Out with 2011, In with 2012

This year is almost gone and although I am more than ready to kiss 2011 goodbye, the year hasn’t been a total loss. In fact, I have probably experienced more spiritual growth this year than any other. So, here is this year in review:

2011 Goals

Before this year began, I set some goals to accomplish. How did I do?

1. Focus in on a few particular ministries and relationships, so as not to be too scattered or busy. Um, the Lord pretty much took care of this for me as He weeded people and things out of my life. So, I guess you can say I accomplished this goal, but it was all the Lord’s doings.
2. Finish memorizing Ephesians. Check.
3. Develop and refine my photography skills. I really didn't do much with this goal until this past month. I invested in a Nikon digital SLR, which I am super excited about. Hopefully, this goal will be more fully realized in 2012. :)
4. Do a better job of actually eating meals for dinner. Living with Kristi has actually helped me a great deal with the goal, so I have greatly improved in this area.
5. Start a savings account/use the one I actually have. I forgot this was one of my goals (tsk, tsk), so no progress has been made. :(

2011 Lessons

For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired even of life itself. Indeed, for we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. 2 Corinthians 1:8-9

Where do I begin? This year has felt like one giant lesson as the Lord has put me through His crucible of refinement. He has taught me much about humility, dependence, trust, contentment and the richness of His Word. All of which, I am sure, I will continue to learn more about until He takes me home. It’s been hard and painful, but the fruit it has produced in me has been sweet. A.W. Tozer sums it up well in his book The Pursuit of God:

“Let us remember that when we talk of rending the veil we are speaking in a figure, and the thought of it is poetical, almost pleasant, but in actuality there is nothing pleasant about it. In human experience that veil is made of living spiritual tissue; it is composed of the sentient, quivering stuff of which our whole beings consist, and to touch it is to touch us where we feel pain. To tear it away is to injure us, to hurt us and make us bleed. To say otherwise is to make the cross no cross and death no death at all. It is never fun to die. To rip through the dear and tender stuff of which life is made can never be anything but deeply painful. Yet that is what the cross did to Jesus and it is what the cross would do to every man to set him free.”

2011 Ministry

I began serving with Scarlet Hope at the beginning of this year. It is one of the few reasons I can visibly see for why I am still in Louisville. God is doing amazing things through this ministry and I am privileged to be a small part of it. I have been serving at various clubs throughout the year, waiting and hoping to be able to build relationships in order to share Christ. Finally, after waiting almost a year, I finally have a club I am consistently going to and have been able to make connections there. If you think of it, please pray for us as we go out to serve these ladies on Thursday nights.
For the majority of this year, Scarlet Hope was the only ministry the Lord opened for me. I looked into other ministry opportunities, but a lot of them were starting in the future or took time to get involved in. God sort of had me in a holding period. When August hit, however, the door to ministry seemed to fly wide open. I was asked to teach children’s Sunday School at Rolling Fields and, after much prayer, I accepted the offer. The apartment ministry at RF, which was slowly developing, offered more volunteer opportunities (including helping to lead an onsite Bible study) and, most recently, I started leading the Missions Team at church.

I mentioned a few posts back that the Lord started turning my heart toward East Asia. I then began to look for ways to get involved with people from that part of the world. There were more East Asian ministries than I realized and, with the Lord’s guidance, I started attending a fellowship geared to reaching this people. I have begun building relationships with several Asian ladies and the Lord continually opens the door for me to share Christ with them.

2011 Highlights

Kristi and I got to do some pretty cool things together this year. Like, travel to both New York and Central Asia:

Broadway in NYC

The Galata Tower in Central Asia

2011’s Final Roar

The last week of this year has been difficult. I lost The Z. I had to tell my boss that I was leaving Papers Unique (after 3.5 years) and even though it is with the Lord’s leading, it didn’t make it any easier. On Monday, I went to my grandma’s house to clean out her fridges and freezers. Her electric had been off for a week, so it was a messy job. The house was cold and empty, and I realized that it would probably never be the same again. Then there are the burdens of the sufferings and trials of the ones I love – burdens that I feel and bear right along with them. I have felt the weight of them most acutely these past few months and when I asked the Lord who would bear me up under this load, He led me to this verse:

Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation. Psalm 68:19

Oh, yeah. He knows more than I ever will what it is like to bear the burdens of others.

Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2

Looking to 2012

2012 is already beginning to look different. I am driving a different car. I will be starting a new job. The next step in getting overseas is in February and it is coming quickly. I can sense the Lord working in my life again and it is exciting (not that He hasn’t been working; He just hasn’t allowed me to perceive it), and, even though I have no idea what 2012 will bring, I welcome it with open arms.

Happy New Year!