Year of Hope to the Year of Joy

Hello 2012, welcome to my world.

Last year the word Hope was my word for the year. It it absolutly incredible to sit here a year later and think about all the ways that word impacted my life this year. Hope will forever be one of my favorite words. There is so much promise, so much anticipation, so much heartache and so much longing in that four letter word. I learned how important it is to allow yourself to feel the weight of the hope and the desires you have. That my hope for things must be brought under the banner of God's plans and control. That I need to trust Him with my hope. And to understand that hoping can bring pain. That your heart may ache the more you hope but that it isn't a bad thing. That it is actually suffering that can produce even more hope. It was a word I needed to focus on last year. I needed to find the hope in my life. I needed to find the source of my hope and how that can complete me. And I did.

I thought a lot about my word for this year. And the word I've chosen is Joy. It's something that towards the last half of this year I've been thinking a lot about. Joy. What does it look like to be someone who is joyful at all times, in all circumstances, not matter what is coming or going in life? I want to be that type of person. I want to be someone who understands what the joy of the Lord is and how it looks in daily life. So, here we go. On the journey of joy. Watch this space.

I've excited for this year. I'm excited to go to Florida in a few weeks and see one of my soul friends. I'm excited for my work conference and the refreshing time that I know it will be. I'm excited to watch the continual process of pursuing international staff and seeing what God does in that.

Hopefully, I'll blog more this year too. haha. Don't hold your breath for that one!