Thursday, January 8, 2015

the year of 2014

What a year, 2014! What a year.
I feel I stepped out of a whirlwind, and whoosh! The year is gone!
But when I look back on it, I can see the Lord's guiding hand through it all.
It was a good year.
I learned His faithfulness; that when we don't see how a situation can work for good,
He always comes through.
I learned to trust Him a little bit more; 
when the way is dark, He carries His own. We have no need for fear!

It is good to go back and see all the Lord has done.
It reminds me of His goodness.
Here are some of the highlights from my year.
(The italics below are journal entries corresponding with the month of the year)

"I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all that You have done;
I ponder the works of your hands.
I stretch out my hands to You;
My soul thirsts for You like a parched land."
Psalm 143:5


(January)




"And in this place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people', it shall be said to them, 'children of the Living God.'" - Hosea 1:10

(february)


Oh, but then forgiveness comes
A grace that I cannot resist
And I just want to thank Someone
I just want to thank Someone for this.

Now I can see the world has chnaged
it's glimmering with promises
written in a script of stars
dripping form the prophets' lips

I just want to thank Someone for this



To be more than merely innocent
but to be broken then redeemed by love
Maybe this old world is bent
but it's waking up
and I'm waking up

Cause I can hear the voice of One 
He's crying in the wilderness
"Make ready for the kingdom come"
Don't you want to thank Someone for this?

(march)


(april)
  

(may - my brothers Elijah and William were baptized!)

It has been one of the most trial-filled years of my life, I think. 
So many ups and downs. 
So many valleys, yet so many mountains.
He's opened my eyes in so many ways, taken me places that even I wouldn't ask to go.
But through it all, He is faithful.

...Thank you, Lord, for this year.I didn't think I'd be thankful for it all.
But I am. You are so good.
Please don't stop your molding, though I cry out in pain.
For you, of all, know all pain. 
You know the beauty of the gold after the fire.
(journal entry, april 2014)

 (june)


(Texas)

(july - Honduras)


"Joy does not simply happen to us.
We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every single day."
Henri JM Nouwen


Spirit, lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
wherever you would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
and my faith would be made stronger 
in the presence of my Savior


Show me how to breath deep,
how to capture each small moment.
Show me how to love the dirt beneath my feet,
see You in the faces of these children.
How to praise You in the skies above.
For You are love - undefined.
(july 2014)


(august)


Lord, strip it all away
until only You remain

That CHRIST may have preeminence!

(RLCF Youth Conference 2014)




God's unfailing love for us is an objective fact affirmed over and over in the scriptures.
It is true whether we believe it or not.
Our doubts do not destroy God's love, nor does our faith create it.
It originates in the very nature of God, who is love,
and it flows to us through our union with His Beloved Son.
Jerry Bridges 


 


 (WA - august)

(september)



Am I willing to trust an unknown future to a known God? 
YES!
...I can be scared to follow where He leads and pull back,
or I can willingly go where he is leading, with joy,
knowing that HE knows the way.

I am never alone. 
He will never leave me in the dark.
(journal entry, august 2014)


Restlessness and impatience change nothing except our peace and joy.
Peace does not dwell in outward things,
but in the heart prepared to wait trustfully and quietly on 
Him who has all things safely in His hands
Elizabeth Elliot

(october) 

"Who am I to complain in losses--
when what I lost wasn't mine anyway?"
Ann Voskamp

What if Your blessings come through raindrops?
What if Your healing comes through tears?
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near?
What if trials of this life
are Your mercies in disguise?


"The car will get you there. 
But you have to stay IN the car. Trust and rest."
Dad 



 (november)


"Measure thy life by loss instead of gain;
not by the wine drunk but by the wine poured forth;
For love's strength standeth in love's sacrifice,
and whoso suffers most hath most to give"
Bassi

(december)

 (SOS ministries mission trip - Honduras) 



Pray audacious prayers.
Don't stop. Don't stop. Don't stop.

(El Salvador)


He brought me into a broad place;
He rescued me, because he delighted in me.
Psalm 18:19


Be assured, if you walk with Him
and look to Him and expect help from Him,
He will never fail you.
George Mueller

"Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord;
His going out is sure as the dawn;
He will come to us as the showers,
as the spring rains that water the earth."
Hosea 6:3

2 comments:

  1. I love your heart, Emily! What a beautiful way to recap your year. I love all your pictures :) Miss you! <3

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  2. your pictures are gorgeous!!!! and I love the blog title. lol.

    have an awesome day!

    princessfaith.blogspot.com

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