12 New Experiences of 2013
These experiences are meaningful to me, all for different reasons. I am thankful for a God who delights in bringing his daughter joy through the newness in life.
1. Learning to trust God's provision in raising support for IVLI.
2. Training for and running a half marathon.
3. Working at the bookstore. This is one of those jobs that will always mean more to me than just being one of the ten part-time jobs I've had.
4. Standing up in my best friend Hannah's wedding and watch her marry Joel.
5. Living in my own apartment, buying and cooking all of my own food.
6. Making the decision to be committed.
7. Owning and caring for plants; it just feels so right. It is an inexplicable joy.
8. Doing "100 days of praise" and writing/sketching what God was doing every day this summer.
9. Going cliff jumping at Mt. Simon
10. Sharing my testimony at IVLI, Fall Breakaway, and Fall Conference
11. Eating meat again, especially because that means I get to eat food slathered in BBQ sauce again, like pulled pork, ribs, and brisket.
12. Welcoming four new members into my extended family (3 babies and a wife!): Katie, Hayden, Yvette, and Evelyn.
Travel Adventures
I am created to itch for spontaneous adventure, local eats, tall buildings and green mountains, and long car rides. Every place I get to travel, near or far, is a gift that feeds my soul.
1. Platteville, Wisconsin [Justin's talk at IV] - February 2013
2. Pine Ridge, South Dakota [InterVarsity spring break trip] - March 2013
3. Milwaukee, Wisconsin [Rachel's Graduation] - May 2013
4. Kansas City, Missouri [IHOP] - May 2013
5. Beloit, Kansas [Hannah's Wedding] - June 2013
6. Minneapolis & Saint Cloud, Minnesota [Visiting Anna, Molly, Jordan, Maddie, James, and Katie] - June 2013
7. Fridley & Minneapolis, Minnesota [Visiting Jaimie, Jake & Katie's Wedding] - June 2013
8. Winneconne, Wisconsin [Hetrick fourth of July celebrations] - July 2013
9. Cedarville, Michigan [IVLI] - July 2013
10. Mackinac Island, Michigan [IVLI] - July 2013
11. Cascade, Wisconsin [time at the cottage with Jamie, family, and Luke] - August 2013
12. Waterford, Wisconsin [roadtrip with Luke to visit his family] - August 2013
13. Orange City, Iowa [roadtrip with Molly to visit Northwestern and Dordt friends!] - October 2013
14. Minneapolis, Minnesota [twenty-one pilots concert] - October 2013
15. Alexandria, Minnesota [IV Fall Conference] - October 2013
16. Minneapolis, Minnesota [MOA/IHOP roadtrip] - November 2013
17. Madison, Wisconsin [Zimmerman family Thanksgiving] - November 2013
18. Waterford, Wisconsin [Gladis/Zimmerman Thanksgiving] - November 2013
19. Kansas City, Missouri [IHOP one thing Conference] - December 2013
20. Zumbro Falls, Minnesota [Rachel's farm] - December 2013
Favorite Things I've Done with Others
It is impossible to capture every meaningful moment with the people I love. The entirety of my blog even fails to do that. But here are some moments that are particularly special to me with people that mean a lot in my life.
1. Every moment I've spent with Molly Bray. Whether we are having phone conversations, sleepovers, cuddle time, laughing, crying, eating, or just sitting together, I love being with her. This girl knows my heart like none other and she knows just how to care for me.
2. Becoming large group MC with Taylor for InterVarsity and developing meaningful relationships with the large group team over two semesters.
3. Getting to use photography to serve Grace, James, Lexie, Trent, and Luke.
4. Having a picnic on Putnam rock.
5. Weekly outdoor adventures with Meghan this summer.
6. Laying on Lexie's bed and just being touched and having real conversations every two weeks for 6 months.
7. Pursuing a relationship primarily through written letters. (So hard, so good.)
8. Swimming in freezing cold Lake Heron with Caleb and Micah.
9. Sleeping outside in a hammock and watching the sunrise the next morning with Noel.
10. Waking up at 5am to climb a ski hill, break into a chair lift, and watch the sunrise.
11. Getting baptized in the Chippewa river and eating pie afterwards with people who mean so much to me.
12. Every conversation I've had with Jenna in the last 5 months. Especially while looking at Christmas lights or baking pumpkin bread.
13. Being a superfan with Ashley for Ben & Luke's frisbee game.
14. Going to Racy's on Sunday afternoons with Alexi.
15. Blogging in an actual blogging community.
16. Eating ice cream for breakfast with Alexi and Justin at the Goat.
17. The day of rest and fun with the Govs leaders; soccer, bowls, the rope activity, and laughter.
18. Going to the norske nook for pie with Ben, Ashley, and Luke.
19. A spontaneous road trip to MOA and IHOP with my friends.
20. Caroling in a nursing home with all of my friends from Govs
21. Having double dates with James & Maddie, Trent & Lexie, Ben & Ashley, Sam & Drew, Nico & Charmaine, and Tom & Kelsey.
