This Year in ONE Word..... And Next Year in ONE Word

When asked today how I would explain the year 2018 in one word, I thought long and hard about it! I came up with: PEACE

This is why:

Although 2018 was not always peaceful, I continually found God's peace in so many ways, and when I asked the Lord for it, He always gave it, I just had to choose to accept it, even if it was not in the way that I expected it to come!

In 2018 the Lord gave me a great love for prayer, prayer over the ones that I love the most prayer in my car as I drove! Prayer in my conversations with Jesus! Prayer again and again was my place of peace even when I did not understand what was going on around me, when I choose to step into prayer the Lord covered me with His peace and it was simply His perfect Peace!

I fond Peace in my friendships:

 

Truly as  Friends and Sisters, year number 7 was our best year of friendship! A year of friendship filled with Peace, because it was so focused on Jesus! And we truly had the most fun this year, packed full of adventures that somehow always involved COFFEE! So this year of our friendship can be summed up in these three words and in this order: JESUS, PEACE and COFFEE!! 

A great representation of such a sweet and peaceful friendship, it truly has been such a blessed year of baby showers, Baby Hudson and getting be Auntie to such a sweet sweet boy who is the affinity of Peace, He truly has given me such an appreciation of joy! Thankful that I not only get to love Emily and all our 16 years of friendship but now her little as well!! 

  

Oh Sweet Hannah, now I will say this, without a shadow of a doubt, Hannah has always been my friend of Peace, we have hands down been so blessed with a peaceful friendship over the years, we both are very passive and she truly has just gotten it so easily when I have struggled with confrontation! She really blessed me this year when she celebrated with me when I handled some situations that dealt with conflict! She also has blessed me in letting me be Auntie to both of her sweet boys, who by the way are going to be agents of peace because they have the coolest and most laid back mom and dad ;)

And this gal, we reconnected about a year ago, so this year of healing and reconnecting to our normal selves is a perfect representation of God's peace and restoration! We in the last year have had a lot of fun, going new places, finding TV shows we love and somehow binge watched 14 straight seasons in the matter of months!!! We think a lot a like and both overall just want peace!!! Dea thanks for wanting peace!! 

I found Peace in my job, it truly has been Peaceful having one of the best sets of kiddos I have ever had, they are little bundles of joy all wrapped up in wonderful! I truly have so much peace in my little classroom among my students! I so wish I could post pictures of each of their beautiful smiling faces, but here I will paint a picture:  Giggles, Excitement when they connect that they know what sound ch makes, stories about their night playing cards with their family, knowing they are special and wonderful and they tell me why!!! 

Not tell me, who would not love this?

Cool story here, that the Lord is listening to even the little details of our prayers:

I specifically was praying peace over my family and our home, because we were really needing it this particular week! So I am praying and within that week my parents decided to bring a new puppy into our home, well he was nameless so we all threw around names, names that would sound good with our dog on the right named Marathon, well the name I threw out was Milo...  little did I know at the time... but Milo means peace!! Well from day one, I truly can tell you that this puppy brought peace into our home and a few days later Milo stuck and so now a physically reminder of Peace dwells in our house daily, How cool is that???

What is my word for 2019 you ask!

I would day dream!! I choose to step into this year with Goals to work on stepping out in FAITH to dream, the very dreams that the Lord has placed upon my heart, to teach internationally! To take Special Education to places that to not yet have the opportunity to work with students and children that do not have opportunities, the kiddos that no one else wants, those are the ones that I want the ones that I want to love! 

SO in full pursuit in pursuing what the Lord would have next for me, I give myself permission to dream!!! 

Still Here

Have you ever been in a season of life and felt like you have been in that season for what feels like forever?
Well that has been me without a doubt, feeling stuck and unable to dream, stuck in the same old pattern! Don’t get me wrong I have seen the Lord move and work, perform miracles like only He can! I have taken on new roles as Auntie to 3 precious boys, I have been a prayer warrior for my family, I have seen the Lord heal my mom in her physical as He gave me the word restoration to be praying over her (He answers prayers in ways we don’t even realize need answered, I always thought the prayer of restoration for her was Always going to be in finances and emotionally) I am sure glad the Lord knows best!! And I am still believing that to be true that he will heal her emotionally and financially! For my brother I have been praying that the Lord would bring his to a freedom, a freedom to know the truth of God and all that God would have for him! He just shared the other day that others keep coming up to him and sharing Jesus with Him!! Ummm Hello... Sister praying over here!! I know that the Lord is hearing my prayers that He is answering them and working in ways that only He can! Thank you Jesus!
But in the still here I am still single, still living at home and I am ready for so much more.... But even as I started this blog on December 15th, so 15 days or so ago, I am even in a different place and perspective now, as I was sitting in Church today and the reminder was how are you ending 2018? Are you ending well, have you accomplished all that you have set out to do?
My first response IS NO! Hello still single, still stuck, still not SURE?? But I do see how that Lord has continually called me back to himself, has continually allowed me to be sensitive to His voice! Thank you Jesus!
BUT! As I sat in Church the Lord asked me, are you preparing for your future to rise up a generation that is going to be a game changer, a generation that will be sold out for me!!! How are you doing that? Are you preparing? Do you know my Word?
Okay Lord I am listening! I am committing to  spending time in your Word, so this season is about to be full of your Word! I want to be at my best for whatever my future holds! No more once a week time in the Word, Lord with your help, I want to make it daily!! Its a big commitment, I am scared to make it, but I know it will be so worth it!!
All my seasons belong to you Jesus!

Why

I will say I do not understand right now, today has proven to be a very frustrating, lonely and difficult day. Sickness wide spread across school and in my house. Heart burn that just won't go away, the reality and realization that I am the only person out of all my friends to still live at home under my parents roof with no prospects of other options.... my parents are looking at other options for houses right now, although I will look forward to having an actual real door and a window, but the idea of being confined to a small room size space with no ability of having any other furniture beside a bed is not a fun thought!
Also, I am feeling festered, angry and defeated I choose not to sit in it but rather give it all over to the Lord and say thank you Jesus for:
A healthy family
The Best of friends
A job teaching
An amazing bed
Somewhere safe to stay
A dog
Realization that I am allergic to gluten and no longer have to get sick every time that I eat.
A heavenly Father that Loves me!
Gods Peace
Gods grace
Gods perfect plan over my life!

THANK YOU Jesus for all that you have done even when I do see the big picture or what you are doing right in front of me!