2013 Year in Review

~~ 2Timothy 1:7 (KJV) ~~ For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

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by Carley Cooper

Carley on Bitstrips!

Another year has gone by.  How was your 2013?  Was it good?  Not so great?  Did you accomplish your goals?  Make any new friends?  Did you make any great memories with your loved ones?  Did you get closer to God?

The High’s & the Low’s

For me, some things have stayed the same; I’m still single, I’m still overweight (instead of losing weight, I gained), I still don’t have a car, Jesus hasn’t returned yet, and my hair still frustrates me.  Then there were some really upsetting points; I lost my dog that was 14 years old.  I also lost 2 friends (both young men) and my uncle; all to cancer.  Those were the low points of 2013.  However, there were many things that changed in 2013; and most of them were great changes.

There’s a Facebook feature that takes the 20 biggest moments from all your posts from last year and puts them into one thread called “2013 Year in Review”.  I have to say that it was interesting to see the items on the list.  Some of them I had already forgotten about.  It makes me wonder about the items that didn’t make the list.  I also wonder how Facebook seems to be able to determine so accurately from your posts what ones are the big and important ones.  But I guess that is a discussion for another day.  It made me realize that 2013 was a very good year; at least incomparison to 2012.  In that year I had a bad 6 month Bipolar Disorder episode with a series of breakdowns, I thought I was going crazy for certain, I had lots of medication changes, and one of my best friendships ended; and that was just for starters.  

During this year that just ended my high points included:

• I was featured on SparkPeople.com as a Spark People Motivator
• An articlewas written and published about me in the HuffingtonPost Canada, Living section
• I finished my manuscript ‘Cocoa with Jesus’
• I moved into a house where I get to be close to my family all the time
• I got a new puppy (a wonderful little Shih-Tzu that I’ve called Maggie)
• My doctors and I have found a fantastic medication cocktail that has kept my Bipolar Disorder stable all year long
• I went to the most wonderful women’s weekend women’s retreat where I made some new friends and had an amazing experience getting closer to God (Plus I won a wonderful handmade quilt on a raffle ticket)
• I got to do another short public speaking engagement about my weight loss and healthy living journey (watch the video here)
• I won a contest and my prize was 16 books by Christian authors
• I went to Scarborough, Ontario and spend some way overdue quality time with my BFF
• I made a big decision that, after many years, I want to return to work because I am well enough to do that fianally (part time, to start)
• And the sprinkles on the ‘sundae’ was discovering Bitstrips!  (LOL)

Power, Love, and a Sound Mind; They’re Good Things

Unlike 2012, this past year was a pleasant year.  All these things I see as blessings from God.  I got closer to Him this year.  I’ve overcome some of my fears, and my faith has grown along with God’s peace within me.  As a result my power and love have grown, and most of all the realization that no matter what my diagnosis is I have a sound mind.  

Focus on Jesus and You Will Be Blessed

So what about you?  What were your highlights, and your lowlights?  No matter what, God is with you and He wants to get closer to you.  As you look back at your 2013, have you grown from the past years?  Did you get to be more like Jesus?  Keep your eye on Him and you will grow and be blessed.  

Let’s Pray
~~ Dear God ~~ You are so graceful, loving, and merciful that I cannot even wrap my mind around it.  So often I try to live my life without looking to You for guidance.  Thank You for never giving up on me, and for helping me to grow and be blessed from year to year.  Please help me to continue growing to become more like Jesus with each passing year.  I pray this in Jesus name, AMEN.

Now It’s Your Turn

Thoughts?  Questions?  Want to share your story?  Ask for prayer?  Please consider sharing in the comments section; even if the link you clicked to get here was on another site.  (If you’re on the homepage, click on the post headline, and scroll down to find the comments section.)

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