Hello and Happy New Year's Eve!!! It's officially the last day of 2012 and we made it through another year! I figured it'd only be appropriate to do a little recap of 2012 and all of it's splendor, ups and downs, lessons, blessings, etc. I'm going to try my best to remember the most important things that occurred throughout the year, but of course that can be a challenge at times. My memory is usually impeccable, but sometimes things escape me. Ok, so here we go!
Thanks to church notes, I can recall what I did for NYE last year! It began at church at Alfred Street Baptist in Alexandria, VA. I went to the early service then headed over to a house party that a friend of mine and his friend were hosting. The message at church was: The Courage to Cross Over and the scriptures to support it were Joshua 1:1-9. The key points from the message by Pastor Wesley were:
1. You've got to have the courage to engage your enemies. You've made it to the promise land, but there are some people in it that want to stand in your way. The presence of enemies is the confirmation of the presence of God. There is no blessing that comes without struggle. Every level God takes you to, there are some devils you've got to overcome to walk in glory.
2. You've got to have courage to make some difficult declarations. You've got to say some things that you've never said before. Confront some things you've never confronted before. The Lord realizes that where they're about to go, all your enemies won't be external. Struggle is inevitable, but misery is an option.
3. You've got to have the courage to change your conduct. If you do the same things, you're going to get the same results. God says you've got to do something different. God says "don't worry about what you don't know. Wherever you go, I'll be right there." If God is in your life, you don't have to worry.
4. Follow your faith. God put a desire in your heart to make you move to where you are destined to be. When the Lord gives you a glimpse, it puts a taste in your mouth to make you go out and go get what He has placed in you.
For the first time ever, I did a vision board for 2012!! I thoroughly enjoyed putting together this project and I backed up all of the visions with Biblical scriptures. One of my favorite scriptures I used was Habakkuk 2:2-3 which states "Then the Lord told me: I will give you my message in the form of a vision. Write it clearly enough to be read at a glance. At the time I have decided, my words will come true. You can trust what I say about the future. It may take a long time, but keep on waiting - it will happen!" I plan to make another vision board for 2013 as well! I put my vision board on scrapbook paper so that I can make a scrapbook of my boards over the years! I will admit that even though my board was very visible throughout 2012, all of the visions did not come to pass. Not necessarily God's fault, because I had to put some effort and determination into a lot of the things I put down for myself. I failed at doing this, but there's always this year to get it right and as the scripture says "though it may take a long time, keep waiting - it will happen!"
In my career, I started a 5th grade girl's group in January 2012 at my school. The group was held after school and it focused on getting the girls ready for middle school. It was a huge success for it to be my first time doing this! I have bigger and better plans for 2013 and I'm super excited about it! The group is open to all 5th grade girls, but since it's after school, all of them don't participate. Last year I had 18 girls sign up and complete the program. This year I have 26 girls signed up!! #growth
So then comes February. February was an emotional month for me being that 1. Whitney Houston died and 2. I turned 28! Ok, I'm a huge Whitney Houston fan!! I love her!! Her music was just amazing and her voice was such a gift!! I remember I was sitting on my bed just relaxing and my best friend called me and said "girl....Whitney Houston...DIED". I immediately went on Twitter (this was a way of confirming a lot of celeb news for me back then) and sure enough the buzz was all over the social media site. I was immediately crushed and found myself following any news updates regarding what happened and why. This interest in the case went on for a few months. I had to eventually tell myself to just let it go. I found myself more concerned with the well being of her daughter, Bobbi Kristina. I too lost my mother at a critical age so my heart truly went out to her. I didn't like the way the media was harassing her and following and scrutinizing her every move. It was truly a heartbreaking experience. Her funeral on the other hand was televised and was a beautiful homegoing celebration! God was definitely in that place and the reflections shared by friends and family were amazing!
Ok now onto me and turning 28. I must admit, for some strange reason, I felt severe ANXIETY after turning 28. I mean I was very uncomfortable with this for like the first week. It was the oddest feeling and I had never in my life felt a difference after turning a new age until 28. I'm sure going out with my friends to a night club that was 21 and up (with the majority of the patrons being 24 or younger) had something to do with the anxiety. We got dressed and headed out looking amazing. We truly had a great time and partied hard (a little bit too hard)! As the night went on, different men would dance with me and would soon find out it was my birthday and ask "so how old are you"?? When I would say 28...a pit in my stomach would set in every time. I felt so old!!! It didn't help that the YOUNG men would reply back that they were 22 or 23, and the highest age I heard that night was 24. I felt out of place. I didn't like it at all. It was like a revelation had set in that this was not the place for me. As the year went on, the feeling subsided and I got more comfortable with my age and began to embrace it. I just had to realize, there are just some places that I'm just not going to feel comfortable going anymore and that's ok. I'm maturing and things that used to be appealing just aren't anymore.
