For not liking odd numbers...

...I'm still excited about 2013!!

 This year, 2013, one of my resolutions is to be more attentive to and follow God's will for my life.  This will be super duper hard to do since I am such a planner.  However, this past Christmas Break served as proof of why I need to lean into Christ more and to surrender all to Him.  I originally came home to PA with all sorts of plans and preconceived ideas of how this break would go.  From the first morning home, I had to work on letting go of all of that and being in the "present" due to Dad's unexpected heart surgery, three snowfalls, and just life in general, happening.

After trying to find New Year's Eve plans in four different states, I let it go and figured I would return to NC a few days after Christmas, do schoolwork, and quietly ring in the New Year from the Bonus Room with my little Dusty Shamrock.  But alas, that was not in the cards.  Instead, I remained in PA for another week and was able to go to Stars on Ice, was able to run into two friends while there whom I otherwise would not have seen, and was able to provide my Mom an evening of catching up with one of her best friends since we had invited her to join us (we had 4 free tickets!) for the evening.

Now, due to being here longer than anticipated, I might get to see The Christmas Village (a holiday event I've not been able to experience yet about 45 minutes from here), am able to see some friends one last time before returning to NC, might be able to finally attend mass at on my old/new church in Harrisburg this weekend, go to my first First Friday in York and see some beautiful art, and dare I say it, take in a milkshake at the Farm Show (YUM!). 

Yes, when God shows up, He shows up BIG!!  I can hardly wait to see what else is in store this year and look forward to filling up my jar with blessings and also relinquishing worries each night.  I saw this on Facebook the other week and am going to do this for 2013!!  I think it will help me to cherish each day a little more, to lean into God more, and to surrender more! 

This January, why not start the year with an empty jar and fill it with notes about good things that happen. Then, on New Years Eve, empty it and see what awesome stuff happened that year. Good way to keep things in perspective!