2010 Ends. 2011 Begins.

In less than 24 hours 2010 will be over and I’ll have to remember to write 2011 on everything. Like every other year, it will probably take me some time to get used to that but to be honest, I’m looking forward to it since for me, 2011 seems to have already begun.

I’m not prophetic in a way that I can tell you “thus says the Lord” or even in the “let me tell you what God is saying” way. But I do know how to pray, speak to God and hear His voice in my life. And in my life, he made it clear from the very beginning, 2010 was about change in my life. Just read my past blogs and you’ll see that trend. In 2010 I had a baby, moved, got plugged in at a new church, left my career to be a stay at home mom, lost friends, made friends, got back in touch with some old friends and overall, had a lot of smaller adjustments happen as well – including eating dairy-free. Looking back, it seems like it was a long year. I think change can do that. Not many people like change and therefore it was a stressful year but also a year that is ending with a full-cart shopping list of blessings.

In 2010 I was also (forced) to learn a lot about myself and a lot of my strengths and weaknesses. I’ve learned about what true hurt looks like but I’ve also learned what true forgiveness is. I’ve grown as a woman and a wife more than any other year. I’m quickly learning what true sacrifice is and how to put my own agenda behind me for the good of the future and for others. I’ve learned how easy it is to get prideful in being “a good Christian.” I’ve also learned that being a good Christian doesn’t always look the way we think it should. That many people around us, Christians or not, are parading around in masks and disguises that they don’t know they own and in fact, those disguses are owning them. I’ve also learned that there are some amazing people out there who are waiting for you to come into their life if you’ll only say hi (even if it’s just in a bathroom! )

2010 brought about such change and stretching (somewhat literally!) for me that I was afraid of what 2011 would bring. But honestly, I think I already know. December 2010 has been a very insightful month for me. I’ve taken the time to look at a lot of things in my life and prayed about some things just kinda sitting around in my life, seemingly collecting dust. The things that weigh us down because they’re not growing or shrinking…they’re just there – not getting addressed. For me, early 2011 is about addressing those things. It’s about clearing out the corners now that the change has taken place. It’s about letting go of things I “just couldn’t deal with” in 2010, so I didn’t. It’s about really pressing in to the things I feel called to be doing and ending/putting away the things I know aren’t active in my life for a reason. It’s about building on the changes that were made in 2010 and not looking back wondering what if. It’s about moving forward with my new life and new friendships and new ventures and investments. It’s about choosing to stay focused on a few things rather than wrangling in and holding on to as much as I can grab. It’s about trusting God with what He’s given me and what He’s taken away…knowing that this may still change and alter and I have to be okay with that immediately…not months down the road after it’s beat me up a bit. It’s going to be about making decisions and then moving forward rather than closing my eyes and jumping. It’s going to be a year of being aware of what’s going on around me and focusing on the path I know I’m supposed to be on. It’s about the mature knowledge that some things have to be let go of, all emotions aside. And from what I can see, it’s going to be a year of keeping Jesus as my center and learning to kick the little buggers chewing on my ankles aside while still moving forward with a smile on my face and a joy in my heart.

You might be completely confused, frustrated and bewildered by what all of these things are. Please don’t be. This isn’t a blog where you should respond with “are we still going to be friends?” “what does she mean by that?” “how does she know that” “what happened?” etc. To be honest, I don’t even know if I’d have an answer for you. I just know the truths that are on my heart, and most of them do not have specific situations or people connected to them; they’re as vague and general as this post is.

All I can say is that I welcome 2011 with open arms and encourage you to do the same. Don’t bring the hurts of 2010 into 2011 but don’t ignore them either. Deal with them, let them go, and move forward into a new year filled with possibilities.

*Happy New Year! Thanks for all of the love and support. I look forward to hearing about what God has in store for YOUR new year.

2010 Ends. 2011 Begins.

In less than 24 hours 2010 will be over and I’ll have to remember to write 2011 on everything. Like every other year, it will probably take me some time to get used to that but to be honest, I’m looking forward to it since for me, 2011 seems to have already begun.

