2023 was a crazy year, from a car accident, hospitalization, being prayed over for miraculous healing, burnout, joy, immense blessings, peace, busyness, and everything in between. Here is a list of scriptures that got me through the year or that spoke to me the most;

“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” ‬ ‭

Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭28

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” ‬

Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭2

“You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!” ‭‭

Psalms‬ ‭139‬:‭13‬-‭18

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.”

Jeremiah 29:11

“We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.”‭‭

Proverbs‬ ‭16‬:‭9

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.” ‬ ‭

Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭6‬-‭9

“Who can find a virtuous and capable wife? She is more precious than rubies. Her husband can trust her, and she will greatly enrich his life. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life. She finds wool and flax and busily spins it. She is like a merchant’s ship, bringing her food from afar. She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household and plan the day’s work for her servant girls. She goes to inspect a field and buys it; with her earnings she plants a vineyard. She is energetic and strong, a hard worker. She makes sure her dealings are profitable; her lamp burns late into the night. Her hands are busy spinning thread, her fingers twisting fiber.

She extends a helping hand to the poor and opens her arms to the needy. She has no fear of winter for her household, for everyone has warm clothes. She makes her own bedspreads. She dresses in fine linen and purple gowns. Her husband is well known at the city gates, where he sits with the other civic leaders. She makes belted linen garments and sashes to sell to the merchants. She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.

When she speaks, her words are wise, and she gives instructions with kindness. She carefully watches everything in her household and suffers nothing from laziness. Her children stand and bless her. Her husband praises her: “There are many virtuous and capable women in the world, but you surpass them all!” Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised. Reward her for all she has done. Let her deeds publicly declare her praise.” ‭‭

Proverbs‬ ‭31‬:‭10‬-‭31‬ ‭

“And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord.” ‭‭

Ephesians‬ ‭5‬:‭21‬-‭22

“My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” ‭‭‭‬ ‬

Galatians‬ ‭2‬‬:‭20

“Now, who will want to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats. Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ. Remember, it is better to suffer for doing good, if that is what God wants, than to suffer for doing wrong!” ‭‭‭‬ ‭‬‬

1 Peter‬ ‭3‬‬:‭13‬-‭17

“Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.” ‭‭‭‭

1 John‬ ‭2‬‬:‭15‬-‭17‬

“And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.” ‬ ‭

‭‭‭1 John‬ ‭2‬‬:‭3‬-‭6

“Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heaven! Praise him for his mighty works; praise his unequaled greatness! Praise him with a blast of the ram’s horn; praise him with the lyre and harp! Praise him with the tambourine and dancing; praise him with strings and flutes! Praise him with a clash of cymbals; praise him with loud clanging cymbals. Let everything that breathes sing praises to the Lord! Praise the Lord!” ‭‭‭‬ ‭

Psalms‬ ‭150‬‬:‭1‬-‭6

It always amazes me how much I can learn and grow in one year. I wish I could say I didn’t waste time wishing for other things or feeling sorry for myself but alas I had a lot of growing to do. God taught me that no matter what comes my way I need only to trust in him and surrender my will to Him. I learned to praise God through all circumstances and to give Him credit for His blessings. It really has felt like He has been here with me holding my hand through everything. I thank God for the experiences He gave me this last year both good and bad. I have never had to so completely surrender to Him and the way it has taught me to cling to Him, I will be forever thankful for. 

I also learned that the place I’m in is for a reason and instead of spending my time wishing I were somewhere else, I need to be present and intentional with the time I am given and the moments I am living in. I spent far too much time being distracted and only giving half of me to those who deserve all of me. Instead of splitting myself apart and burning myself out, I need to focus on what brings me the most value and deepens my relationship with the Lord. That has given me so much freedom and joy. I am intentional about filling my cup with the one thing that satisfies it, worship. This helped me to be rid of the feelings of selfishness and guilt, but rather gave me the space to be free to give my time to those who deserve it most. 

I have learned that I am where I am to prepare to be the future version of myself. Proverbs 31 helped me understand that my role is to be a helpmeet wherever I am. That I need to be working to the best of my ability and be diligent in what I do. This is my preparation season to become the Proverbs 31 wife and mother that I will one day be. 

I learned that God is gracious and gives mercy even when we don’t deserve it. He loves unconditionally, even when we are stupid and say and do things that don’t bring him Glory. But I also learned that God is a Just God and there will always be consequences to your actions. I learned that I am not perfect but I also am not everything my mind tells me. I learned that I am worthy of love and friendship but it is not my only value. 

But most importantly I learned to worship God all the time. I began to crave spending time with Him. I learned how to give Him praise instead of constantly asking for things. This came hand in hand with surrendering. I needed to learn to let go of the things I was trying to control, and just Praise God for what He has already done and what He will do. In doing so I have found joy in the surrender, peace in the uncertainty, and love in the midst of pain.

I am walking into 2024 free from negative thought loops, and whole in Christ. I am looking forward to the future, but thankful for where I am. I am giving God priority over all else and starting my days off with Him. I am embracing God’s blessings and trusting in Him to provide for my needs.