March marked the 5 year anniversary of my mother's death. I miss her so much and although it's now been almost 6 years, it just doesn't get easier. Time does help, but sometimes I struggle with not wanting to forget important details about her. She definitely lives on in my heart, but it's just not the same.
Oh I almost forgot! Lent 2012! I gave up meat for Lent this year which included only eating fish and seafood, but no pork, beef, chicken, or turkey. I was very successful in this endeavor and actually continued to not eat meat long after Lent was over. I began eating chicken and turkey again in the summer because I noticed I was eating anything that didn't have meat in it, but I wasn't necessarily making healthy choices. I am still not eating pork or beef and probably never will again.
April 2012 on of my really good friends since high school got ENGAGED!!! It's a wonderful thing to see your friends be truly happy with a good man! We have all been through our fair share of losers and lames and when my friend finds a man who loves her and treats her like the queen that she is, it truly does rest well with my soul. I am extremely happy for her!!
May 2012 marked the wedding of all local weddings!! My good friend/soror/Siamese got married to her beloved on 5/5/12!! It was truly an awesome wedding where we kept it classy and got crunk at the same d@mn time!! I love a good wedding and wonderful party!! We celebrated her bachelorette in New Orleans in April 2012. It was a wonderful time and was actually my first time traveling there.
June 2012 marked another wedding which was simply beautiful, small, and intimate. I especially loved the reception in that they had a live band (very nice touch) outside on the patio with a cocktail hour. It was really really nice and although it was a small crowd, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. My blog buddy also gave birth to her first child in June!! And the baby is a DOLL!!! I'm so proud of my friend!! She also graduated from law school in May while being 8 months pregnant and successfully sold her house! So many blessings in the neighborhood and I was more than thrilled for her and her husband!!
July 2012 was my time to rev up my duties as maid of honor! My sister got married in August 2012 and I was her maid of honor. Since the time she got engaged in July of 2011, I began to really experience what it's like being a part of the wedding planning craze!! It's a highly stressful situation and did I mention EXPENSIVE!!??? Either way, we had a bridal shower and bachelorette celebration for her in July and it came together very nicely. My sister was very pleased and appreciative of all of our efforts to prepare for her special day!
August 2012...as I just mentioned...my sister got married to an awesome man of God!! They are truly made for each other and I welcome my new brother-in-law to the family with open arms!! The wedding was held in Palm Beach, Aruba!!! It was such a beautiful ceremony on the beach! Truly breathtaking and well worth all the hustle, bustle, and preparing we put into making that a special day!
During the months of August, September, and October, I went through a period of growth and self-examination. I was seeing myself from someone else's point of view and I was being stretched from all aspects of my life. While going through this experience, I wasn't sure what was going to come of it all, but hindsight is always 20/20 right? I am truly thankful for these periods of growth and self-examination. These are a must in order to grow and to be a better you!
November marked a critical time in my life where when I say I was stretched, I was s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d!!! I prayed to God back in maybe September or October to keep me near him. To be sure that I wasn't losing sight of him and not getting too comfortable with my current life and forgetting that I definitely need him in my life. Well I'll say this, be careful what you pray for!! Many things started happening to me in the month of November that kept me on my knees in constant prayer!! Even into the month of December and onward, I'm still constantly relying on God and praying and clinging to him! I must admit, although the experiences aren't comfortable and doesn't feel good, I have learned a lot from every experience, trial, and test. There is no testimony without a test!!
A highlight from November is the re-election of President Barack Obama!! This is such a proud moment in the lives of so many Americans. Sure many Americans weren't happy with the results of the election, but I'm praying that our nation will only get stronger and better for the years to come!
A little excitement in my life began on October 31st when I decided to join a gym! I have been pretty consistent throughout the past few years with working out, but I always fall off the wagon and will workout for a specific event, then the event comes and the workouts stop. I have now decided to stick to a healthy lifestyle instead of working out in order to get ready for some vacation or specific event. I'm also embracing a clean eating lifestyle from now on. I'm excited to see what kind of health benefits will come in 2013 and beyond!
Oh and let's not forget about the "prediction" of the end of the world by our friends The Mayans. I'm a firm believe in the word of God and his word says "no one knows the day or hour. The angels in heaven don't know, and the Son himself doesn't know. Only the Father knows" Matthew 24:36. Looks like the Mayans and that man who predicted the world ending back in May were wrong and must not be up on reading THE WORD!
...and finally, it's New Year's Eve 2012. The last day of the year and I'm fully ready to step into 2013 with great expectations and a new outlook on life! With God by my side, family, friends, and a renewed spirit, I'M READY!!!
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!! Be blessed and I hope you will visit my blog throughout the new year!!
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