Almost 18

     I have 4 more days until I legally become an adult. Just a few more days of being 17, of legally being a child. And this year, I have some things I want to do.

    For once I didn't make many, if any at all, New Years resolutions at the start of this year. Instead, I thought that I would put a more personal spin on things and have Birthday Resolutions. After thinking on it for a while, I have some things that I want to do more frequently this year, and they are:

Praying. Listening. Memorizing. Writing. Loving. Becoming a better sister, daughter, and friend. Learning. Being still.

     I need to pray constantly and from the heart. Praying over everything, all the time. There have been times in my life when I've prayed like this, and the closeness to God is amazing; such wonderful peace. I want to work on keeping that peace close. I need to work on praying without focusing on what others think of my prayer, but what my Father thinks. I don't need to throw in all sorts of elaborate parallels, illustrations, and theological jargon, I just need to talk to my Father.

 
 I want to become better at listening. Truly listening. Not just to what I hear from the words people say, but genuinely caring for them and listening with all of my attention on them as much as I can. To not simply blurt my opinions, but to hear what they have to say, from people older to me to the little kids. It's easy to forget that at this age I have little kids looking up to me and my peers, and therefore need to be a good example. I want to learn to lead them in the right way as much as I can.

     Memorizing. These past two years especially I have fallen sadly behind in my scripture memorizing, and I can feel the difference. I need to increase my spiritual arsenal, to have more of the Bible in my mind and readily accessible to call upon.

     Writing! I love writing. It's one of my favorite things to do, but I have learned that there is a difference between just writing, and writing well. One of my goals this year is to write more frequently with a better quality. And to also stay somewhat up to date in working on this blog. :) And to actually finish my current novel...

     Loving. It's not something that I can complete in a year, but to learn to love with Agape. Selfless, altruistic love. Christ's love. This also ties into becoming a better sister, daughter, and friend. All of these relationships are SO important, and I'm so very blessed to have many friends and a large family, and my siblings have become some of my best friends. It's so cliche to say that, but I've really gotten a lot closer to these weirdos who I'm related to recently. Having your siblings become your best friends is one of the best cliches possible to have come true. In response to that, I want to maintain and build all of these important relationships.

     Learning. It's something that been striking me lately; this world is SO big. (I know, it's a 'duh' thing, but really..) There is so much information to learn! It's incredible! In the fall I'll be learning Massage, and I'm really looking forward to that. I want to work on developing the talents God has given me, to build new ones, and reinforce weak ones. And become better at my ukelele.

     Being still. To sit quietly, not fuss or worry, and let God work. He doesn't need me to sit here fretting and wondering what in the world He could possibly mean by doing THAT. He knows what He's doing, and I simply need to listen, trust and obey. All things work out for good, and He makes everything beautiful in its time. His timing is truly perfect.

   They're a bit lofty, and cannot be accomplished in one year, but at least I can work on making them into a habit to improve over time.

Blessings,

me