Circle your Prayers - 2015 Year in Review

God is FAITHFUL. The ultimate message of this post can summed up in those three words. GOD. IS. FAITHFUL. On the night before the ball dropped to ring in 2015, I sat with my journal and scribbled down a plethora of ideas, visions, dreams and intentions I had planned for myself and my little family in the upcoming New Year. As I wrote, I remember keeping a couple of things in mind:

• Nothing is TOO BIG for God, but nothing is also too small
• God wants us to get to where God wants us to go more than WE WANT to go where God wants us to go
• We can’t perform miracles, all we can do is pray for them

And finally,the reminder from Proverbs 16:9 that we can make our plans, but it is God that is directing our steps.

Bearing those truths in mind, I created my “2015 Intentions List”, read them aloud when finished ,prayed over every line item and fully submitted each intention to the Big Man Upstairs. BOOM. The year has come and gone. To say that each intention was fulfilled (or not fulfilled) the way I had originally anticipated would be a lie. Most everything I had envisioned has come to fruition this year - and even the things I may have hoped for that didn’t pan out resulted in an outcome far better than I could have dreamed. 

Here are some items from my 2015 list and their individual outcomes:

WANDERLUST TRAVEL - 

Blessed to have been able to see and experience these places this year…

• Steamboat, Colorado
• Yosemite National Park, California
• Napa Valley, California
• San Francisco, California
• Red River, New Mexico
• Moab, Utah
• Telluride, Colorado
• Cancun, Mexico
• Louisville, Kentucky

(because of a sick puppy, missed out on a trip to New Orleans and Florida, but thankful for the time spent snuggling and nursing my furry son back to health!)

READ SOMETHING NEW EVERY MONTH -

Blessed to have had the time to read a book/publication per month that fed me on many levels spiritually, mentally, and creatively.

CHASE A DREAM -

Blessed to have made a leap of faith with J and open up a small handmade furniture and home decor business, Dosser Design & Decor, and to have secured a small retail space in the Antique Gallery of Spring — and actually turn a profit each month!

GET OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE -

The Lord tested me a lot on this one, but ultimately, leaning “in” and leaning “on” him totally paid off. With the help of his supernatural strength and courage breathed in me, I was able to:

• Start a side-business with my hubs (a wild dream that requires crazy faith and sacrifice)
• Enroll in a yoga class (it was awkward and unfamiliar to me, but I did it!)
• Joined a local women’s bible study (was vulnerable & in fellowship with other women)
• Said “No” (resisted the constant need to please and respected personal time boundaries)
• Practiced authenticity and anti-perfectionism (cut the BS & was intentionally more transparent with myself and with others)
• Spoke at a Christian Women’s Conference (shared my passion for fitness and caring for the human body like the gift from God and temple that it is ——crazy scary and crazy gratifying)
• Shifted my Perspective -adopted a GRATITUDE ATTITUDE — was intentional about making myself shift my negative and defeated thoughts to hope for positive outcomes

FINISH WHAT YOU STARTED — (IN PROJECT WORLD)

• With the help of my handy hubs, I was able to check off and complete (most, but not all) DIY projects I have had tucked away in my mind or chicken scratched on memo boards for both our house and our decor booth. The projects that have been altered or may never come to pass are being prayed over. As in, everything happens for a reason and so does everything that doesn’t. What I need, God will equip me to make happen. And what I don’t, he’ll be there protecting me from it. I’ve slowly but surely gotten better at accepting that, being at peace about it, and moving on. 

BLESS OTHERS - SMALL WAYS WITH BIG IMPACT

• Whether it was smiling at a stranger, listening instead of speaking, making coffee dates with friends, offering an all new fitness boot camp in a new location of Houston, or launching my own virtual bible study for women, I wanted to find ways to bless others (women specifically) in even the teeniest tiniest of ways. 

START A FAMILY 

• Received the blessing of pregnancy news in May - Welcoming our first born son in February!

LOVE  YOURSELF, LOVE OTHERS, LOVE FOR WHATEVER LIFE BRINGS

• Simply just made the choice to choose "love" every.single.day. --- It was about choosing a mindset that serves to make me better, push me further, elevate me, and help me evolve

There you have it. Proof of prayers answered and unanswered, but nonetheless still #blessed. There is more to my list, but good gravy, we will stop there. Reminiscing and sharing this with you all has me even more excited now to prepare my 2016 List and surrender all those intentions to our Heavenly Father and his will. “Intentions” not rules. “Intentions” not regulations. “Intentions” not restrictions. In this New Year, I pray that both you and I continue to have goals and a driven focus, but that ultimately we watch for his signs, listen to his words, obey his instruction, trust his judgement, and follow where he leads us (whether it's where we had anticipated on going or not)

Jot down those dreams, those intentions and those plans, friends! I just know God is going to bless you and use you in wonderful, inspiring, and surprising ways in the year of 2016!

XOXO,

Marissa