I always love to reflect and look back at the end of the year but never seem to get the end-of-year post finished, so this year I am refusing to overthink it and giving myself one evening in which to finish it. If you want the sparknotes version, scroll to the end. 🙂
Highlights:
This year I tested for and graduated with my third degree black belt in Uechi Ryu karate! I never dreamed I would get this far, yet I am quite aware that I have so much to learn. I also was asked to teach a few classes for the first time which was a lot of fun. I love to see people enjoying themselves and having “lightbulb” moments as they apply different techniques. Growing in my ability to lead and teach is one of the next steps at this level, and it is something I am looking forward to improving in.
After my black belt test, I test drove a truck and purchased it a few weeks later! I began researching trucks after one particularly slushy snowstorm. After struggling to exit AND enter the driveway driving to and from work that day, the next day our neighbor kindly finished plowing us out. As I watched out the window I decided that I need one of those. 🙂 I began researching and peppering my coworkers with questions and decided on a Toyota Tacoma with a small plow. I haven’t been able to use said plow yet, thanks to repeatedly having mud season in December, but hopefully soon!
One highlight of the year was doing more hiking this year than ever before – it is a source of frustration to me that I live next door to the White Mountains and there are tourists who I am sure have hiked more of them than I have! There is nothing like the view from a top of a mountain and I am so glad I was able to explore some of the closer ones to where I live. So far I have a seven-month streak going of at least one hike/trail walk per month, so here’s hoping it continues into 2024.
By far the best thing I did this year was reading through the Bible chronologically. Although I have studied the Bible almost daily for over 20 years (yikes that makes me sound old!), I have never read it through chronologically or all in one year, and there are parts that I hadn’t read in a very long time. I was hesitant to try this program because I knew that with having to cover that much material, I wouldn’t be able to slow down to study as deeply as I like to; plus my track record of keeping up with outside timelines is not very good. However, I decided to shake things up and give it a try, and I am SO glad I did. The program is Bible in a Year Club (you can check it out and sign up here until January 3rd!) led by my favorite online Bible teacher, Phylicia Masonheimer of Every Woman a Theologian. Along with the chronological Bible reading plan there are study tips for multiple learning styles, extra weekly resources curated to go along with the content for the week, and a wonderful online community. I focused on the Bible reading plan and made use of the other resources as I was able. One thing that is so helpful with this plan is the focus on building a consistent habit, not on perfection. If you miss a day, you are encouraged to listen on audio or just pick up and start where you are. By God’s grace (and with the trick of catching up on audio), I made it through the whole Bible in 2023 and my excitement for God’s Word and understanding of the big picture of the Bible was greatly improved.
For the second time I wrote our church’s Christmas program, but this year I directed it as well (with co-direction from my mom, who has directed many Christmas productions over the years). As always it’s a challenging but amazing experience to see the words on the page and vision in my mind brought to life and I love watching how God brings the right people together to make it all happen. It’s such a wonderful outreach event and so encouraging when people share how it blesses them. Both productions are available to watch on Youtube: A Flash Mob Christmas (last year’s) and A Thrill of Hope (this year’s).
So there are a few of the highlights, below are a few other end-of-the-year thoughts and reflections:
Things I have learned:
At the end of this year I have been reviewing things I have learned and have been asking others the question as well (I’d love to hear your answer in the comments!) – one of them is the realization that I have more influence over my environment than I used to believe I did, mainly through my words/tone of voice. I have always let other people set the tone and merely reacted to their moods rather than actively trying to change the atmosphere, but after a couple of uncomfortable situations, I realized that my words and demeanor matter more than I thought, so have been working to use that to influence the environments I am in for good. 🙂
As I worked on the Christmas program this year, I had another realization that maybe this is the direction the Lord wants me to focus on with writing. I am hoping to publish the programs from the past two years so that other churches can use them as well. I have always loved theater and have a passion for non-cliche Christmas programs – there’s so much more to the story than a few angels and sheep – people need to see the deeper connections that the themes of Christmas hold for us and portraying that through music and story is a wonderful way to do that.
Books I read:
I have also learned that I am terrible at reviewing books but always love to see what other people have read, so I am just going to share the list of them with some links and let you read the description for yourself if any of them sound interesting to you.
- Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick
- The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick (reread)
- When Making Others Happy is Making You Miserable by Karen Ehman
- An Old Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott (reread)
- The Things of Earth by Joe Rigney
- The Curator’s Daughter by Melanie Dobson
- Jesus Revolution by Greg Laurie
- Shaking the Nickel Bush by Ralph Moody
- The Case for Christmas by Lee Strobel
- Rembrant is in the Wind by Russ Ramsey
- Listening for God by Marilyn Hontz *highly recommend this one!
- Ancient Israelite Literature in its Cultural Context by John Walton
- The Giver by Lois Lowry
- A Vintage Christmas (short stories by various authors)
- Freely and Lightly by Emily Lex
Things I discovered:
Monadnock Oil and Vinegar Company – Mom and I took a field trip to the Peterborough area on her birthday and visited this tiny store. They have a myriad of flavored olive oils and balsamic vinegars that are sooo delicious!
Tab notation – I own a mandolin but have hardly touched it; my brother is learning the guitar and wants to attempt to play together so I bought a new mandolin music book and from that learned about tab notation (it’s a simple diagram of numbering the strings and frets so you see where to place your fingers). It’s definitely a “cheater” system but it makes it much easier for getting acquainted with where things are on the strings, which is my main challenge since I’m used to the linear format of the piano.
Chiastic structure in literature – did you know that many books of the Bible (Numbers, for one) are structured in a chiastic formula? It’s a structure that mirrors itself and aids in memory retention (since most Scripture knowledge was passed down orally). The topics will repeat in a sequence such as ABCCBA, or a C-shaped repetition. It absolutely blew my mind and fascinated me when I discovered that.
Song on Repeat:
Wonderful, Merciful Savior by Selah
Favorite Quote:
“Story is a trojan horse for truth. It can speak truth past the gates of our defenses and prepare our hearts to hear things we might have resisted if they had come as mere declaration.” -Russ Ramsey, Rembrandt is in the Wind
Weirdest Thing That Happened:
Not once, but TWICE at work (at two separate locations no less) I had customers call me back after I had assisted them in the office and ask me out/for my number. I declined both offers but it made for some great stories!
Place I explored:
Hyannis, MA (Cape Cod area – we visited the Sandwich Glass Museum – highly recommend!)
Verse that encouraged me:
“May the LORD be praised, for He has heard the sound of my pleading. The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. Therefore my heart rejoices, and I praise Him with my song.” Psalm 28:6-7
2023 was a year of exciting growth and learning; as I look back the times that brought me the most joy were when I was able to spend talking with people about Jesus and learning from God’s Word. I hope to build on that in 2024 and am looking forward to all that God will teach me next year!
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