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Its the end of a decade.

  • Writer: Miranda Cook
    Miranda Cook
  • Dec 4, 2019
  • 5 min read

2019 was an impactful year. As I look back on this year, I started in a very different place from where I am ending. Praise God!


In the first 6 months of the year, I was striving. Striving to get a new job. Striving to get out of a bad environment. Striving to learn how to be in content. Striving to build community. I do not use "striving" as a positive for my year. I mean I was failing hard. Life was hard. Life was not going where I planned it to go. I had to lean on the Father.


After six months of striving and failing, I told God that I would stop striving and instead be content where he had me.


So he gave me a new job in a new city. The Lord has a sense of humor. None of my plans were in line with what he had planned for me. His plans are so much better.


In the most recent 6 months, God has been faithful to make the changes he promised. I got a new job, moved to a new city, and worked really hard to build disciplines in my life. 



I started 2019 desiring to be a disciple of discipline. I wanted to be disciplined financially, creatively, and spiritually.


Financially, God really has worked in me this year to continue to spend His money well. I fail a lot but he has walked me through it step by step. (Check out The Treasure Principle: Unlocking the Secret of Joyful Giving by Randy Alcorn)


Creatively, I really wanted to write my blog and do it really well. I learned that blogging isn't my thing. I have seasons of life that I need to get out all of my thoughts into the world. And I have seasons that I don't know what to write about. I plan to keep this blog and post continually but it won't be something that I push. Coming next year will be an advent bible study that I am starting to work on.


Let's take a moment to recap this year on Life with Miranda Mae... We started the year with Praying for our Friends during 2019; then we looked at 1 Corinthians 13 in 7 weeks; for my birthday I updated you on 25 lessons in my 25 years; finally, we reviewed accountability, our love story with God, and when life sucks. This year I started a Pinterest, check it out!


Spiritually, I needed to push myself out of a dry season with the Lord and into one full of life. The Lord has been faithful here. The changes in the past 6 months have really nourished this part of my soul and it has been beautiful. Some things I've implemented include a chair that is my bible reading/prayer time chair; scripture memory through the Bible Memory app; writing 5 things I am thankful for at the end of the day; implementing a routine to reach out to friends; and building a community of believers.


I started 2019 with big goals for myself. I focused on losing weight (thank you 2B Mindset), growing my savings account, buying a car, and reading a book a month. I accomplished all those things and read way more than one book a month! The Lord has definitely helped me to be more diligent with my time this year and it helped make it a beautiful year.



As I end this post, I want to share with you some great reads of the year.


Dumplin' by Julie Murphy

If you haven't seen the Netflix movie, the book is way better. If you are like me and love teen RomCom then this book is for you. I still need to read the sequel, Puddin', maybe in 2020.


Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis 

Definitely a must read and challenging!


The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank  

Anne was so strong and so wise for her age.


The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis 

What a classic.


If you need a challenge or a kick in the butt, you are welcome.


The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh 

I think this book has changed me forever.


If the first kick in the butt was good enough, try this one.


The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis


More Than a Carpenter by Josh McDowell

A third kick, just in case.


Zeitoun by Dave Eggers

I wasn't sure about this book when I picked it up but it is a great story of what actually happened during Katrina and the devastation of sin in our world.



Elite Guardian Series by Lynette Eason 

This was a fun and easy read! Christian fiction is a great change of pace. I couldn't put this series down!  


I love to read poetry every once in a while. It is always thought provoking. Definitely a good read. 


A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly

If you didn’t know, this is my favorite book of all time. I try to read it every year. I read it this year in a time that I was really struggling with the way things were going. This book brings my back to middle school when I first fell in love with the sweet story. I can see so much of myself in the main character. 


I read this book as part of a book club. This book was long but also a great story of a man that endured a lot and in the end found Jesus, our Savior. 


This story really started my journey to be a discipline of discipline with my money. 


If you’ve seen the Netflix movie then you know the sweet story. Somtimes a cute RomCom is just what you need. 



What’s next on my bookshelf? Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. Why not read the book, watch the OG movie and see the new movie? What a great start to 2020.


Other goals for 2020... 1. Losing a few more pounds - I have a goal in mind and I want to achieve it. 2. Writing one Bible Study, I am thinking advent for December! 3. Going on a few vacations and getting my savings replenished! This year I am going to Loveland, CO; Portland, ME; and Springfield, MO! I am in my 8th wedding so that has some additional costs to it as well. In 2020, I will start my second masters in School Counseling so that will take up lots of my time.


Similar to 2019, 2020 will be an impactful year and I look forward to updating you then.


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