As 2008 comes to a close and 2009 becomes foreseeable, we can simply look back on the good moments - and the bad. But for now, I think I'll review the spiritual and positive happenings of life in 2008 for me. (In the comment box below, feel free to type up your own retrospective timeline about what God or someone or something has done for you.)
Songs that Impacted My Life in 2008:
- Life In Your Way - Reach the End
- Skillet - The Older I Get
- James Newton Howard - Thought I'd Never Call
Movies that Impacted My Life in 2008:
- Blood Diamond
- The Passion of the Christ
Books that Impacted My Life in 2008:
- Greater Than You Think - Thomas Williams
Timeline of 2008:
- March 2 - First time I paid a visit to my church's Senior High Youth Group, which was one night that truly changed my walk with Christ - through new friends and an awesome small group. This was also a time that God had set me free from an absence of a true heart for Jesus in my life which had been a burden throughout my winter season.
- March 19 - Day that I participated in my first science fair competition, in which I brought home second place in my division.
- April 3 - Day that I participated in the regional science fair, in which I brought home third place and a special award from the Philadelphia Society of Coatings Technology.
- April 20 - The day on which I was baptized - a very blessed day.
- May 8 - Yet there was no real significance to this day, I was unnormally happy throughout the course of the day in which I could literally [feel] God working in my life. That was pretty cool.
- May 20 - The day that I broke a minute split in the 400m - my time was a 59.6.
- June 12 - Last day I was able to visit one of my best friends, Joshua Tibbetts as his family and himself moved to Thailand to work in mission with God - way to go Tibbetts family!!!
- June 14 - My 16th birthday took place when I received my iPod Touch.
- June 16 - School ended as I would then leave Indian Crest to go to Souderton High School - and I would enter the second greatest summer of my life.
- June 22-28 - Week that my family and I visited our relatives in Maine, and also celebrated my Granparent's 50th Anniversary.
- July 14-19 - Week retreat with my church's youth group to Harvey Cedars Bible Conference, which made an internal impact that was inspiring and life-changing.
- July 19-August 4 - The weeks I was able to spend with my Chinese exchange student, Fu Yao. These weeks were powerful not only because they followed Harvey Cedars but also because it gave me an opportunity to share the Gospel with a person who otherwise may have never learned of it. The weeks of Harvey Cedars and Fu Yao totally strengthened my walk with Christ even more.
- August 4-8 - I was a camp counselor for Branch Creek Arts Camp where I was again able to make an impact on the lives of children through sharing the Gospel.
- August 17-23 - My family and I did our usual vacation time in New Hampshire with out relatives from Massachusetts - this was also the week that I suffered from heat stroke.
- August 31-September 1 - Weekend of astronomy at Cherry Springs.
- September 2-18 - The time when school was delayed due to a teacher's strike, which resulted in a lot of family time - such as a trip to Baltimore, Philadelphia, Longwood Gardens and Atlantic City.
- October 4-5 - The weekend that my father and I paid a visit to my Grandparents in Massachusetts.
- October 18 - The day that began my strong spiritual doubt in result of a convincing conversation with an atheist. (Which was also the beginning of my spiritual investigating.)
- October 29 - My father and I paid a visit to the NanoDay convention at University of Pennsylvania, which was inspiring toward my love for science.
- December 7 - The day that one of my best friends, Luke Moyer and I - along with a friend of his - went to New York City to celebrate his birthday.
- December 23-27 - My Grandparents from Maine visited with us for Christmas on their way to Florida, in which we were able to celebrate the birth of Jesus as a family.
And in all of this, God has never left me for a day. Although my spiritual walk with Him - as of now - isn't at its greatest or happiest, know that not always will it be. God will allow obstacles to come into our lives in order to make us stronger in our walk with Him. And as we approach 2009, just remember what God has done for you in your life, and if at all possible, try and comprehend what He may do in the future. Happy New Year!
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4 comments:
Thanks for sharing dude.
A pretty amazing year John. God is so good.
i personally do not agree with your beliefs towards god but they are your beliefs so believe what you want it is your right. i respect you for believing in what you believe in but not being arrogant about it, you keep it to yourself unless someone asks you and is intrested. i respect you highly because you live your life the way you want to live it, you do not care what people think, you do what you think is right and i respect you alot for that. i just thought you might want to know.
Thank you guys, especially to the anonymous user. It means a lot to hear from a non-believer on my blog. Please know that I respect your beliefs too and I will always try to be respectful with mine.
This is to all of you, but in a sense that Christianity is defined as many things, it could be simply said that it is an "experience that cannot be explained." Sometimes things in life are truly unexplainable, and one happens to be the changes God has made in mine.
This one is for you anonymous user. It says in the Bible that "those who seek me find me." That is what God is saying. I feel truthfully that it means that if you as a person are with all your mind investigating if "there is a God," God will reveal himself to you eventually. That could be in a month or even longer, because He is a God that isn't out there to prove himself, He is out there to make change.
Thanks for the comments!
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