A New Year

I always look forward to the new year, for lots of reasons.

First, Chris and I got married on January 1, so it is always a fun day to celebrate for us.  This year we got to celebrate 8 years of marriage.  8 years of spending my life with my best friend makes me feel giddy and so so blessed.  Marriage isn't always a walk in the park, but it is good.  I am abundantly thankful that Chris Field said "I do" to me 8 years ago and thankful to a God that has been faithful to us throughout our journey.  I sure love my man.

Another reason I look forward to the new year is for a fresh start.  Don't get me wrong--I love the holidays as much as (if not more than) the next person, but by Christmas time, I am starting to feel an itch for newness.  I don't think it is coincidental that we celebrate the birth of Jesus at the same time that many of us are aching for something different and fresh and new. Isn't that just what God offered the world in the birth and life of Jesus?  Something different and fresh and new that would bring about something incredible.

I love that those two things are so perfectly tied together for me, and this year it really began to make sense in my heart.  This longing for something new being completely tangled up in the life and love of Jesus.

Just a month or two before Christmas, I was feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, and hurt in life. I was tired, low on energy, and emotional. It was in this that I felt the Lord begin to indirectly reveal to me through many different sources that the rhythms of our lives needed some revisiting, and I began to think and pray on this.  About the same time, Chris mentioned trying to go to a college bowl game (football) for a little anniversary getaway.  I told him that I was absolutely interested and wanted us to carve out some time for resting and dreaming about how our lives could look more balanced in 2013.  The next thing I knew, Chris had a trip planned to here:

We spent 3 nights and 4 days in the middle of nowhere Montana, about 10 miles from the only entrance to Yellowstone National Park that is open in the winter.

To say it was perfect would be an understatement.  It was gorgeous and freezing and lovely and relaxing and a great place to reflect.

So, we did.  And, in the midst of making our goals for the year and going over ways to bring more peace and joy to our home in the coming year, I read this.  It totally rocked my world, in a great way.

I realized that if I could pick one word to define my year it would be Jesus.

I want every facet of my life to point to him.  I want to live for his glory alone.  I want to stop living for myself and my immediate happiness.

I want a gospel, kingdom, Jesus mentality.

So, that is my prayer for the coming year.  That I will daily die to myself and live for Jesus.

I can tell you that it hasn't been easy, and I have failed probably more times than I have succeeded.  Having this new perspective has already filled my days with more peace and more joy.

 

And, seriously, do I have a good man or what?!?  This place was like a dream.  Not only that but he also put up with my emotional self and my ramblings on about how I feel.  Bless him.