Welcome to 2024!

Happy New Year to all!

I hope your 2023 was memorable and full of good moments.

And now we’re off to a new year!

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV

“New” can be exciting, refreshing, and hopeful.

However, it can also bring forth regrets or even sadness as time continues with some unfinished goals.

How do you usually feel when a new year approaches?

Do you feel hopeful for the future, a fresh start? Do you regret all of the things you didn’t accomplish in the past? Or are you somewhere in the middle and feel indifferent, unchanged?

Let me share with you how I felt as the new year approached.

2023 was full of new things for me and my family. Most importantly, I felt God was doing a work in our lives.

Let me be honest, it took me a few days to decide what I was going to write in this post because I feel like so much has happened and I couldn’t quite put my finger on how it related to my theme last year. But after some prayer and thought, God has given me the words. Even now as I write, He is helping me realize just how much He accomplished in me that relates to the theme I felt Him pulling me towards.

Last year, I wrote a blog that shared my theme for the new year: “Rebuild. Refresh. Revive. Thrive.” With this theme in front of my mind, I felt hopeful and energized to take on 2023. However, to rebuild, comes the pain of tearing something down.

In my case, the “tearing down” part was me realizing that I needed to step out of my shell. God pushed me to do things I didn’t have the courage to do. There were many times I felt like my heart was going to leap out of my chest from fear, anxiety, and lack of self-confidence.

Though these moments of tearing down my old self were nerve-wracking and difficult, once I broke through barriers, I felt refreshed.

Even though with this refreshing I felt rejuvenated, I still had (and have) a long way to go.

In 2023, I realized how much I needed to make my mental health a priority. It took until a few months before the holidays that I realized it, but I did.

After choosing to go my own way instead of God’s way upon turning 18, I was led down a path of destruction, pain, and experiences that I wish I never had to go through. Because of this, my “fun self” seemed to have gotten lost in the shuffle.

2023 led to me taking steps to revive that happy, positive, fun woman that God made me.

Now that I have made changes in my life and am letting the Lord be my strength, I am hopeful that I will thrive moving forward.

So that’s my quick recap of 2023!

I know it isn’t huge news or anything, and I still have a long way to go, but I do feel like God started a new work in me and He has led me to my new theme for 2024. I was feeling a little indifferent when approaching 2024, but God has moved in my heart and I feel peaceful.

”Finally, brethren, farewell. Become complete. Be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.”

II Corinthians‬ ‭13‬:‭11‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

As God continues to rebuild, refresh, revive, and help me thrive, I feel like this year I need to “Let go and live in the moment”.

We miss so many good moments in life when we can’t let go of something. Whether it’s a grudge, our own need for control, or simply a bad attitude. These are all things that can hold us back from enjoying the good that God is.

God is everything that is good and He wants the very best for us. Let’s embrace that this year and find the good!

”The Lord is good to all, And His tender mercies are over all His works.“

Psalms‬ ‭145‬:‭9‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Happy New Year! I’m looking forward to what God has in store for each of us in 2024!