Gratitude For A Year Of Surpassed Goals

I’ve re-read my goals for the year and re-read the evaluation of my goals for last year… and the truth is I’ve been trying to write an evaluation of my 2015 goals since the week began but just can’t seem to find the words…
It’s 10:30am right now and I have to put up this post so it can go out in email notifications by 11am and I still don’t have any words to put in the evaluation of my goals into writing.
I believe it’s because my goals are a mere shadow in the light of everything that’s happened this year.

 

Take this goal for example…

Closely tied to my time in NYSC this year is a plan to write a book(not necessarily something long) on my year in NYSC and how others can make their year count.
Mine will be with a twist anyway, mostly wrapped around what I know God will do with my year… It’s all to glorify God… And as I write this, I still don’t know if I should make this a concrete goal or not, or make for allowances to carry it over into 2016…but it’s a dream, it’s a desire in my heart.

 

God did give me the words for the book on NYSC along with words for “Chastity For Men” and my recently published book “10 Steps To Walking In purpose”.
I had no inkling about those other books… and then the meetings/discussions on purpose that have arisen from the book?
I planned none of it at the beginning of the year!

 

Take this goal again for example…

The entirety of 2015 for me is to walk in purpose and a big part of this involves a desire that God has put in my heart to speak to young girls in Secondary Schools.
I held the first of these events in December last year and it is my goal to continue this during my service year in 2015.

 

And then God opened doors for me not to just speak in Schools but there were two speaking engagements I had this year, one at a conference where I shared my story and one at a youth programme where I spoke on Chastity.
I was having a conversation with the person who invited me for the youth programme, he was speaking about his giving me honorarium and I almost laughed at the incredibility of it all.
Me? Speaking about honorarium?
Like I don’t understand.
It wasn’t about the money… it was about the fact that I was ministering at a programme at all…I was laughing at God’s awesomeness…like how did I get here Lord?
How?

 
And this goal…
A huge part of my walking in purpose also involves my writing for God.
In 2014, God took me deeper into the knowledge that writing for Him; my blog isn’t just a blog, it is a ministry.

 

This year I got several mails from my blog family…
I got the mail from the sister who opened her home to me…
Mails from people who say they’ve never met me but I am their sister in their heads…
Peopel who trust me enough to give them godly advice on issues they are passing through…
Someone who actually said to me when I adviced her that “I am going to take your words to me as God’s word to me…”
And I am like, this was just me taking God’s hands and asking Him to lead me in writing for Him…
An opportunity to serve His people with the pen…
How did this all get here Lord?
How do you take a little blog and turn it into a ministry?

 
I was speaking to a leader at Church when she – in a bid to encourage me (it was a period where I was in the middle of trusting God even though all I could see were waves) and she said, “I was in UK this year with a friend when she suddenly said I remind her of the lady of “Imperfectly perfect lives – Frances”.
And she was like “you know Frances?”
The friend (Sis, you know yourself) was like yes!
She was relating this incident to me in a bid to encourage me… “Like Frances, you don’t know what God is doing with you, He’s taking you to the nations, you don’t know where He is taking the work on this blog to, it’s global”.
And then all I could say in my heart was “Lord, why all these awesome stuffs with a lady who was dirt, a mess, NOTHING…

 

Is it the divine helpers He has sent to me from the blog?
Is it the provision for His walk in purpose in my life?
What is it this year that God hasn’t done for me???

 

And from this goal:
I had a goal to travel and enjoy my own company as a single lady in 2014 and started that up with one visit to where I’ve never been to before as a single lady last year.
Yes, I achieved that goal and now, I think that it’s time for more.
I signed myself up for a 12trip challenge for 2015.
Yep, maximizing my single hood!

 

From this goal is the beginning of what looks like God raising ladies who are satisfied in Him even in singlehood…
The Women At The Well…
What heart could have planned all these things in January? Definitely not mine.

 

So how does one evaluate goals that seem like nothing in the light of all God planned for the year?
I can’t… I can’t…
I can’t evaluate my goals because He surpassed them all.

 

And everything I know started from this one goal…
The entirety of 2015 for me is to walk in purpose…

 

Just that one decision I made to #WalkInPurpose… to walk in God’s purpose for my life changed my entire life!
I remember praying earnestly after Pastor Nat spoke on the will of God…
I prayed then and I still pray “Lord I only want to walk in your will for my life…”
That will took me to Ekiti State for a year, a place where I was alone and isolated… but in that isolation God had a plan.
He separated me for a season and in that season, He changed, moved, shook everything that needed to be shaken in me and from me… and replaced me with Himself.

 
What can I say then?
Romans 8 would say,
“What then shall we say to [all] this? If God is for us, who [can be] against us? [Who can be our foe, if God is on our side?]”
Romans 8:31

 

If God has ordained your path, it can only lead to light and more light.
2015 has taught me a lot, chief of which is…
Forever and ever, no matter what maybe, my first and only goal is to live in God’s will for me.
To walk in His purpose for my life.
To walk in His path…
This path involves Him and I am glad that it does… because all I am, all I will ever be finds expression in who He is.
Who He is is unshakable, unstoppable, immovable, good, kind, glorious, merciful, amazing, awesome, great and mighty King…
My Father, my God, my only God…
The lover of my soul… my Husband… my glory and the lifter of my head…
The one who has set my feet on a rock for Himself…
The one who has changed my story…
Made me His light…

 
What did I do to deserve you Lord?
Nothing…
All this is for your glory…

 

 

So to the God who surpasses goals…
The one who’s plans are better than our plans…
The one who shows us just an inkling of His plans for us but when they work out, they are surprises and bigger than we could ever have imagined…
The one whom I trust in… who never fails…
So many times I cried at your saying I should trust you… but that was so unnecessary… trusting you is me standing on secure ground and secure ground I did stand on this year 2015.

 

My heart has been singing I love you in the past days… I think of you Jesus and I am overwhelmed.. I feel all the emotions of a lady who loves a man for you, even much more so as you are not a man, you are God.
Today December 31st 2015, I have no words to evaluate nothing…
I can only stand in awe of You…
You are my glory… the One who crowns me with Himself.
Thank You.
Thank You.
Thank You my King.
*******************************************

 

I hope you all had a great year 2015 also?

I encourage us all not to give heed to the failures/seeming down times (I say seeming because even the downtime is all in God’s plan for good).

I am sure I can talk about some down times too if I look closely but I chose not to look closely, the only “looking closely” I chose to do is to be able to see His goodness.

Praise Him dears… worship Him for His goodness… He has been good.

Too good.

As you praise, you set the tone for more in 2016.

 

I love you guys.

Happy Happy New Year!

Our Year of His glory rising upon us!

Ha!

I know!

 

 

Love,

Frances.

 

 

 

P.S: I may be off blogging for a while… don’t miss me too much 🙂

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