As you may know if you read my last blog post, my birthday was yesterday. I had such a lovely day! After church, most of my family was able to come over and it was so laid back + chill, which I love. 

I decided that it would be a fun idea to write a blog post about this past year of my life, some of the memories I made, what God taught me, and more. 

IN WRITING

Last year, within days of my birthday, I attended an online writing conference solely because my favorite author—Chuck Black— was speaking. That conference, the speakers, and the support available was all it took to launch me into my writing journey. So, I started writing seriously… and I’ve never looked back. 

Shortly after deciding I wanted to pursue writing as a career, I joined The Young Writer’s Workshop and I watched my writing take off. The community, instructors, lessons, and more that I gained access to helped me in more ways than I could possibly explain. I’m so grateful for this resource that God gave me!

I also participated in National Novel Writing Month in November and drafted a little over 50,000 words—about 150 pages—of my novel within 30 days. That was such a learning curve for me, and I experienced dedication, the power of deadlines, and the importance of actually having an outline when I do it this year, haha!

In December, I launched my blog, then it was changed to The Grace Haus in April. Now, I’m here with my brand new website design. 

Less than two weeks ago, I finished the novelette that I’ve been working on for a while (I ended up having to rewrite almost the whole thing after discovering some big problems, so that’s why it took so long…). 

I took a leap of faith by deciding I wanted to write for the glory of God, and I’ve been continuously amazed at how He has been so faithful to me through all of this!

IN LIFE

Some really good changes took place last year. Some of my family moved much closer to me, and that has been so wonderful! I’ve been able to see them way more and I get to hear “Auntie Leah!” from their kids all the time now. <3

God gifted our family a skoolie (a motor home converted into an RV) in March. It was such a blessing since we’d been praying for one for over a year, because we wanted to be able to travel as a family and share the Gospel with others. We went on a short trip just earlier this month, and my dad got to encourage and pray with one of the RV campground workers. It was so cool to witness this since our family had prayed in advance that God would put someone in our path that we could minister to. 

I’ve been very involved in inner city ministry, and that has stretched me in so many ways. I’ve seen hopeless situations in the lives of some of the families we minister to… but I’ve also been reminded that God is the ultimate giver of hope to everybody, regardless of their circumstances. 

I also met incredible friends this year through my writing community. I’ve connected with a few people in such a way that I feel like I’ve known them for a very long time! I used to be so scared to talk to people because I was worried about what they would think about me, so I found myself with hardly any friends simply because I was so quiet.

A few years ago, however, God started to get through to me and remind me that His opinion of me was the only one that mattered. I also started to realize that I was in a state of pride, because it was so important to me—to the point that I didn’t make friends— that people only thought a certain way about me. I see now that it’s my job to care about what God thinks about me, and do my best to be kind and encouraging to those around me without worrying what they’ll think. That was a heavy, unnecessary burden I carried for so long. If you can relate, please trust me when I say you’ll be way better off to ditch that mindset and live confidently in your identity in Christ!

WITH GOD

I struggle to find words to summarize how I’ve changed and grown over the last year. So much has happened. So much has changed. God has taken me on journeys and adventures I never would’ve imagined myself going on. He’s pushed me to step outside my comfort zone and I’ve started to get familiar with what it looks like to be led by His Spirit. I was gently reminded that it’s okay to follow His promptings even when they’re unexpected or seem odd.

This was also a year of experiencing the faithfulness of God in so many areas, which I talked about when I recapped 2022. I took so many leaps of faith, and God caught me every time. He is so faithful! 

I learned not just about the faithfulness of God, but about faith itself. I wrote an article about it recently, you can read it here. I’ve seen my faith increase so much as I’ve watched God do so many miracles in my life and in the lives of others. 

This list could go on and on, but instead of specifically discussing every area where I grew, I’m going to link to some blog posts that have expressed my growth since August of 2022. 

• Resistance vs. Resignation
• Seek First the Kingdom of God 
• Power in the United Body of Christ
• Trusting the Only One Who Can Be Trusted
• God Wants a Personal Relationship With You
• Conquering Insufficiency And Insecurity 

What are some ways you’ve grown over the last year? What were some highlights? I love chatting with you all in the comments!