2011

At the beginning of this year, I decided that I wouldn't write new years resolutions, but that I would try to concentrate on two words that God seemed to be impressing upon me, "grace" and "communications". I wrote out some goals that I would like to concentrate on:

Give grace. Love people as they are, simply because God loves them.

Be a better communicator. Express my thoughts and feeling more concisely and also be a better listener.

Unfortunately, the first half of the year I spent most of the time feeling down. My depression was not being controlled by the medication I was on. In June, I finally contacted my doctor and he prescribe a new medication... this was the beginning of several changes in medication over the next several months. There were many ups and down before we came to a combination that seems to work well for me.

To tell you the truth, I forgot all about my words "grace" and "communications". I love how God is faithful even when we are not faithful. As I look back on this year I realize that God was speaking those words into my life even when I was unaware.

Grace... through the depression I had to give myself a lot of grace. I had to relearn that God's love for me wasn't conditional on how I felt or what I got accomplished... He simply loves me! He made me and He delights in me.

Communication...God taught me so much about communication this year. There have been 4 books that I read that have been instrumental in my learning. Tom had given me the devotional "Jesus Calling" by Sarah Young. I didn't really pick it up until in July when I was feeling better, but God immediately started speaking to me through it and encouraged me to speak with Him also. It helped me strengthen my love relationship with Him.

The second book was "One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voskamp. This book I heard about on one of the blogs that I read daily. This book taught me that thanksgiving needs to be a part of my conversation with God. He is continually giving all of us precious gifts most that we are too busy to recognize or acknowledge. I started to keep a "one thousand gifts'" journal and started expressing my thanks to God.

The third book was "Recovering from Losses in Life" by H. Norman Wright. This book was recommended to me by three precious ladies Robin, Kay, and Stacy, who recognized that I had unresolved grief. God taught me through this book that I needed to listen to my feelings and learn to express them.

The fourth book was "Emotionally Healthy Spirituality" by Peter Scazzero. This book was also recommended to me by my friend Robin. This book examines the connections between our emotional health and our spiritual health and why so many Christians are hurting themselves and others. God spoke to me about learning to express my hurts and deal with problems in a godly fashion. Through this book God has encouraged me to finish my sabbatical from church.. to re-establish a relationship with other believers.... communicating and giving grace!

So 2011 really has been a year of grace and communication! Thank You God!


Highlights of 2011 in pictures