and that's a wrap!

well folks, 2012 is about to be over.
when i was a kid, adults would tell me time would go by even faster when i grew up.
that's one of the truest statements i've ever heard.

this year has been a good one.
let's review, shall we?

i turned 26, celebrating the last year of my mid-twenties.

i also participated in intensive training weekend at my alma mater, 

watching four hundred staff and students eager to serve the Lord.

i watched hope church spread it's wings

as we sent teams to south sudan

and partnered with hurting people there 

as well as in its neighboring country of sudan,

proclaiming Christ all the way.

i loved getting be a part, however small, of God's work in a post-sandy new jersey, 

and spending some precious time with my friend who returned from 

the field after two years in southeast asia. 

i was able to watch four of my dear sisters get married,

went to a few concerts,

and watched and listened to a bunch of giants games.

oh, did i mention that the giants won the world series?

cause they did.

went to tahoe with my sisters and discovered snowshoeing is one of my favorite things.

went to hawaii with my fam,

hiking in yosemite for the first time i can remember,

and hung out in sunny san diego.

said goodbye to my beloved grandmother 

as she went to be with the Lord

and said goodbye to our sweet puppy.

all dogs go to heaven, right?

baked and tried some new recipes,

read a lot of good books,

listened to some fantastic sermons,

and read some soul piercing and spirit quenching scripture. 

and those are just the highlights!

2012 will definitely go in the books as a fantastic year.

as for 2013,

what will it hold?

i have no clue!

but i know that i'm not making any resolutions, per say.

i simply strive towards what i always want:

to love Jesus more and to know Him more,

all the while serving and loving people.

of course i pray that this year would be the year i get to go overseas,

or that i would actually run that half marathon, 

or have some miraculous attitude transformation 

to be a hard core health nut.

but instead of setting my standards on things,

and things often too lofty,

i will set my gaze on Christ,

trusting in His perfect timing and all-sufficient grace,
praying i would fight through laziness and self-absorption.

^"Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

ephesians 3:12-14

cincerely,

cindy