Welcome to 2009

Happy New Year Everyone!

I have a whole list of resolutions that I'm going to try to do better at this year, and updating this is one of them. Wish me luck.

Well here we are, entering another year. 2009. I can't believe 2008 is gone. This past year so much has happened, it's hard to imagine that it all fit into one year, and its also hard to comprehend that its already been a year. I spent the first part of the year studying abroad in Oxford, England. I traveled Europe, and found a deep, deep love for the city of Oxford that I don't think I will ever lose. I saw small bits of Ireland, Scotland, France, Spain, Germany, and Italy. It was an adventure of a lifetime.

Within weeks of leaving England, I left again, this time for Morelia, Mexico, where I spent six weeks of my summer. I learned that you can love people even when you don't speak the same language. I learned that I'm really awful at Spanish. But somehow, God worked it out.

Then a visit to family in Michigan, and back to Abilene for school. A Willie Nelson concert with my dad, a Spurs game with my friend Holly, watching my nephew grow up, laughing when I realized he though I lived in the computer, because that's how he talked to me. A whole semester's worth of ups and downs.

And now another year. More changes to come. Another niece or nephew. Excitement, and nervousness. The time goes by so fast, and as the time goes by, I find myself growing up. Somewhere, it feels, I've become more of an adult than a child. And while that's exciting, it's also scary. It's a great adventure.

So at the start of this new year, this new adventure, I know that I will continue to be molded and changed by God. I hope this year to put in place more productive habits, and to really live my life for the glory of God.

It has been brought to my attention in more and more ways how we as people are designed by God for harmony and wholeness. However, not many of us know what that would be like. I don't. But I am coming to understand how interconnected the whole matter is. Our minds affect our bodies and our bodies affect our minds. Our spiritual wellbeing can be reflected in our physical wellbeing and vise versa. 1 Thessalonians 5:23 demonstrates this when it says "May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Every part of us is called to holiness and wholeness. We are called to live holy and wholly. In body and mind. For me, this new years, that means taking better care of myself, in a healthy diet and exercise, getting organized, as well as spending more time with God, building deeper relationships with those I love, and learning to rest in God and be at peace. And, of course, learning how to solve a rubix cube.

I have a long list of wants for myself, but ultimately, I know that more than ever this year, I need to depend on God. For me, growing up comes with fighting off a lot of fears. But God is bigger that all of those fears. So here is my all-encompassing resolution for the new year:

Entrust myself to God each day, allowing him to mold me in His image, reach out to others, and each day to to live holy and wholly.