40 in '14: Twenty-thirteen

First of all I want to thank all of you for all of the support! It really has been encouraging and very motivating. I'll say this, it's day 2 and I'm grumpy because all I want are buffalo wings and pizza... But I'm going to find some cool recipes for healthy alternatives.

However, today in this post, I would like to take sometime to reflect on 2013. And I will say this, I AM SO GLAD IT IS OVER. It was a tough year and I had to deal with a lot of shame and guilt. But The Lord was so good to me! He surrounded me with people who were praying for me. And he surprised me with an unbelievable friend. It was around this time last year that my friendship with Mandi (a coworker of mine) blossomed. And it was surprising because you couldn't find two people from two different places in life, who had so much in common. Mostly just our ridiculous sense of humor. The sweetest part about this year and our friendship is that she asked me to be a bridesmaid on New Years Eve. SO SWEET!!

Anyway, last year my resolution was to go on more adventures. And I would say I more than succeeded in that! I started off by finding local gems around Baltimore city. I spent time in Fells Point and Harbor East. Then I took my adventure west. I visited my best friend, Jacqueline, in Arizona which was fantastic. Then I went on a weekend trip to Seattle a few months later.

The greatest thing about adventures are that they are so personal. I get to decide whatever I want to be labeled as an adventure. And I crushed it!

But back to the toughness of 2013. I have never struggled so much in my faith. I believed so many lies about myself and about God. But like I said before, some great friends surrounded me and prayed so hard for me. And I am so grateful for that!!

Those people helped me recognize that; God actually has an unrelenting desire for my heart and unconditional grace and mercy. I am not good enough, I never will be, but He loves me anyway. And I plan on taking this knowledge with me as I start my new endeavor this year.

A good guy friend of mine texted me yesterday and said something that was so cool! He described his experience with exercise as a renewing of mind and spirit.

For girls especially, food is a struggle. And I am going to need The Lord to remind me that he loves me as I am. I don't need to look a certain way. I need to pray that I would constantly bring my insecurities and any doubts before The Lord.

Anyway, long post. But that was 2013 and it's affects on 2014!

Rock on with ya bad self!

This is Seattle!