Anticipation

My love for reading began at a young age. My earliest memory of reading was when our basement was at risk for flooding… I slept in the living room since my my bedroom was in the basement, and I would read Bible stories before bed. When I was a young girl I recall reading a series of books about a girl named Mandie who had a cute white cat named Snowball and together they would solve mysteries. As I progressed into my teenage years it was mostly fantasy books that drew me in—books like The Princess Bride or novels with a heroine who possessed magic. As I’ve transitioned into adulthood I find myself enjoying a good variety of topics when I sit down to read. The Hunger Games series is one of my more recent favourites, as well as countless books encouraging my faith to grow in love-centered ways. It’s no surprise, looking back on my reading background, I find the observation of comparing life and books to be so commonplace.

Most of us begin reading a book with the eager anticipation of knowing something incredible is going to happen. We know there are many things a lead character will face; many things will be looked forward to, many extreme scenarios will come to pass, and many things will happen that were less than ideal. This anticipation of what to come normally hits once you’re a chapter in and hints of the impending drama have begun to set in. You read and read and keep reading because you literally can’t wait to get to the part of the book where the action begins and the heroine finds herself in the midst of unimaginable situations, doing things you’ve become excited about, as you know the outcome will be a challenge and will lead the heroine to an exciting resolve.

My life, as of late, is similar to the anticipation stage of a book.

The stage has been set, I’ve been introduced as the lead in the epic novel depicting my current phase of life (I believe all of us should know our lives have the potential to be the most epic novel we could ever imagine) and now…

I wait.

I wait for the adventure to begin (or, in my case, the next adventure).

Anyone that knows me will agree I am someone who likes excitement—I like when something fun is happening, when an adventure is right over the horizon, and when I can wake up in the morning fired up for the days’ events. While some may find boredom in waiting, and the idea of being in stand by somewhat lack-luster, I am finding the anticipation of what the next few months will hold enough to keep me energized and looking forward to the beginning and end of each day.

In the next few months I will be embarking to Thailand once again! I am beyond excited to return to the children’s home with Live Different. The time spent in Thailand in 2012 completely changed my life and, needless to say, I am looking forward to another experience of heart-changing moments for myself, the team of amazing volunteers, and the children and youth we work with. And, needless to say, this topic will soon bring about an entire blog post for itself.

One of my best friends is getting married! Her and I met through our significant others, as they were good friends who lived together. Our friendship was quick and we got a long so well it’s really no surprise we are good friends to this day. I am looking forward to being in her bridal party and giving a speech on her big day!

Image courtesy of Pinterest

In general I am anticipating the romantic ideals of summer in the city. Café’s where you can sit outside and enjoy the company of those around you, or the friends you have made in the book you are currently invested in. Going for ice cream (which I don’t really do, but want to) and enjoying the warm setting sun on your bare shoulders; brightly coloured lipstick, flowers, and finally running outside again!

There are also two things I am most looking forward to:
The first is seeing my wonderful husband play shows. He is a talented musician and seeing him pursue his passions is the most encouraging. 
The second thing is the encouragement which comes from long bonfire nights with friends and perhaps too many toasted marshmallows. The conversations shared over the fire late into the night are sometimes magical in their aftereffect.

Knowing these days are in the future allow me to cease each current day, searching out it’s own beautiful simplicity to view as momentary extravagance worth celebrating. Each day is handmade to be amazing, and it’s up to us to view and experience it as such. Live your life as the main character being poised for the greatness that occurs when an epic story unfolds and you conquer the challenges that create something special and unique in who you are.

Again, thanks Pinterest.

Excitement of the New Year

Who needs resolutions when you set goals?

I'd say I know my husband pretty well. He is a very goal oriented individual. Example: one of his favourite books is titled GOALS! Capitalization and exclamation marks not even added by me-- which is something I normally do to add emphasis. When he makes goals, I often want to be involved in the process. I mean, I started reading the book GOALS! once before. I even made it... maybe... a quarter way through. I have set personal goals before but never concrete-well-thought-out-execution-plan, kind of goals. Just things I want to accomplish in a generalized time frame.

This year is different.
This year we have BIG GOALS! (Emphasis added by me to show how truly exciting it is.)

On New Years Day we ventured to the empty coffee shop to read and have some "shoulder to shoulder" time. This is not uncommon. It's actually something we do quite often when the coffee shop is closed for a holiday. The coffee shop is such a wonderful place to be. Big windows letting in incredible light, all the delicious tea I could drink, and comfy chairs that swallow you up while you get sucked into a good book. JP arrived before I did to do work. Upon my arrival, I started into my current read, Crazy Love by Francis Chan. An incredible book that I received from on my "Christmas List" that is challenging, encouraging, inspiring, and overall a book I was highly recommending even before I finished the first chapter. Before I knew it, JP had whipped out a page titled "S.M.A.R.T Goals for 2013". Goals. For 2013. That we are making together. My heart leaped for joy and I was SO EXCITED to be able to create some goals with the goal master himself, Jon Plett.

Upon assessing our upcoming year, we set goals in a variety of areas. We didn't only "write goals", we created our Purpose Statement for each area, wrote out our Envisioned Future, set Specific Commitments to help us reach our envisioned future and-- my favourite part-- found a supporting verse for each area.

Being able to keep ourselves God centered when creating goals is the most encouraging and amazing process. To consistently keep in mind what God has created us for when writing out our year gives me so much excitement. It lets you know that they aren't really "your" plans. They are His plans. His plans don't fail. His plans come to life. His plans are more amazing than you could ever imagine.

And that is how this year is shaping up to be.
Within in the next couple of weeks I will turn 25 years old and JP and I will celebrate our third marriage anniversary. This year we plan to move and pursue passions-- how helpful that we have goals to help us accomplish all that we would love to do.

While creating these Team Goals, I created my own personal goals with the same flow-- for consistency sake and because I absolutely love how in-depth the process was. To write out my envisioned future in my marriage, pursuit of a new career, my faith life, friendships, volunteering and humanitarian work, is so encouraging. God uses each and every one of us for things more amazing than we could ever think of. If you allow yourself to search out His reasoning behind why you were created, you will be able to envision a future you originally never thought possible. This time last year, I never would have envisioned my future including the things it currently does. Sure, some things stay the same-- you want to volunteer, have a solid faith life and marriage, pursue a career you are passionate about-- but to have specific commitments, scripture to support it... Wow. Awesome.

Welcome 2013. This is a year for big change, big dreams, big blessings, and big opportunities. My door is open to you, and I am warmly inviting you in.