22. Hottubbing, movies, nail painting, talking and laughing with Jordan and Maddie.
23. Going on a sleigh ride in the snow through the woods with Luke.
10 New Creations
Made in God's image, I am wired to create, whether it is through poetry, painting, or simply pulling together a unique outfit every morning.
1. The collages I've made, especially my life story at CFW, my Jesus thank you note, and Isaiah 61.
2. Quinoa cakes with roasted red peppers and eggplant
3. Self-created paleo blueberry coffee cake
4. The adventure film I made this summer
5. Decorating my dorm room at Eau Claire
6. Paintings! I can't decide if my hybrid spirit animal or my depiction of the top of the world is my favorite.
7. Eggplant parmesan made by Maddie and myself for Luke and James.
8. Bacon apple pie!
9. The video in the beauty of fall I made with Alexi about thankfulness.
10. The video Luke filmed with me for his class project
10 Self-Discoveries
I am a unique creature, unable to be placed in a single box or category. I am hard-wired a certain way, but the beautiful part is, that doesn't constrain me, instead, it spurs me on to further growth. Oh, such joy in discovering more about who I am made to be.
1. Singing is so important to me and learning how to play guitar has been really challenging but exciting.
2. Writing poetry is one of the most cathartic experiences I've ever had. Sharing it is one of the scariest and rewarding experiences I've ever had.
3. I have learned so much about fears that I have, but I have learned even more about the power I have over them in Jesus' name.
4. Creating videos is one of my main passions. I love doing it as a form of art. I also love creating videos of other peoples' stories.
5. Chocolate and ice cream are two of my favorite foods, in pretty much all shapes and forms. It takes a lot of self-discipline to not eat these miraculous foods 24/7.
6. Being active is my jam. Longboarding and climbing are two newly-discovered passions. Also, throwing footballs and kicking soccer balls is so life-giving to me, and I am thankful for patient friends because I'm actually quite bad at sports. Not being able to run for six months was one of the hardest parts of 2013.
7. I could eat oatmeal for breakfast every single day for the rest of my life and be totally content.
8. Drama class is the best class I have ever taken and God used it to teach me more than 4 semesters of gen eds.
9. Being with children brings me loads of joy and spending time with them is a necessity to remind me of God's tenderness and sweet love. Children also make me way laugh more than most grown ups could.
10. Put me anywhere under a string of christmas lights and I will be at peace and really content.
Top 20 Musics (In no particular order)
Music is such a beautiful part of life as it pulls me closer to my Jesus, closer to who I am as a person, and closer to others around me.
1. The World is a Beautiful Place and I Am No Longer Afraid To Die
2. The Whale CD & The Shark CD
3. Molly's Mix Part 1-4
4. Instrumental music, especially The End of the Ocean & Anesthesia
5. Twenty-One Pilots concert
6. onething (especially Misty Edwards & Jon Thurlow)
7. A Life That's Worthy EP - Jon Thurlow
8. Open Mic with Luke, Ben, and Adam
9. Sleep Well by MAE
10. Jamming to Wagon Wheel
11. Worship nights in the basement of Govs
12. Build Your Kingdom Here at Jacob's Well
13. The Harvest Bashta EP
14. Heroes For Sale Album - Andy Mineo
15. Instruments of Mercy Album - Beautiful Eulogy
16. Holy Spirit - Bryan & KatieTorwalt
17. Drifter - Corey Kilgannon
18. Better Love - Green River Ordinance
19. Ben Howard
20. Instead of Ashes Album - Clement Chen
Characteristics of God Revealed in 2013
God is so vast I, as a human, will never be able to know him as he knows me. But he does take great care to reveal himself to me. Here are the parts of him that have been continually revealed this year.
1. Father
2. Healer
3. Patient
4. Love
5. Faithful
6. Friend
7. Creator
8. Redeemer
9. Author
10. Worthy
Looking Forward to in 2014
1. Learning more about what it means to be a daughter of God, a friend, and a girlfriend.
2. Seeing further reconciliation in my family.
3. Traveling more and seeing how God uses my desire to travel for His purposes.
4. Dragon movies and Wes Anderson creations
5. Working towards my goals
6. Running again
7. Crossing more experiences off of my Eau Claire bucket list
8. Finally taking SPED classes
9. Changes, such as new roommates and new bible study co-leaders
10. Returning to Pine Ridge
