Looking back on the past year I’ve realized just how hard of a year 2013 was. It got off to a pretty bad start with me being sick on New Year’s Day (and ended with me being sick over Christmas). Relationships were tested, my faith was tested and I was forced to see things through a different perspective. I decided not to go to Thailand for the whole summer again, only for 2 weeks so that I could save money for my first car.
I got my first car!
My first car got smashed before I even got to drive it.
It took a month for me to get my settlement money.
I got my second car!
It’s pretty much had a continuous stream of problems from the start.
I was pushed out of my comfort zone again in my classes this semester by having to give a gazillion presentations. I feel my lowest when I have to give presentations because I seriously suck at them and everyone in my classes are flawless at giving them.
Hard decisions were made this year. I had my feelings hurt numerous times. I hurt people’s feelings numerous times.
It was a rough year, more than other years.
HOWEVER
I started off one year ago today (12/31/2012) reading a book called “One-Thousand Gifts.”
This book is basically about a lady who started writing down things she was thankful for, things she saw as gifts from God, as they happened throughout the day. She carried around a journal and whenever she was blessed with something, she wrote it down.
I decided to do the same and from the start I could tell a huge difference. It is AMAZING how blessed we are on a daily basis. Doing this exercise of writing down daily gifts from God, or things you’re thankful for that day completely takes away any pessimistic attitudes and replaces it with a positive and grateful attitude.
So I started writing down gifts from God on January 1, 2013. And in the midst of a difficult year, I have found 1,000 gifts from God. Here are a few of them to give you an idea:
42. Meeting Colton Dixon 
63. Purpose for my life
110. Comfy Pants
129. OBU Community being a family that I never want to leave
158. Cinnamon Rolls
182. The beautiful sunset you orchestrated
200. Cuddling up with Cole and Caleb
252. Boys in classes (The OBU Ed majors know how rare this is)
271. Beyoncé halftime show
351. Caramel Macchiatos
369. Settlers of Catan
436. Jeremy and Jenifer Kraus
480. Being accepted on the World Race
490. Getting to see the sweet Thai faces again
501. My jobs babysitting
502. Getting to help Corrian learn how to read
504. Birthday Cake pops
527. Getting through my last presentation (Praise the Lord and Halleluiah!)
567. Getting to see Avery today
591. Juan Pablo: The man and the car 😉
617. No more sociology (Can I get an Amen?)
650. Games with roommates
661. Mattress surfing
669. OU winning bedlam (BOOMER!)
682. Sarah making me tea
696. Education Major friends
744. Person in front of me paying for my Starbucks
773. Chai lattes and cake pops
859. God’s ability and willingness to heal
901. The call on my life to help people have the opportunity to make a life for themselves by helping them get an education.
913. Olivia and Helena and the joy it is to be their “big sister”
965. Reaching the 25% mark on my World Race funds
1000. Hard Eucharisteo (Those times when it’s tough to be thankful for something, but you know God is doing it for a reason and you need to trust that he knows what he’s doing.)
This daily exercise of writing down gifts that God has given me has been one of the most beneficial things I’ve ever done. It really goes to show that even in times of struggle and heartache, God is still blessing you every single day, you just have to make yourself aware of all he’s given you.
So with this blog I’m signing off on the crazy year of 2013 and starting a year of new experiences in 2014! This year I’ll
-Student Teach for the first time
-Graduate from College
-Attend at least 6 weddings in the next 6 months (I’m in 2 of them)
-Go to training camp and meet my World Race family finally!
-Travel to 6 new countries and have a whole bunch of new experiences for me.
That being said, I’m pretty sure 2014 is going to be the best year so far!
