it was definitely something I needed to do, this year I want to commit to reading through the Bible in a year. With the extra time, I want to spend time studying and diving deeper into what I'm reading. I want to soak it all in and dwell on His Word a little longer this time. Rather than checking the "I Did My Reading Today" box, I want to immerse myself in the presence of God and let Him speak to me through His Word.

 Nicole's post this week really struck a chord with me. Her word for the year is "with". She wrote,

“With” is the very nature of God. God knew that we needed to be with him in order to better understand him. So, he sent us Jesus. And God was with us. The time Jesus spent on earth, he taught us all about “with”. How to love, how to care, how to encourage, how to give grace. He was the ultimate example of with. He was constantly with people. He didn’t just preach from a stage and go on his merry way. He was in the crowds. He had friends. He met with people. He was with.

I want to be intentional about being present in my relationships. Rather than staying in my room doing homework all the time, I want to get out in the world and be His hands and feet. I want to find a way to serve my community by being present. When I'm teaching my kids in Sunday School, I want to be completely present with them and not have my mind on other things. When I'm spending time with friends, I don't want to be texting other friends- I want to be completely present in their lives. I want to show the love of Jesus through my presence. In addition, I want to be present in my relationship with God. I want to get better at having a quiet time and dwelling in the Word. I want to get better at attending campus worship services and bible studies. I find that so often I get caught up in serving God's people that I don't allow myself to be served.  I want to be present in my relationship with God, not always running around doing something.

December 2012. Barring any major complications, this shouldn't be a problem. I'm a little bummed not to be graduating in May, but seeing as I am attending my 3rd college, on my 5th major, and I took a semester off- I'll deal with it.