Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?

Isaiah 43:19

          Isn’t this beautiful news? I feel like God is desiring to do a new thing in me. One area of my life that He is changing is my joy, or lack thereof. For as long as I can remember, I’ve claimed to be an optimist. I hate hearing other people complain; it is so easy for me to look on the bright side of other people’s situations, but I have the hardest time seeing it in my own. It is as if I take pride in my long list of stresses and deadlines. The problem is, in the game of pessimism, there are no winners.

          I have spent so much time worrying about everything I have to do in the upcoming days and weeks that I forget to enjoy right now. Last Friday, I had my graduation/birthday party, which meant I had a lot of cleaning to do. Because graduation was the next day, I knew that if I was going to decorate my graduation cap, I’d need to do it that night. On my cap, I decided to proclaim the message: enjoy this moment. I wanted to remind myself to savor every second of my final, amazing moments as a high school student. However, as I was scrambling to clean my room, prepare for the party, and decorate my cap, I didn’t even want to take my own advice.

      

My graduation cap. 

          This is one area that God is making new in me. He is teaching me about joy and about appreciating each moment. I know that these next months of training, fundraising, and living on the World Race will fly by, and if I keep the mindset that I’ve had, I will miss every beautiful moment. I will end up looking back on the race wishing I’d done it differently, and I don’t want that. 

          I am praying and believing that God will renew in me a childlike joy and trust in Him. I would deeply appreciate if you’d keep me in your prayers. I want to grow extravagantly so that I will be ready for what God is calling me into. I would love to pray for you too!! Please comment or reach out to me, and I would love love love to do that.

      Keep an eye out for a Fundraising Update blog that will be up within the next few days!

God Bless,

      Kirsten