Wave Goodbye to 2008...Say Hello to 2009

I ought to be ashamed of myself for not posting in so long. Bad Dionna!

Okay, I'm over it now.

2009 is upon us. I looked back at the plans that I made for 2008 (I don't call them "resolutions," I call them plans) and some I accomplished, others I made some headway on and still others I totally blew.

So now, as I look to 2009, I'm going to carry over some plans from 2008. I'm also going to have a few BIG new plans for 2009. I won't bore you with all the details, but I will share some.

1. I WILL finish Encounter at the Well in 2009. I think it's important for me to share the music that God has put inside of me. I don't plan on going after a record deal or anything (I'm not that good). But I do think it's important to share the music. I will finish in 2009 also because this just needs to get done. I need to finish it and move on.

2. I will grow in patience in 2009. 2008 has been all about not rushing the process and learning patience. OMG! As I look back now I had to be patient in waiting for a boyfriend, getting a car, growing in my career. I won't even mention all of the things I'm still waiting on. Over and over, I had to keep hearing "don't rush the process", "respect the process", "be patient." UHG! Lame. A couple of months ago, I had to start telling myself that I'm not a Process Rusher. That is NOT my name (just like Jerk is not my name) and I will NOT wear that badge anymore.

3. I will grow in my understanding of my calling as a worshipper and a worship leader in 2009. The past few months have been a rollercoaster of emotions and opinions about who I am as a worship leader. To share a little, the first half of 2008, I experienced tremendous growth in the area of worship leading. It seemed that my style of leadership, my voice and my songs were needed in worship. Then something happened and I began to...well...suck, to be honest. What the heck happened? I understand some of it and other parts confuse me, but I know that God wants me to be a worship leader.

So I was frustrated. I wanted to grow and learn and I knew I had a lot of room for growth in my spiritual preparation for worship. And people kept saying that I needed to get out of my comfort zone, push myself. That's good advice. At the same time, my name is not Darnell or Terri or Tonee or Jessica. I will never sound, look or lead worship like them. Yes, I need to be able to exhort if necessary, but I will NEVER mimic them completely and try to get their results.

So the conclusion is that maybe God doesn't want to use my particular gifts to lead worship in front of HOPE's House in this season. As a matter of fact, I'm taking on a new role as the Worship Leader for Children's Ministry. That's really exciting. I'll get to be able to teach kids about what worship is (and is not) and show them how to do it. Enough about that for now, though.

4. I will try new things in 2009. Here are a few of my ideas:
- Join a hiking club (I like hiking and I've never done much of it. Why not?)
- Explore Ventura Blvd on the weekends. Check out all of the shops and restaurants.
- Save up $$$ to take a trip. I think I want to do this every year from now on and go someplace new every year.

The way things are looking, 2009 will be another busy year. I better stop now so that my excitement doesn't start to turn into stress...lol. Happy New Year!