Now that it’s almost 2011 (or as I like to say, Two thousand and Heaven!) I am taking a moment to put together a list of what has made this a great year.

I have become incredibly grateful for the people I know that I would describe as Kindred Spirits, which I would describe as someone who shares beliefs, attitudes, or feelings with me.  I see these things in a few people, such as a dear friend I’ve known since high school who I’ve recently gained a renewed appreciation for.  Sometimes I don’t remember how much we’ve gone through, how close we really are, and quite how lost I’d be without her.  There is also a friend I’ve become re-aquainted with from childhood, who has realized is an amazing woman of God with a soft and sweet heart.  When we were kids we enjoyed the same things and now I have found that we share a way of listening and accepting people without judgment.  And of course, a recent acquaintance that I feel quite kindred with who I find to be similar in attitude on the surface, as well as in our beliefs and longings of the heart.  I am excited to find more wonderful people to connect with and learn from in this coming year.

I don’t think there are good ways to describe soul mates, but I will say that I believe that when you find someone who finishes your sentences and works internally in the same ways… you found one.  I have had the pleasure of finding a few, and the best thing about soul mates is that the friendship will not fail because of hurting each other.  It’s based on understanding and acceptance, encouragement and love. 

I have one other half.  The person that is similar and yet different, because we think with different sides of our brains.  I would be lost without her.  I don’t have much else to say, aside from being so blessed by having her in my life as a hetero-life-partner. 

Luke 8:21  He replied, “My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.”

From blood relatives to the family that we make for ourselves, I’ve been blessed to experience the good and bad this year.  I’ve seen the best and the worst, but learned from it all about the family that I’ll have someday and how to navigate what I have now.  It is especially encouraging to see my parents get re-married, as it proves to me yet again that God’s forgiveness and grace can come into our lives to produce love and joy.

 

Philippians 3:12-14  Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.  Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

I am a person who believes in change, and this year there has been a lot of it in my life.  On the surface there has been constant reinvention this year: geographically (I have moved 3 times this year), my surroundings on a personal level with cleaning and decorating my room, my hair color, my make-up, my personal style.  On a deeper level there has been change, I have renewed my faith and purpose by turning my focus back to God, and he has been proving himself worth of my devotion over and over again.  With his assistance I want to continue his reinvention of me, helping me with everything from thoughts to habits.  I’m excited to see what he makes of this year.

Habakkuk 2: 2&3  Then the LORD replied:
   “Write down the revelation
   and make it plain on tablets
   so that a herald may run with it.
 For the revelation awaits an appointed time;
   it speaks of the end
   and will not prove false.
Though it linger, wait for it;
   it will certainly come
   and will not delay.

Getting to work in a book store was one of the best things about my year.  The written word, aside from being powerful in many ways, is the best way to expand your vocabulary, exercise your imagination, and experience something new or unreal.  It’s my favorite thing in the world.

Esther 2:12  Before a young woman’s turn came to go in to King Xerxes, she had to complete twelve months of beauty treatments prescribed for the women, six months with oil of myrrh and six with perfumes and cosmetics.

This year part of working on myself has been getting to know myself, which happens when I am able to take time to take care of myself.  This includes, but is not limited to: Taking the time to clean my room and organize things to create a pleasant space for my thoughts, decorating with things that are aesthetically pleasing, treating myself to baths with oils and bubbles, candles and cookies, purchasing quality items to last and boost my confidence, getting semi-regular haircuts and mani-pedis, accepting myself for the good and bad for the most part, not trying to hide flaws but working on them and allowing myself space to heal and feel without shutting down and hiding, as well as allowing myself to highlight my good qualities. 

noun, plural -nies. 
1. agreement; accord; harmonious relations.
2. a consistent, orderly, or pleasing arrangement of parts; congruity.
3. Music .
a. any simultaneous combination of tones.
b. the simultaneous combination of tones, esp. when blended into chords pleasing to the ear; chordal structure, as distinguished from melody and rhythm.
c. the science of the structure, relations, and practical combination of chords.

I like to think of life as a constant opportunity to produce harmony, in music of course (something I learned quite young and adore taking part in), as well as in relationships.  I imagine that the best harmony I will be able to produce will be as a wife, and every friendship I have now I get to exercise that. 

I love arts and crafts time!  This year I’ve been trying to continue with the habit of creating things, for myself and for others.  I’ve been able to make a “soul box” for my soul mate, christmas cards for people I care about, kept sporadically drawing and painting, writing here and there, making jewelry, practicing the guitar, even cooking.  It’s one of the areas in my life where I feel able to really expose myself, whether it be in a raw or refined way. 

Mark 9:42  “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea.”

Kids are the best thing ever.  I adore them and look forward to the time of my life when I get to have my own.  I love being able to play with them, to talk to them, have arts and crafts time with them, sometimes even try to teach them a little.  I am so blessed to be able to have them in my life at all, they refresh and warm my heart.

“I have nothing when I’m living apart from You/Outside, creation groans/To lose our darkness and be made whole/For my feet are close to slipping/Speak to my heart in time/You have promised, so I do believe/You won’t forget this wandering child/Still, I’m so close to being so far away from You/Though I know no one on their own makes it through/My soul clings to the dust/So in Your life, let it be enough” – So Close

“The bush before me, I slip my sandals off/I only stopped to look/In the depths of the sea, in the midst of a great storm/I run, I run from you/Isn’t that just like a finite mind/Setting out with such righteous indignation/But now I’m at your feet/Could you look at me with some imagination” – Imagination

“The weakness of God is mighty/And the foolishness of His love has saved me” – The Way I Come To You, Bethany Dillon

1 Corinthians 1:25  For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

2 Corinthians 4:7  But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.