The Letter

Each year, I have a tradition of writing a letter. I write a letter that reflects on the prior year, and dreams about the year to come. It's become one of my favorite posts to write, along with the Year In Review posts. I guess sentimental things are my jam. 

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Dear Me, 

This time last year, at 9AM on January 1st, I had already driven 3 hours back to Santa Barbara and was packing up my apartment. At some point during that morning, I distinctly heard a word spoken over 2014. I heard it, and I liked it. I wasn't 100% sure if I believed it yet, but I shook off my unbelief and proceeded walking in faith that my year would be marked with joy. That evening, after hours of moving and multiple dear friends who helped make that possible, I sat sipping a milk shake at my favorite local restaurant. I snapped a selfie, wrote a quick thankful thought, and hashtagged it #findingjoyin2014. 

Well girlfriend, that's exactly what happened. :)

Joy was indeed found in 2014, and it came abundantly. Moments with radiating joy are pasted all over the imaginary scrapbook of 2014: racing a herd of beautiful African children on the mountaintops of Kisoro, Uganda; walking by faith into a situation that I never could have crafted myself, and watching God consistently and faithfully reveal His presence over and over again; getting to stand up and teach the Word of God for the very first time, and feeling entirely consumed by passion I've never felt before; getting into seminary school, and watching as a dream of studying Scripture unfolded before my very eyes; and of course, the magical evening of May 31st, 2014, when the love of my life crossed my path in the dreamiest 24 hours of my entire life. 

Joy, all-encompassing joy. 

As I took time to reflect on the year, I realized that not only was it one marked by joy, but it was one marked by learning. When asked by my roommates what I learned in 2014, I was surprised by my response: "I learned how to let go, and go with the flow." I hadn't ever thought of it that way before, but it's true. 

Everything that happened in the last year was not by my planning. I didn't seek out the Africa trip. I didn't seek to change churches for a season, and never dreamed that I'd be given the opportunity to regularly speak and teach on Scripture. I didn't seek to return to my home church when the time came. I didn't expect to begin seminary school this year, and while I certainly hoped to fall in love, I never could have predicted or created the way that it happened. 

2014 was a year of walking closely with the Spirit. Following its promptings where ever I felt them, whether it was a sharp turn, a U-turn, or a 4 and a half hour drive to visit a man I met at a wedding. 2014 was a year of letting go of planning, and experiencing the joy of simply following. 

Oh Lord, please let me soak up that lesson for years to come. Perhaps that's why the joy was so evident, because what joy comes with releasing our own expectations in exchange for trust in His perfect plan. 

2015. One, how is it 2015 again? I feel like I was just ringing in 2007 as a high school senior. Time is just evaporating into thin air. Cray-zeeee. 

But okay, two: What do I see for 2015? My last two letters, I clearly felt drawn to Bible verses for the year. Philemon 1:6 was the verse for 2014, and 2 Peter 1:6-7 was for 2013. This year, I can't say that I have a clear verse yet. Though, I'll be hunting! But I can say that I've felt a word spoken over the year, and I hope it proves accurate standing on the other side. 

Last night, as I was texting a friend about accountability in regular Scripture study, I felt a word come to mind. 2014 was marked by learning. There were countless, almost daily, lessons that I felt through out the year. But if my 16 years of education have shown me anything, it's that learning is one thing, and applying is another.  

I want to apply what I'm learning to my life. I want to see fruit, real fruit. Whether it's evident heart change, or a shift in my routine and habits, I want to know that my heart is truly soaking up that which I'm learning. 

I hope to see my security more solidly found in Christ alone. I hope to see my heart take joy in serving above all other things. I hope to see a decrease in the number of moments where I choose myself over PJ. Man, a relationship can seriously expose the selfish parts of your heart, huh? (I mean, mine never does. Cough, cough, jaykay). 

I hope to see more responsible financial habits, and more cooking at home versus eating out. I hope to dive deeper into serving in women's ministry, and look forward to the Bible studies and retreats of the coming year. 

2014, you were so good to me. Thank you. 

2015, I'm excited to meet you. Let's see what you've got up your sleeve, shall we? 

XO

Me

2014 Bucket List - Progress Check

Last year, I did this almost monthly. This year, it's almost half way through (say whaaat?) and I'm doing my first progress check. About time, huh?

Let's take a look at this year's Bucket List, shall we?

2014 Bucket List

One // Go through the Our Daily Bread Daily Devotional Bible.  

I can gladly say I'm on my way to crossing this one off at the end of the year! I've been able to keep up with this daily devotional, and I love that it's pulling me into the Word on a daily basis.

Lord knows, I need it!

Two // Go out of the country. 

{Insert biggest happy dance ever.} 

Sometimes, I can't believe that I actually went to Africa. 

On our last night, we circled up around a table at a delicious Italian restaurant in Rwanda. We took turns sharing stories from our time spent in the mission field, the kind of stories that will forever serve as evidence of our amazing God. And, we each mentioned a particular National that blessed us. Mine was a young boy named Alex that 100% stole my heart. 

He almost stole my sunglasses, too. :)

As we sat in that circle, our leader gave us some advice for when we returned home. He warned us that there would be times the whole trip would feel like a dream, and he was right. So often, I have to remind myself that it was real. I was there, in Africa, frolicking with those boys in those GORGEOUS green forest plains, sharing the story of Jesus to engaged crowds, celebrating His faithful love with my brothers and sisters across the world. 

I really did go out of the country. And I really can't wait to go back. 

Three // Read 20 books. 

