Expecting 2013...

So, much like my Wrap-up of 2012, this is my annual post introduction into the next year.

For whatever reason I never do these posts the same.. or even similar. So, if you would like to check out previous year's looking forwards, here are the years:
2009
2010
2011
2012

For 2013, I have no real idea what to expect from this year, although I do know a few things I have planned...

I have my 10 year high school reunion. Whoa.

I graduate with a double masters degree in May! Two classes to go, and I simply could not be more excited!.. Then I have to decide if I want to pursue an M. Div... Oye!

I get to travel to East Asia in February, as well as India in the fall. I. Am. Stoked. -- Seriously I get paid to travel!?

My baby brother -- who is not so baby and huge is getting married to the most amazing and wonderful woman that is not only a perfect partner for him, but she fits into the family like the missing link we never knew we were in need of.

My older brother is going to have a 4th little one. I am SO excited about another niece or nephew!... Even if the child is due in June.

My bff and her husband are having their first baby! My little cousin and her husband are having their first baby!! A couple other friends are having babies as well!... I am so excited about all the babies!

My beautiful baby sister turns sweet 16. Seriously, when did that happen?!

Because of my job, which I love, even if it is stressful sometimes and is pushing me more than I expected will provide lots of first experiences. I am stoked about what God is doing in my church. I am praying and expecting God to not only provide, but to supply more than enough of Himself to make it through. I am confident that He will change the hearts of those that need changing, and I know without any doubts that He will blow us away when we look back next December at all the things He has done. I am humbled and amazed at how He is choosing to use me, and I have a laundry list of prayers that compliment those feelings.

My little baby puppy will become a full grown beast haha

I fully expect to add at least 4-5 more 3x5 cards to my bathroom mirror!.. Which means I expect God to also do amazing things and answer my crazy prayers.

My 2013 Goals:
(In no particular order)

1. I want to continue to try and post 3-4 times a week. -- I also want to continue to use this platform to reach and encourage others.
2. I want to put a substantial down payment on my 90k student loans in the fall when I have to start paying them back... My goal is 12k.
3. I want to continue to live off of 74% of my income. -- (Tithing 10%, saving 9%, gifting 7%)
4. I want to cross 5 things off of my Before I Die list, and add 5 new things to the list.
5. I want to get back to a regular workout schedule... which means healing my hip completely.
6. I want to read through the Bible.. I've gotten half way through one year, and while I've read the whole Bible in random chunks, I'd like to read through the whole thing!
7. I want to experience God this year unlike I have in any other time in my life. -- I have every expectation that I will be shocked at all the things God has done and revealed to me a year from today.
8. I want to read 40 books this year (not counting school books or the Bible).
9. Like last year, I want to pray my way through this year.
10. I want to learn and understand love, compassion, and grace this year unlike any year before.

Revising Life Goals...

I have a fairly extensive "bucket list" that I have been compiling for a few years now... However, I am completely revising the list to organize it differently and add more to it. In Mark Batterson's book  The Circle Maker he shares a list that is impressive to say the least, but is also incredibly inspiring. He has his list broken down into different categories, such as his experience goals, goals he wants to share with others, giving goals etc.. And, the more I have been thinking about it, the more I realized that so many of my goals are awesome, and I intend on keeping them, but I like his way of organizing them better. I like the idea of separating out the different goals based on areas of my life, which then actually has created more space and creativity for my goals.

So, while I am not done revising my current "before I die" list... I do think I have an idea of categories I want to use to separate them out into... (and likely add more things to each list) Experiences, giving, traveling, and personal..

This list is not complete, they are not in any particular order, and I have crossed through the ones I have already accomplished, but I am fairly confident these have more added to them later, but I think this is a good place to start:

Experiences:

Watch either the sunset or sunrise from each side of every ocean: Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic, Southern
Have a croissant at a French cafe 

Go wine tasting at a vineyard in Italy 

Ride an elephant

Go dog sledding
Go on a Safari in Africa
Scuba dive
Ride a camel in the desert
See the Pyramids at sunset 

Visit the church made entirely of bones

Drink whiskey at a pub in Ireland

Stay in the ice hotel

Go on a multi-day biking trip

Tube down a river

Visit ancient ruins

Stand on the Great Wall of China

Learn to roll in a kayak

Learn to snowboard, and ski
Learn to wakeboard and water ski
Drive a sports car over 100mph
Stand inside the Taj Mahal

Ride through the Panama Canal
Go Sky diving
Horseback ride through a coffee plantation

Taste 1,000 Fruits

Go to the Kentucky Derby
Go white water rafting

Live in a house with a window seat and wrap around porch
Tango in a milonga 

Go parasailing 
Go paragliding
Swim with bioluminescent plankton in Puerto Rico
Climb a volcano
Climb a glacier
Go rock climbing
Watch the sunrise or sunset over the Grand Canyon
Watch the Northern Lights 
See a shooting star 

Ring a church bell
Move somewhere new alone

Go on a cruise

Participate in a giant food fight

Climb a mountain
Ride a helicopter

Choose fifty favorite places to relax and connect with God

Attend the enitre summer Olympics  

Zip line through a canopy  

Drink lemonade on the front porch swing on warm summer night  

Have a big wedding celebration with everyone I love
Christen a boat

Be in Spain for running of the Bulls (but not participate)

See a glacier in Antarctica 
Learn to surf 

Learn to paddleboard  

Hike the Inca Trail 

Dive with Manta Rays in Hawaii  

Spend a night in a treehouse 

Swim with a whale  
See and/or climb Mt. Kilomanjaro and Mt. Everest
Snorkel the great barrier reef in Australia
Ride a gondola in Venice

Travel:

Set foot on all seven continents 

Set foot in all fifty states

Cross the Canadian border
See Cuba 
Straddle the equator on two continents

Take a road trip across the U.S.

