2019 is coming to an end. I can’t say it’s been my favorite year, but there are no regrets. It’s been a good year, for through all the joys and sorrows, God has been with me. He has been faithful.
Faithfulness was my word of the year. It describes it well, though the year has not looked as I’d imagined it might, when I first chose that word. But through it all, I see the thread of His faithfulness. And His calling upon me to be faithful.
Sometimes the best things don’t came from change, new opportunities, or dreams coming true. Sometimes the best things, the lasting things, come from staying, continuing, and being faithful.
Perhaps this blog is one of those things. Each post this year has been written from the overflow of my heart. Never planned, never chosen from a list of “things I should write about”, but rather words that seemed placed on my heart and needed to be written. I sit at my computer and the words just come, requiring minimal editing, and I never know who reads them or if they make any difference to anyone else. It helps me to write them, and if they help even one person, to God be the glory.
So I have been faithful to write. I haven’t set any “goals” for it. Just written as God has given me things to say, and released them with open hands.
I looked over the posts I wrote this year. A lot of wrestling, unfinished stories, finding beauty in the small things – and the thread of God’s faithfulness at every point. He has shown me more of Who He is through this past year, when I found my faith tested through the challenges of life, and as a result dug deeper into His Word.
Some of those lessons have been shared here, as I invited you into my questions and God’s answers. I’ve been honest and vulnerable, and perhaps stories are better than teaching or fancy words anyway?
I still don’t know if any of these posts have any value to you. But if, perchance, they do, then here is a blog recap through the year:
April 5: “Singleness, Ministry, and Obedience”
Sharing my personal wrestling with a Biblical view of singleness and marriage, what godly ministry looks like in different seasons, and what the hard call of obedience might be.
April 7: “What If? Then God”
Follow-up post to “Singleness, Ministry, and Obedience”. Wrestling well, then landing in the sovereignty and goodness of God.
April 17: “But for the grace of God. . .”
“Unplanned” movie review, of sorts, but also my takeaways of what I deserve, who I really am, and the ill-deserved grace of God.
May 8: “Sharing in the Unfinished”
My story of sharing in the unfinished, what God did, how He works. Video included.
May 17: “Life-Givers by Design: What It Is To Be A Woman”
Pondering on what it is to be a woman. What that design means for each of us, including in seasons of singleness and/or barrenness.
May 24: “A Living Hope in a Living God”
What it means to hope rightly, Who it is that we are hoping in, and how that changes the way we live.
May 31: “Will Faith Go To Work . . . Here?”
How God answers my questions, what it means to walk by faith, obedience and doing the next right thing.
June 2: “Acceptance With Joy”
God is a giver of good gifts. Peace does not lie in forgetting or trying harder, but rather in acceptance of the gifts that have been given.
June 12: “The Secret of Contentment”
Contentment. It isn’t about happiness, or perfect circumstances, or big moments. It’s about inner confidence based upon the sufficiency of God.
July 6: “Looking Up”
Becoming and beholding. Waiting expectantly. Looking to Christ. Why it all matters.
July 20: “The Gift of Margin (and Our Desperate Need for Christ)”
Busyness plagues all of us. Why does God gift us with margin, how do we find it, and how do we use it?
July 31: “Recounting His Faithfulness”
A little story of God-moments. Why it matters that we remind ourselves of what God has done and tell the stories to each other.
Aug. 22: “What I Have Been Given”
Listing off the things we have each been given, that we might pause and remember and be thankful. Real happy endings.
Aug. 23: “Capturing The Moments”
My thoughts at the end of a vacation. “What if?” questions to help us think about what we might be missing if we’re not careful to stop and notice.
Sep. 15: “Less and More”
What life is less about (earthly rewards, perfect circumstances, happy endings, etc.), and what it’s more about (obedience, refining, God being glorified, etc)
Sep. 20: “Hiddenness and a Stage”
My thoughts on how I prefer to be hidden and keep being given a stage. My story of struggles and joys, and the questions we should all be asking regardless of our season.
Sep. 28: “Show Me Who You Are & Fill Me”
A heart-cry to know God and be filled by Him. What the calling of Christ isn’t, and the beauty of what it is.
Oct. 4: “Waiting on a God Who Waits”
Sharing about my own season of waiting and hoping and not knowing. And Who this God is that I am waiting on.
Oct. 12: “A Call To Sexual Integrity”
A heavy topic, but a needed one. A plea to pursue sexual integrity, what God says about sex and singleness and marriage and the purpose of it all, what to do now.
Oct. 25: “Of Fingerprints & Triangles”
What it’s like to look for the fingerprints of God in our daily lives. How to pray with a “triangle”. A few stories and examples from my own life, and what it’s led me to know about God.
Oct. 29: “Faithful Love”
Thoughts on marriage, how our culture views it, what God designed it for, why it matters. A calling to my friends, both married and single, to choose faithful love and do it well.
Oct. 31: “Resetting My Heart”
I’m prone to wander. I need Christ. How am I to tune my heart back towards Him?
Nov. 5: “A Rewarder of Those Who Diligently Seek Him”
A story of my wrestlings and disappointments, and how God met me in them. What we are called to believe about Him.
Nov. 15: “Words & Influence”
Cautions to be careful with our words and influence. We each have influence, and we can use it for the glory of God or for destruction.
Nov. 20: “Showing Up”
Faithfulness. Small moments. What happens when we just show up, whether we feel “ready” or not. Results of obedience.
Dec. 15: “The Scandalous Intimacy of God With Us”
Who is this God, who wants to be with us? Through all of life’s challenges and questions, He gives us the very best answer: Himself.
Dec. 20: “He Has Held Me Fast”
Answers and clarity? Or waiting and hoping? Sharing on God’s gentle leading on my life through all the ups and downs.
Oh, friends, if you find something of service to you in these feeble words of mine, may God be glorified, for it is only Christ in me that works anything of value. If God can use my struggles and questions and challenges to bless you in some way, then I am simply grateful. Thank you for reading. Thank you for joining me in this journey of looking to Him and becoming radiant. May God bless you as you follow Him.
~Andrea
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