So far, I've read:

1. Bittersweet by Shauna Niequist

2. Speak Love by Annie Downs

3. Meaning of Marriage by Timothy Keller

4. The Truest Thing About You by Dave Lomas

5. The Boy In The Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

Currently Reading:

6. The Jesus-Hearted Woman by Jodi Detrick

7. The Daniel Plan by Rick Warren

8. The Great Procession by Jacob Reeve

All so, so good! I would say my favorites in that list are Bittersweet, The Jesus-Hearted Woman and The Great Procession. Check em' out!

Four // Invest in a good camera. 

This one gets to be half crossed off. I invested in a good camera (hooray!), but I've been having some issues with it (boo!), so I need to take it to the camera store here in town. 

No worries, I've got the next half of the year to figure it out. ;)

It certainly takes good quality pictures, though!

Five // Send one piece of snail mail each month. 

Does sending back my Stitch Fix count? 

Kidding. In all honesty, I forgot about this one for months February - April, and just now remembered. I'll just have to send two pieces of snail mail each month for the rest of the year. Boom, resolved. 

Six // Be in a wedding for the first time. 

Will be crossing this one off in just about 10 days, woo hoo!!

And then will double cross it off come August!

Seven // Run one half marathon. 

Crossing this one off on Sunday when I run this race!

Eight // Put 10% of each paycheck into savings. 

It's about time I start doing this! My savings account is very thankful. 

Nine // Host 3 dinner parties. 

We've had quite a few gatherings at our house, but no formal dinner parties yet! I need to get on this. 

Ten // Take a Reed Sister VayCay part 2.

Just started looking into planning this! Last year, I used Groupon Getaways to book the hotel, and it was a fantastic deal. I'm looking to use them again, and since we had such a fabulous time in the desert, I'm thinking Arizona? 

We shall see!

Eleven // Do something special one on one with Mom, Dad & Mike. 

This year, I've gotten more one on one time with my mom. I don't think I realized how long it had been since we had that until we finally had some time to ourselves. I've really been loving it, and hope to have more of it. 

Going to a Red Sox/Angels game with my dad and brother later this summer, and looking forward to that as well!

Twelve // Go whale watching.

This isn't technically crossed off, but I might say it counts. After a race last month, my friend spotted whales as we were walking back to the car. I might have dropped my purse, and shrieked "this is a dream come true!!"

{hashtag not exaggerating}

Okay, so you can't exactly see the whales. But that white spot in the middle of the ocean? Totally a blow spout. 

 Thirteen // Cross off one state.

Will cross this off at the end of August when I go visit this girl!

Texas, here I come!

 Fourteen // Spend one day a week social media free.

Honestly, I've kiiind of sucked at this one. But what I've been trying to do is leave my phone at home one week day. A) accomplishes the social media free part, and B) makes my work day distraction-free! win/win. 

***

And there you have it! Just like last year, some are going super well, some not so well. Good thing I've still got half the year left. Hopefully, I can turn around some of those "not so well"s. 

Happy Almost Friday!

2014 Bucket List

Last year, I chucked resolutions out the window, and put together a 2013 Bucket List instead. I loved checking up on my progress, even when I wasn't doing super hot with some of those goals. I've been thinking and praying over this year's list, and I'm excited to share it with you. 

Without further adieu:

2014 Bucket List

One // Go through the Our Daily Bread Daily Devotional Bible. 

I got this bible last year, but wanted to wait for the start of the year to go through the Daily Devotional portion. Really excited to finally start!

Two // Go out of the country. 

This one rolled over from last year. Something tells me it'll be crossed off soon. ;)

Three // Read 20 books. 

Last year, I came up pretty short on my reading goal. In the last month, I've really fallen in love with it all over again, and I'm feeling good about getting 20 good reads in this year. 

Four // Invest in a good camera. 

Shh. Don't tell my iPhone.

Five // Send one piece of snail mail each month. 

Confession: I am the worst at getting things in the mail. I am the queen of mailing birthday presents late, letters late, everything late. I'll manage to have what ever I'm mailing sitting in my house or my car for weeks before getting to the post office. 

So, this is on the Bucket List to challenge me. One piece of snail mail per month. Packages count, letters count, post cards count. Just gotta get myself in the habit of getting to that post office {on time}.

Six // Be in a wedding for the first time. 

This will be crossed off in May! :)

Seven // Run one half marathon. 

I know if I don't do it, I'll lose the ability to. So I'm going to make a goal of running at least one half marathon a year. Who wants to run one with me? 

Eight // Put 10% of each paycheck into savings. 

Last year, I had the goal to double my savings. That didn't go so well, though I did pay off my credit card!

This year, I'm making the goal more specific. Going to try putting 10% of every paycheck straight into savings. Wish me luck!

Nine // Host 3 dinner parties. 

Having just moved into a brand new place with a beautiful kitchen, I feel obligated to make use of it. I'm excited to invite people into our home! 

Ten // Take a Reed Sister VayCay part 2. 

This was such a hit last year, that it needs to become a yearly tradition.

Eleven // Do something special one on one with Mom, Dad & Mike. 

Because my sister isn't the only one in my family, ha. 

Twelve // Go whale watching.

I've always wanted to do this, so 2014 is the year to get er done. 

 Thirteen // Cross off one state.

For the 50 State Challenge. Who wants a visitor?

 Fourteen // Spend one day a week social media free.

I'm sure this won't be easy, but I really want to put the cell phone down more this year. So once a week, I'll do just that. 

***

There you have it! 14 things to cross off in 2014. 

Did you make any new year's resolutions or goals? Would love to hear them!