Have an exceptional time in Greece

Attend Loy Krathong, the sky lantern festival in Thailand  

Take a month long vacation without computers    
Attend La Tomatina in Spain 

Live in another country for a year 
Go to Fiji  

Spend a summer touring Europe
Go to Hawaii with my family
Go to South America with my sister

Personal:

Make butterscotch from scratch (I have a recipe.. now I just need to get all the ingredients and do it!)
Build a house from start to finish

Get art in a gallery 

Attend a Black and White Ball

Grow vegetables in my own garden 
Be a published artist

Write a book or novel
Be conversational in five languages: 1. English 2. Spanish (this one comes and goes) 3. Sign-Language 4. Greek 5. German
Get my second degree black belt
Get a tattoo (I have two)

Do two pull ups
Go berry picking and make completely homemade pies
Own a very large dog 

Make my own perfume 

Organize a retreat
Learn all the Latin ballroom dances: Argentine Tango, Salsa, Cumbia, Merengue, Cha cha, Bachata, Rumba, Mambo, Bolero, Samba 
Start and run my own business

Form a workplace with people I love

Make my own list of the hundred best things to eat 

Go a day without speaking 

Plant a tiny orchard 
Run a 10k

Throw a block party

Shoot every major gun: Pistol, Shotgun, Rifle, Muzzleloader, Revolver

Start a fire without a match

Run a half marathon
Blog consistently for 10 years
Finish and publish "Facts of Life" 
Own a Beach house with friends

Giving/Finances:

Help someone get through college

Do something for someone they can never repay

Tithe my whole life
Start a non-profit or help run one
Buy stock on my own

Get in the habit of grand loving gestures 
Be debt free by 35

Use my work to improve lives

Remove money as a concern from my life
Gift 1 million dollars to missions (not tithing)
Help my family become debt free
Give people in ministry free vacations at the beach house

A lot of these actually go in a couple categories, but are best "housed" in the particular category they are in. And, as always, this is ever changing.. or rather, ever growing. I feel much better about this list now that it is separated out into categories instead of just a solid list... Many thanks to Mark Batterson and his book The Circle Maker for the inspiration to do it this way!

Cannot Be Repaid...

I have had a bucket list of things I want to do for pretty much as long as I can remember.. it has gone through various phases and updates, taken the form of barely more than excited thoughts of adventure to a running list with accomplishments crossed out.

Tonight I want to focus on one small one that I put on my bucket list because it would serve as a forever reminder that life is bigger than me.. That I am selfish, but if I can truly pull this off, then it serves as yet another reminder that Jesus makes me new and more like Him every day.

"Do something for someone they cannot repay."

That is on my bucket list. I want to get in the habit of doing things for people with literally no thought of reward for myself. Sometimes things I do come with a subconscious understanding that I will reap some sort of reward.. Sometimes, I know that through my actions God will bless me.. and other times, like in the case of this item on my bucket list.. The sheer idea of it is too big for me to accomplish on my own and that is partially why this is one of my favorite things on my bucket list. Because this is the type of thing that really is so beyond myself that I just want to be a part of it...

A few weeks ago, I think I found what will fulfill this. I do not know if it will pan out, but I really want it to and I am scared for it to turn out at the same time.

I know that by posting the specifics, it puts it out there for criticism, judgement, and concerns from those who are convinced that I do not think things through or that I act rashly often times.. or because they are just natural worriers.. But, I also know that it gives me the chance to share this process regardless of how it turns out, and it all gives Jesus another chance to shine... 

So, here goes, a couple of years ago I met a now friend and her husband through a mutual close friend of ours. I found out then, but did not think much more about the fact that her husband had kidney failure and has been dealing with it for (now three) years. Anyway, thanks to social media I have been able to keep up (ok more like stalk) her and her husband, their recent pregnancy and birth of their first beautiful baby (a girl!).. and of course all the adorable pictures that ensure with cute babies!

However, he has begun to seriously look for a kidney donor due to his kidney failure. So, I thought about it for about a week or so, and decided that I would go get tested to see if I am a match. That was the least I could do since the first step is to be the same blood type, and since I am O- and he is O.. first step is done. I have sent in the first of what will likely be numerous documents in the process of getting tested to see if I can donate one of my kidneys to him.

Which means that now begins the heavy lifting of my prayers about this whole thing.. For me, for him, for their family, and for anyone else who I have no idea will be touched because of Jesus' hand on this whole situation... That last part is what excites me the most.

I know there are lots of risks, life would be different, more challenging, and there are a serious number of risks and medical complications later in life for me with one kidney...

I. Know. It. Is. Dangerous.

But, how can I say no if there is a chance I could save his life... or dramatically improve his quality of life at the very least? How can I say no to someone's new baby girl? How could I say no to my friends?..

And, it all comes back to "God's will, not mine." So, if this is supposed to happen, and it is a part of God's plan for my life and the life of my friends, then all of the steps (and there are a lot of them) will work out seamlessly, there will have no doubt that this is supposed to work out exactly this way. If this is not God's will, then there are plenty of doors to close along the way... So, in this process, I am going until God says no... Which tends to be my mode of operating the last few years anyway... I have just enough faith to know my savior is capable of anything, and this is just a fraction of how he could use me to change the lives of others.

If you think about it, please pray because this situation is gonna need a lot of Jesus to work out.. whether it works out with my involvement or someone else's...