I’m not prophetic in a way that I can tell you “thus says the Lord” or even in the “let me tell you what God is saying” way. But I do know how to pray, speak to God and hear His voice in my life. And in my life, he made it clear from the very beginning, 2010 was about change in my life. Just read my past blogs and you’ll see that trend. In 2010 I had a baby, moved, got plugged in at a new church, left my career to be a stay at home mom, lost friends, made friends, got back in touch with some old friends and overall, had a lot of smaller adjustments happen as well – including eating dairy-free. Looking back, it seems like it was a long year. I think change can do that. Not many people like change and therefore it was a stressful year but also a year that is ending with a full-cart shopping list of blessings.

In 2010 I was also (forced) to learn a lot about myself and a lot of my strengths and weaknesses. I’ve learned about what true hurt looks like but I’ve also learned what true forgiveness is. I’ve grown as a woman and a wife more than any other year. I’m quickly learning what true sacrifice is and how to put my own agenda behind me for the good of the future and for others. I’ve learned how easy it is to get prideful in being “a good Christian.” I’ve also learned that being a good Christian doesn’t always look the way we think it should. That many people around us, Christians or not, are parading around in masks and disguises that they don’t know they own and in fact, those disguses are owning them. I’ve also learned that there are some amazing people out there who are waiting for you to come into their life if you’ll only say hi (even if it’s just in a bathroom! )

2010 brought about such change and stretching (somewhat literally!) for me that I was afraid of what 2011 would bring. But honestly, I think I already know. December 2010 has been a very insightful month for me. I’ve taken the time to look at a lot of things in my life and prayed about some things just kinda sitting around in my life, seemingly collecting dust. The things that weigh us down because they’re not growing or shrinking…they’re just there – not getting addressed. For me, early 2011 is about addressing those things. It’s about clearing out the corners now that the change has taken place. It’s about letting go of things I “just couldn’t deal with” in 2010, so I didn’t. It’s about really pressing in to the things I feel called to be doing and ending/putting away the things I know aren’t active in my life for a reason. It’s about building on the changes that were made in 2010 and not looking back wondering what if. It’s about moving forward with my new life and new friendships and new ventures and investments. It’s about choosing to stay focused on a few things rather than wrangling in and holding on to as much as I can grab. It’s about trusting God with what He’s given me and what He’s taken away…knowing that this may still change and alter and I have to be okay with that immediately…not months down the road after it’s beat me up a bit. It’s going to be about making decisions and then moving forward rather than closing my eyes and jumping. It’s going to be a year of being aware of what’s going on around me and focusing on the path I know I’m supposed to be on. It’s about the mature knowledge that some things have to be let go of, all emotions aside. And from what I can see, it’s going to be a year of keeping Jesus as my center and learning to kick the little buggers chewing on my ankles aside while still moving forward with a smile on my face and a joy in my heart.

You might be completely confused, frustrated and bewildered by what all of these things are. Please don’t be. This isn’t a blog where you should respond with “are we still going to be friends?” “what does she mean by that?” “how does she know that” “what happened?” etc. To be honest, I don’t even know if I’d have an answer for you. I just know the truths that are on my heart, and most of them do not have specific situations or people connected to them; they’re as vague and general as this post is.

All I can say is that I welcome 2011 with open arms and encourage you to do the same. Don’t bring the hurts of 2010 into 2011 but don’t ignore them either. Deal with them, let them go, and move forward into a new year filled with possibilities.

*Happy New Year! Thanks for all of the love and support. I look forward to hearing about what God has in store for YOUR new year.

New Layout! New Design!

