2013

I love the beginning of years. It’s not only a new year, but my birthday is in January and our anniversary comes very early on in the year, so it’s really the next year all around for me. 2013 was one of the busiest years I’ve ever had. The year started with turning 26, and then getting married. From March through October our lives were filled with showers, bachelorette parties, and weddings for 9 different couples! We also said goodbye to 4 of our grandparents. Both of my mom parents passed away (a month a part from each other I might add) and both of Cameron’s grandma’s passed away. We are thankful that as far as we know all four of those sweet people loved Jesus as their savior and we will see them again one day. In December we welcomed another niece into the family. My sister had a sweet baby girl, Jenna Grace.

We also got to travel all over in 2013. Colorado and Hawaii for our honeymoon, Alaska to visit one of my best friends over the summer, Iowa for a funeral, New Orleans for a work conference, Oklahoma for a wedding. Cameron was gracious enough to let me take two girl trips, one to San Diego for a wedding and one to Seattle to run a half marathon. I never imagined that I would be so blessed to travel to so many places in one year.

Some people say that the first year of marriage is rough, but I can’t say that ours has been. We have definitely had to learn how to communicate, how to serve each other, how to loved each other, but over all it’s been one of my most favorite years. Our biggest struggle has been finding that balance between spending time with each other, spending time with old friends and making new friends together. We don’t have it figured out! Cameron is a better husband than I ever could have asked for. We compliment each other well and I feel so blessed to have a husband that loves the Lord more than anything else and is constantly pushing me towards Jesus.

There are so many memories that fill 2013 and most of them are too good to be true. But even with wonderful friends, and fun trips the day to day can be hard. I quit teaching at the end of 2012 to try to figure out what to do with my life. I took two accounting classes at a local community college in the Spring. Though I enjoyed my classes, it didn’t take long to decide that accounting wasn’t what I want to do with my life. Many days were spent in tears, frustration and prayer asking the Lord to show me what to do. I applied for an internship with a non-profit that my church started called The For the City Network. I started working on an education initiative at the beginning of September, researching to find the biggest needs in schools in a specific area of Austin and figuring out a plan to get churches involved in meeting those needs. Nothing about the internship has been what I expected.  It seems crazy that it’s been a year since I quit teaching, and I still have no idea what God want’s me to do with my life work wise, but there is one huge lesson he has been teaching me in all of this. No matter what I am doing, He is asking me to share the gospel.

This year the Lord has grown my heart for people in Austin, in Texas, in the U.S., in every tribe and nation to come to know him. He has filled me with a greater sense of urgency for the gospel to be known. I want my friends to know that Jesus is the only way for them. They are sinful. I am sinful. I am the worst of sinners and I need a savior to rescue me and so do they! The good news is we have one. Christ came and shed his blood for my sin! For my friend’s sin! For your sin! I pray that this sense of urgency doesn’t leave me, but that 2014 would be a year filled with displaying the gospel in my day-to-day and filled with people coming to Christ.

Lord Jesus, make my heart believe every day of 2014 that you are better than everything this world has to offer. Make my friends believe this year. Make Austin believe. Make Texas believe. Make the nations believe.