2019 Recap

2019 has been a crazy year with so many exciting (and surprising) events. If I was to look at the year overall I would have to say that it has been probably one of (if not the most) exciting year of my life. So many opportunities came up and I grew so much this year thanks to God's grace.

I was challenged to step out of my comfort zone many times and great things occurred as a result! I remember at the beginning of this year praying for 2019 to be a great year filled with growth and new adventures. Looking back now, I can definitely say that those requests were met-even greater than I had anticipated!

My friend and I at the Silobration in Waco.

Instead of me just jabbing on about how great of a year it was, let's look at each month and take a moment to remember what happened. So, here is my month-by-month breakdown of my 2019.

January - We had Christmas with family on New Years Day, I went to a wholesale market for my business, started a Bible in 90 days program through church (read about my experience here), my second semester of freshman year of college started, I did a photoshoot with a friend, went to a Tim Hawkins comedy show, youth group started back at church (which I volunteer for), and I got my social media certification through HubSpot!

February - I had a party with friends for Valentine's (aka a Palentine's party), my friend came to visit me from out of town for a weekend, and I went to a Voice of the Martyrs conference.

March - I went to family camp for a weekend with my church and helped some family move in to their new house.

April - I celebrated my 19th birthday, had a BBQ fundraiser for the youth, and had a meeting with Delight ministries when I was thinking about starting a chapter at my school. I also had an Easter egg hunt at a friend's house, night of worship at church, visited family, went to Good Friday service, and had family friends visit.

May - I went to a friend's birthday party, had a meeting about a special youth lesson, went camping in church (read more about our failed trip here), had a youth cinco de mayo party, visited family, finished the semester of school, had family visit us, traveled back to ETX, my mom got Stella (our cat) for her birthday, and I interviewed with my church for an internship.

June - I started my internship with church, had a youth swim day, traveled to Louisiana for our family reunion, helped with Summer Bible Bash (aka VBS), helped with our church's family fishing day, served at the Central Texas Food Bank, went to a housewarming party, went to Tanglewood for a week for kids camp, celebrated my 4 year blogiversary(!!), and helped a friend move.

July - I wrote and led a 4-week youth bible study, went to a Stranger Things watch party for the new season release, went on a road trip to Colorado for the first time for week-long youth camp, met my friend of 4 years for the first time in Colorado, had a youth movie night, served at Austin LifeCare, had a hike and swim day with the youth, celebrated the 4th with family, and had a youth girls paint party.

August - Had a solo weekend at the Girl Defined conference, went to Schlitterbahn with the youth, went to the Central Texas Youth Leaders conference, attended an elder/deacon meeting at church for my internship, finished my internship, had a guy/girl talk lesson (see my lesson here) with the youth, started the next semester of school, went to an A&M game (gig em!), floated the San Marcos river, went to a youth ministers luncheon, helped with the church's 60th anniversary, attended a seniors luncheon for my internship, and delivered cookies to the nearby fire department.

September - I hung out with with friends, went to dinner at the pastors house, went to a Beth Moore conference with my mom and aunt, went to a football game at the Texas School for the Deaf, went to a weekend women's retreat, and had a serve day with the youth.

October - Ran/walked two 5k's (both the same day, I know), had a pumpkin carving and movie night with the youth, went to Silobration in Waco with a friend, helped with the fall festival at church, and hungout with friends on Halloween.

November - I went to a Halloween party on the 1st, had our church-wide Thanksgiving dinner, and had family visit for Thanksgiving.

December - Looked at many lights with my small group, went to Santa's Wonderland in cstat with friends, finished the semester, had my first vendor booth at a neighborhood holiday bazaar for my business, my friend visited, went to the women's church Christmas party, went caroling and looked at more lights, went to a cookie decorating party with friends, watched the Nutcracker from the Austin Ballet, had Christmas at family's house, went to the Christmas eve service at church, had the youth Christmas party, and applied, interviewed, and was offered a job with the YMCA.

There was a lot of repetitive things that I did throughout the year that I decided to not add in such as Bible studies and B90 meetings, birthdays, and movies I saw.

Not only is this the end of 2019 but it is also the end of the decade! 10 years ago I was 9 years old and my life was so different. I lived in a different place, had different friends, different hobbies, and even different aspirations. I won't bore you with a recap of 10 years but I will say that, just looking back these past 10 years and seeing the major changes that have occurred makes me excited (and maybe a little nervous) to see where I will be in another 10 years.

As another season of my life closes and another begins, I am praying that the future will be filled with just as much joy and growth that I have seen in the past. I can't wait to see what God has in store for my life and those around me. Looking forward is exciting even if it is unknown. Even if I don't have my life plan laid out in front of me I know that whatever happens it will be okay and that there is always something to be thankful for no matter what season I'm in.

As you enter another season of your life I challenge you to hold the same viewpoint. Thank God for where you've been and thank Him for what is to come. If you're always looking down you won't be able to appreciate what is happening above. ♥