A New Year, A New Year of Surrender

Happy 2011. I believe that this is going to be a WONDERFUL year. Last year was fabulous. In 2010, I traveled to several different places and was blessed to have married the absolute love of my life. It was a year that will be remembered very vividly for the rest of my life. I was given the humbling gift of becoming Mrs. Jack West. At this point, we have been married for five months and have loved every minute of it. We put in so much work towards our relationship prior to marriage and it has been an investment that served us well. We are excited about what is to come for us in 2011.

My heart is dedicating 2011 as a year of "surrender." I am surrendering my life to the son of God, my Redeemer, my faithful Father. I am surrendering my marriage to God in hopes that he will continue to bless us as we put him first and foremost above ourselves. I am surrendering myself, my heart, my desires, my needs, and my wants to the One whose will is above and beyond more than I can even imagine.

I have decided to start my year off a little differently than other years. I am dedicating myself to a newness that brings me peace, hope, and energy. I am sorting through the thoughts and emotions and finding the REAL ME this year. My prayer is that I will no longer conform to the ways of this world, but will follow the One who created me and therefore find who I am. There have been so many times in my life that I have shifted my thinking to become who others want me to be instead of finding out who I really am and surrendering it to God. I am dedicating more time to reading, crafting, and finding what really energizes me. I want to continue to create a home for Jack and me. This means finding what we love, what works for us, and going with it.

I am starting off this year with a new book. It was a Christmas present from my husband. I know this book truly changed Jack's focus of thinking and I am excited to experience what God wants me to learn through it.


Interestingly and ironically enough, the first chapter is called "The Freedom We Surrender...and the Heritage That Sets Us Free."
Here's to another year, but one that will hopefully be different, one that falls closer to God.

Happy New Year!