2022 - Year In Review

Well. The year is officially over. 

Today, it is January 2, 2023. It's the start of a new year, and since it's almost the 1-year anniversary of this blog, I figured I'd do a year in review. Maybe it'll become a tradition, maybe it won't—let me know what you think!

So: What happened this year? 

Looking Back at 2022

What happened?

Blog stuff:

• I started Roses of Grace on January 20. (Almost a year ago—wow.)
  
• I started an email list in which I get to connect with you guys every week! 
• I wrote almost a hundred blog articles. This is article number 97.
  

Writing stuff:

• I finished the first draft of my first ever novel! (It's the one I talk about in this post.)
• I participated in Nanowrimo and finished the first draft of my second novel!
  

Life stuff:

• I spent the summer in Paraguay, learning Spanish and getting a taste of overseas missions.
• I hit emotional highs and lows, and my relationship with the Lord deepened through them.
• I made new friends! :)
  

Favorite blog articles

I'm picking "favorites" based on which ones meant the most to me, not necessarily the ones that were the most popular. 

The Truth About a Christian's Self-Worth - This was the first article I wrote that was published on the Rebelution! 

It's also a message that's close to my heart. I've seen a lot of people struggling with their sense of self-worth—myself included. Realizing that my worth doesn't come from me but from Christ has helped a lot in my own journey.

The Power of Persistence—When There Is No Fruit - It can be really hard to persist in prayer for someone's heart when it doesn't seem like anything's changing. But God is faithful even when we can't see it. 

The story of Monica and Augustine is an encouraging reminder that God does hear our prayers, even though it might take much longer than we want.  

Why the Gospel Matters—Even If You're Already Saved - This article was also published on the Rebelution, and I think the message is extremely important. Legalism is a real temptation for Christians, but it's completely false—and we always need to keep our eyes firmly fixed on the gospel to combat it. 

Like much of what I write, this one was aimed squarely at myself. I've struggled at times to remember the gospel of grace—to remember that God does not love me because of what I do, but because of who he is.
But it's so important to remember, isn't it? 

Because that's at the heart of what it means to be a Christian. Grace. 

 

Looking Ahead to 2023

I don't really set New Years Resolutions, but I do love goals—so let's set some of those.

In 2023, I want to: 

• graduate high school and start college!
• revise my current novel and complete a polished manuscript.
  
• start a business? Maybe? 
  

However. There's a trap many of us fall into when we set goals for the future, and that's the trap of self-reliance. 

In Luke 12:13–21, Jesus tells the parable of the rich fool. He's a fairly typical businessman who has a prosperous year, and as a result decides to use the money he got to set himself up for an even more prosperous future, and then retire early. 

The problem with this rich man isn't that he's successful. And it isn't that he's hard-working. Those are good things, and have been praised elsewhere in the Bible (specifically the book of Proverbs).

The problem is that he's overconfident. And he's overconfident in the wrong person: himself. 

We make plans, but God is the one who decides what's going to happen. And in this case, the rich man didn't get to enjoy a thing of what he worked for. He died that very night. 

So when I'm making these goals, I want to do it with the right mindset. 

I want to hold the future loosely. I want to trust in God's will above all else, instead of assuming that my plans will be enough to carry me through. 

It's a challenge. Self-reliance is the default for us humans, and it doesn't feel natural to remember that God's will is above our own. 

But it's true. And with the grace of God, we'll all get better at it every day. 

 

How was your 2022? What were some highlights? Do you have any New Years Resolutions?