II Corinthians 5:17
"Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (KJV)
Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come! (Amplified)
This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! (NLT)
This Scripture means a lot to me this year. I already posted about some life-changing services in November, and I'm still holding on, or rather, God's still holding onto me. It's amazing. All things really have become new for me. I really liked those 3 translations and wanted to share them. The Bible really is powerful, especially when you look a little deeper at the words.
Looking back at 2010, I see how much I've changed, and all for the better. Actually, a little of 2009 too has shown some drastic changes in my life. The end of 2009 held some horrific, life-changing events for me that really shook me. It was traumatic, but it made me take a deeper look at my spiritual walk and realize how much I was depending on man instead of on God. It's not right to lean too much on man, even if they are spiritually stable, man will fail you, but God never will. I'm so thankful for all God did through that tough time, and how He used the ministry at my church to keep pressing on. They never gave in or took defeat, they have been amazingly encouraging and strong. I know it's God in them, and for that I'm so thankful.
Here's my post from last year on New Year's Eve. Onto my recap of 2010:
- In January 2010, I had a breakthrough in some of my ways of thinking, and that's when a lot of other things started falling into place. I still struggled spiritually, but God was so faithful. I had to apply to grad schools and that was crazy! I was volunteering at the hospital, working at the SO, working at the library, volunteering at the Camp, and going to school full time. I'm not really sure how I survived it all. I know I was crazy. :) A friend got married, and that is about all I can remember from then. Nothing much to speak of in the way of pictures.
- February 2010 was also busy. I wrote a little bit about it here. My cousin's 16th birthday happened, and that was a lot of fun. That's all I can remember from then also.
- March 2010 was Winter camp! Also, the end of Winter Quarter. It was also the month I finally got rid of my Facebook! I decided in December to do it, but was too busy to actually do so. The first day before going up to camp, I deleted it and haven't looked back. :) I do miss seeing pics and keeping up with people, but overall, it's been a blessing. Less to worry about and less to take up my time. I don't know how I had the time to even check it.I was averaging about 3.5 hours of sleep a night for a while. I honestly don't know how I survived Winter Quarter. Spring Break was much needed for me! Also, Winter camp is when God really started to move on me. I gave up some things and was filled with the Holy Ghost. I had such a peace about it, and God was continuing the work.
- April was beautiful, awesome weather! Actually, we had a very mild winter last year, and a very early spring. I got beautiful pics of the Tulip Festival and fun with friends. Spring quarter was much better than Winter quarter. I was almost also done with school! I had heard back from the grad schools I applied to, and was on the waiting list for one of them. I remember praying a lot and fully expecting to be going to school in the fall for OT. Funny, I'm in the same place this year. Some things haven't quite changed, although I'm ready for them to!
- May was busy! My "little" brother was getting ready to graduate from high school. He had his last concert and some other lasts. I was wrapping up classes and getting ready for sunshine!
- June was busy. Am I repeating myself? Probably. Life is busy! My brother graduated, I finished my last Spring Quarter at WWU, and started my final quarter there. I have pictures from all these events, but we shall see if I post them. I did post a few throughout the year, so you can go back and look if you feel led. I also wrapped up my first year of helping with Sunday school. That was a lot of fun! I love the kids and I had a great time getting to know them and help out in an area that needed it. I had a further spiritual breakthrough that I posted about here. That was kind of a theme last year for me, the year of spiritual breakthroughs. It was definitely the most memorable part. I had one class in June-July and volunteered at the camp and at the hospital. I also had my last day working at the SO. That was a bit sad. I wrote a bit of an update here.
- July was my last month of volunteering at the hospital, and most importantly the last day of school!!!! I had a lot of fun last summer. I was busy, but still had time for fun. It was much needed! I posted some good pics here from last summer. July led right into August, which was...
- August 2010!!!! Summer camp!!!! One of the best parts of the whole year, at least for me. :) I thoroughly enjoyed camp! I got to be a camper again and helped out at Junior camp. Great times with friends, family and fellow believers. God moved amazingly during the services, did a lot for our whole congregation. We also had a witnessing booth at the local county fair, which was an amazing thing for me and all who got to participate. I graduated too!!! That was fun. :) My grandma passed away then too. It was tough. :( I really miss her. She used to call every day and I so miss talking to her.
- By September, I had found out I was not going to be starting grad school. I was highly disappointed and not sure what to do. I needed money and a job. I was praying about it, and not really sure what to do. I started helping out at church with the witnessing projects, Message hub projects, and volunteering at the church school. I was so busy I didn't take a single photo! Plus, I had lost my camera in August. :( I still haven't gotten it back, but I did get one for my birthday in November. Anyways, I had been talking to a friend one day about what to do about my life at that moment. As I was walking away from her, I got a phone call with a job offer. I prayed about it and felt it was totally the Lord answering my prayer. It might not be a permanent job, but definitely an answer to prayer! I posted about it here. I started school with my buddy in September and continued through December. Lord willing, I'll be starting again in a few days. I've really enjoyed it, and feel I'm where God wants me at the moment. I've so enjoyed volunteering at the school too. I love the kids and love helping out. One of my friends is a teacher there, and I help mostly in her classroom. It's a highlight of my week each week.
- October 2010 was yet again, extremely busy! I went to baseball game, volunteered, our refrigerator broke and we got a new one, and went on a very fun trip with a bunch of girls in Seattle. We had a fun time on Halloween after service at a lovely couple's house. I didn't get pics or anything, but it was a great time together. :)
- November was eventful. :) Some friends got married, I had my birthday, went witnessing in downtown Vancouver, experienced bitterly cold weather, had a lovely Thanksgiving with friends and family, and enjoyed a rebirth. Oh, we had a concert fundraiser with the LaFontaines too. Super fun month! It's hard to believe it's over. I feel like it's still November! I updated about November in December, so here's that post.
- December was crazy! I didn't have as much work, but every day was nearly jam-packed with fun and craziness. :) Some of it I talked about here too. The rest I supposed I'll post about in a separate post, as this one is way too long already!
I don't make resolutions, but I do make goals.
Some goals for 2011:
- Read through the entire Bible this year, following the Daily Devotion book Bro. Tim Dodd put together.
- Find out what to do with my life!
- Keep working on my knitting. :)
- Others I'll remember later. :P
Well, I hope this post was interesting. If not for you, it was for me. I wish you all the best in 2011! May God richly bless you and keep you!
