Preface

I love my birthday! I always have! Maybe I feel this way because the writer in me is a sucker for a story. The day you were born is the day your physical story began. Each year that passes a chapter closes and a new one begins. We have the opportunity to look back and remember as well as the anticipation of what is to come.

In all honesty, the past five years have been years that I have just arrived at the next chapter. Some people call it their "wilderness experience". I'm one of those people. But, whatever you call it, I know that there are points in your own story that you can identify with me here, chapters where you just arrived at the next for whatever reasons; loss, hurt, the economy, betrayal, sickness, frustration, etc... And, if you are anything like me as each new year approached you hoped, prayed, and wondered if the next chapter would be different. I think we all will have those chapters, in fact, I think we all need those chapters. I think our times in the density of the wilderness help us appreciate when we step out into the clearing. Those times can serve to strengthen our faith, encourage our hope, and press us to dig deeper and look at things differently so that if we ever find ourselves there again we know that there is more to our story.

As a Christ follower there are numerous verses that I have clung to for dear life over the past five years. My two favorite are below:

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so they can have life. I want them to have it in the fullest possible way. John 10.10/nirv


In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation. Psalm 5.3/niv


The word "expectation" in Psalm 5.3 in the Greek is elpizo, which translates to CONFIDENT EXPECTATION. I can lay my requests at His feet and wait CONFIDENTLY on Him. It doesn't specify the length of the wait, just that I can be confident in that waiting. Five years, one year, seven years; we can be confident that He hears our voice. John 10.10 promises that He came so that we can have life... not any, just arriving life but life in the fullest possible way. For me, knowing that fueled my ability to lay it all at his feet and wait. Wait in confident expectation!

And here we are. I turned 39 today. 365 days from now I will turn 40. As my birthday approached this year, I started to think about the significance of this next year. That is 365 days of my story that I get to uncover, each day a new page I am turning. So I asked myself, "Self! Do you want to rush through these next 365 pages, skimming the surface and just arrive at your next chapter? OR, do you want to experience this life of yours in the fullest possible way?!" The answer was the latter.

I'm stubborn. This is a fact. Statistically, "they" say it takes 21 days to form a habit, and, I learned years ago that if you are stubborn that you can double, even triple that amount of time. Accepting this, I've decided that I want to enter my 40's in the habit of living life in the fullest possible way. 

• 365 days of opportunities to do, think, read, taste, and experience new things
• 365 days of loving better, listening more, and laughing often
• 365 days of transparency, being approachable, and being usable
• 365 days of habit forming, life living, servanthood

If you have any suggestions of "firsts" for me this year, I would love them. Today a friend suggested that I shave a chihuahua. I've never done that, but I think for now, I'll keep looking for more ideas. More than anything, I ask for your encouragement. In fact I need it!

Living life in the fullest possible way, because of Him,

Christie