hey, 2010

2009 was full of a lot of firsts and some lasts.

i decided i would write the most important things about this year and the things i have learned along the way. in no particular order:

1. my friends: "there isn't much better in this life than finding a way to spend a few hours in conversations with people you respect and love. you have to carve this time out of your life because you aren't really living without it."-real life preacher

2. life needs to be lived more simply: "sooner or later we all discover that the important moments in life are not the advertised ones, not the birthdays, the graduations, the weddings, not the great goals achieved. the real milestones are less prepossessing. they come to the door of memory unannounced, stray dogs that amble in, sniff around a bit, and simply never leave. our lives are measured by these." -anthony

3. brokenness is good: "perhaps our eyes need to be washed by our tears once in a while, so that we can see life with a clearer view again"-tan

4. God is trustworthy: "but i know this: through my tears of frustration, through confusing conversations with Him, through my disobedience and delay. he carries me. his redemptive love is all encompassing. he never sleeps. he is never frantic. he is never confused or tired. he can do all the things i cannot. and i need him more than answers." -tara leigh cobble

5. my family: "gets buckets."-dru hill

6. counseling is a difficult, but wonderful job: "i will find common ground with the one who hurts, through the fact that i have felt pain, and never in the idea that i know what they are going through...pain cannot be measured, cannot be compared, only experienced." -mooney

7. everyone has a story: "if you don't know the hard parts then you don't know the whole story." -unknown

8. life is messy: "i just want to be honest, because it doesn't always get tied up with a neat little bow when you follow Christ. i wish it did, but it's not part of the deal." -matt chandler

9. love matters: "without our blemishes we could never understand how it feels to be loved unconditionally."-pieces of glass (sarah kay)

10. he gives & he takes; his name is blessed in both: "for in our suffering, not apart from it, Jesus enters our sadness, takes us by the hand, pulls us gently up to stand and invites us to dance. we find the way to pray as the psalmist did, "you have turned my mourning into dancing, because at the center of our grief we can find the grace of God."nouwen

He is good & does good.

thankful for 2009 & for all that is ahead...