Last month I made a list of changes to come for 2010. Soooo…as promised, here is my new design! (All email subscribers and RSS subscribers, click over to the actual blog today: www.proverb31girl.com)

I hope you enjoy the new site. I worked really hard on it (with the help of hubbie – thanks babe!) and am really proud to see how this blog has evolved over the past 2 years. The site is 95% done. For all of you checklist people out there, here are the new additions/features:

• New feel/new colors. I went for a cleaner, more organized site rather than a long page of blog entries
• New logo to reflect the new name. “Me4thought” is gone. “Proverb31girl” is here to stay
• Headshot and welcome note. I thought it would make things a big friendlier
• Some categories have been re-named and “Uncategorized” blogs have been properly distributed
• Lots of pictures! New with each post, there will be a thumbnail to warm up the place
• The home page will “feature” my newest post, followed by the most recent posts
• Each category on top has it’s own page of posts within that category
• An easy to use search function on the top right of each page
• To Come: Recent Comments link, Most Popular Posts link

So that’s it (I think). Take a look around. Read some blogs you might have missed in the past. And please excuse the lack of photos on some pages. The more recent ones will be much more lively to look at

Got a blog and aren’t listed on my blogroll? Leave me a comment and let me know – I love to check out what my readers are up to!

Thanks for all of your love and support – this blog is growing because of you!!

Jess

New for 2010!!

Hello bloggy friends. I’ve been a bit under the weather lately and therefore will not be posting anything music related this week. Instead, I’d like to give you a quick look at the exciting things to come in 2010!

Blog Related:

• A redesign! As much as I love the color scheme and logo I have now – I believe it’s time for something fresh and relevant to where this blog has gone in 2009. For those of you who subscribe through a reader or email, you probably don’t look at my actual site much. But take a look now, it won’t be the same for much longer! www.proverb31girl.com

• A new name! Years ago I started an online journal named “me4thought.” So when I started this blog, I wanted to somehow link my commonly used name “proverb31girl” with my old writing slate “me4thought.” This produced the very wordy blog name “me4thought: the life and thoughts of a proverb31girl.” 2009 was a big year for me as far as networking and writing goes, so in 2010 my blog name will truncate to the easy to remember (and now well known), Proverb31girl.

• More music! New Music Tuesday has been very successful, especially with the most recent addition of Music Spotlights, so expect more more more! More CD reviews, more interviews and new for 2010, concert and venue news!

• Guest writers! I’d really like to have some different voices funneling through the blog. Different topics. Different opinions. Different lifestyles. If you enjoy writing and are interested in being a contributing writer – please let me know your ideas! See the “contact me!” page to do so.

Life Related:

• Here’s the official announcement if you haven’t heard it already, July 3, 2010 I’ll officially be a mommy! Don’t worry, I’m not going to turn this into a mommy blog…just a mom who likes to write.

• Hubbie will have a new job! Location TBA.

• We’re moving! It might be to a different place in the same town or it might be out of state. We’re not sure yet. But we do know that it’s time for a bigger place!

• Road trips! Pregnancy (hopefully) won’t hold me back from visiting Club Worship and The Gates pre-baby and a few other places post-baby. Our kid is going to love dance music whether he/she likes it or not

Well that’s about all the updates I have right now. I hope you’re as excited as I am for this journey. 2010 is going to be a great year of change and new beginnings.

To be continued,

Jess/Proverb31girl

God-Sized Dreams

(In)courage asked an interesting question on their blog. They asked: What are your God-sized dreams for 2010?

It’s one thing to dream…but it’s another thing to have a dream that’s GOD-sized! But with all of the changes in life (see post on changes) this question isn’t very hard for me to answer. My God-sized dreams for 2010 are as follows (not in any order):

• That my family and friends come to know Jesus the way we were all created to know him
• A healthy, happy baby (to come in July 2010)
• A great new job for my husband that he really enjoys doing
• The perfect size/location house for me and my growing family to live in
• Enough means to be comfortable as a 1 income family so that I can fulfill my calling as a mother the best I can
• For Chris’ music and upcoming projects to sore to levels beyond man’s capabilities

Now normally this would be quite a hefty list of dreams. But hey – God is big and I truly believe He can do ALL things.

What are your God-sized dreams for 2010?