2012

Two Thousand and Twelve has been quite the year for me.  I have grown and struggled, and been incredibly blessed by this year. Below is list of a few things that have epitomized this year for me.

Places I have been: Qingdao, China; Davao, Philippines; Manila, Philippines; Hong Kong; Ohio, USA; Yang Shua, China; Tianjin, China; Chiang Mai, Thailand; Chengdu, China

Book I’ve Read:

The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling (5/5)

The Unlikely Disciple by Kevin Roose (5/5)

 The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne (5/5)

 Lord of the Flies by William Golding (4/5)

Matched and Crossed by Ally Condie (2/5)

A Crack in the Line by Michael Lawrence (3.5/5)

Redeeming Love (2.5/5) and The Atonement Child (2/5) by Francine Rivers

Cat’s Eyes by Margaret Atwood (4/5)

The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel (4/5)

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (5/5)

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne (4.5/5)

 A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (5/5)

My Song of the Year: “Galaxies” by Owl City

Here are some (not all) of the lyrics:

Dear God I was terribly lost

When the galaxies crossed

And the sun went dark

But dear God you’re the only north-star

I would follow this far.

Oh telescope, keep an eye on my only hope

Least I blink and get swept off the narrow road

Hercules you’ve got nothing to say to me

Because you’re not the blinding light that I need

For He is the Saving Grace of the galaxies

This song has been an encouragement to me during the many times of uncertainty that I faced this year.  When my “sun went dark,” God was my north star.  It also reminds me of how God created the universe. As the song says, “He is the Saving Grace of the galaxies.” So if He created the whole universe, then he is able to take care of me through the difficult times.

Verse of the Year: Ephesians 2:1-10 (Emphasis Added)

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins n which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

I just love the comparison between what we were (and sometimes still are) and what God has done for us. God has been teaching me about grace. I need to offer grace to others, and I need to allow myself to receive grace from God.

These are just a few brief highlights from my year. If you are interested in more about my past year, read my other blog posts. Last year, I made resolutions that will follow. Now I find it necessary to reflect on them and create new ones for the year to come.

1.    I will write more. I want to write at least one blog post a month. I want to write in my prayer journal at least a couple times a week. I want to go to writer’s corner at least 3 times a month. I want to edit my honors project and take some steps towards getting published (even though I am not entirely sure that it is worthy of being published).

I did well with the blogs. I wrote 24 blogs this past year. However, I did miss the months of January, February, May, and October. With the other writing goals, I did not do so hot. (In other words, I barely did them at all).

2.    I want to improve my Chinese. I want to be able to have an actual conversation with someone in Chinese. Something more than I want to go to the store and something less complicated than religious/philosophical/political conversation. Even if it is just a minute long, I would be happy.

I did very well in this area. This is not to say that I am a fluent Chinese speaker or even a competent Chinese speaker, but I know how very simple conversations go, and I know how to respond to most of the basic questions that a stranger might ask me.

3.    I want to stay more on top of my schoolwork. I am not sure that I have a concrete task to tie with this goal, but I do not want to spend my second semester feeling like I will drown.

I ended last school year and began this school year much more confident in who I am as a teacher. Though there were times when I lagged behind in my schoolwork, I ended this semester much better than I have any other semester so far.

Now for my resolutions for 2013:

1.     I want to continue to improve my Chinese. I would like to finish book two of Chinese Made Easier by the end of the year. I have been told that this book is difficult, so I might be over-reaching. Nevertheless, I will make it my goal.

2.     I will actually work on editing my honors project this year.

3.     I will actually write in my prayer journal and spend more time in the Word.

4.     I want to read more for fun. I would like to read at least one young adult book, one classic (or adult book), and one Christian non-fiction book every quarter. That would mean I would like to read 15 new books this next year. My rule for myself will be that a book for school will only count if it is my first time reading it.

Looking back at the books that I read this past year, I was pretty close to this goal. I read 10 YA books, 3 C-non-fiction, and 3 classics/adult books (these numbers exclude the books that I have read before).