in with the new.
i’m not a huge new years fanatic. if you know me, you know i like to be in bed early rather than late. i don’t love loud concerts or freestyle dancing. this new year’s eve was filled with all of that but was somehow the best one to date.
i went to onething conference at IHOP. rode up with my dear friend anna and rode back with a group of girls i originally only knew one of. i hung out with some of the greatest guys i now have the pleasure to call friends. we talked. good heart conversations. some silly ones. we prophesied over people and got prophesied over. and the funny thing is the weekend didn’t look at all like what i thought it would. i think i went to 2 sessions and maybe a couple of worship sets…but mostly i just hung out and talked. and it was just what my heart needed.
what is even funnier is that the first day i got there. i spent 6 hours in the prayer room. tried to listen to God…all i felt like i accomplished was this piece of artwork. honestly was kind of frustrated. i had fasted and prayed for a week before this even wanting God to meet me cause i desperately needed him to. ha! he was so faithful! i felt like He told me not to seek out prophesy, which is what IHOP does among other things, and when i was obedient, He brought 4 sweet students who prayed over me some of the most incredible things.
then there were simple moments in conversation that made all the difference. at one point we were sitting down talking and one of the guys asked me if i had any follow up questions. he leaned to another friend and said, “she is a good question asker”. and something in my heart shifted. he spoke truth to a lie i didn’t even know i had been believing. God met me and did more than i could imagine in a simple weekend.
this is the first year i feel beyond excited for the new year. there is something in my gut that says this year is going to be different somehow. maybe it is the lessons learned. the patience grown. maybe it is the year i took learning about hope. making it my word for the year. my focus. and how it has changed me somehow. God is a big and mighty God who does exceeding, abundantly more than we can think or imagine when we give him ourselves.
last year was filled with some big moments. some of the highest highs of my life. some of the lowest lows. it was filled with lessons learned the hard way and God meeting me in wildernesses and speaking tenderly to me. it was a year full of learning to fully rely on him and finding my identity completely in him. it was a year of adventure and monotony all at the same time.
each year gets better. the more time spent with him, the sweeter it gets. the clearer his voice is. the sweeter his love. and i am so excited for this year! i had a hard time picking just one word for this year but the phrase is thankful & passionate pursuit of him. this year i want to grow in being thankful to him. i want to grow in passionate pursuit of him, not just mediocre. here we go!!!
what about you? what do you want this year?
