~ Hello, 2018 ~

| Allison

It is 2018. IT IS 2018!

Surprisingly, it feels right to say that. I’m usually amazed that the next year has come so fast, and I sort of am this year as well, but it doesn’t feel as weird as usual. 2018 doesn’t seem that strange to type or write, it feels good.

But before I delve into this new year, I wanted to recap the last. So here you go! 2017 in review.

Guys this has been quite the year…

~ Highlights of 2017 ~

  • We bought a new farm.
  • I started a new Etsy shop.
  • I reached over 3,000 followers on my blog.
  • I started my last year of school!
  • I took hundreds (probably over a thousand) photos, and better learned how to use my DSLR. You can find a lot of my favorite pictures from this year here, here, and here.)
  • I made so much art.
  • I (and my friends, of course) deepened friendships both in real life and through blogging. ♥ I especially enjoyed getting to know my blogging friends better – you guys are the BEST, and I love emailing/commenting/writing to you and reading your amazing posts!
  • My siblings and I raised and sold adorable baby bunnies.
  • My family went on trips to Assateague, Chincoteague, and Amelia Island. 😀
  • I played piano for church!
  • We went camping with family.
  • We creamed 150 quarts of corn. O.o
  • We watched the solar eclipse!
  • And so many more memories. ♥

I learned a lot this year, and I feel like God grew me as well (although not in size – I think I’m about done growing now XD). More and more often I found myself stepping back from the moment and seeing the big picture and the small blessings, and realizing that almost every worry loses its urgency and importance in light of eternity.

Ahem. Anyway, before we move on to the goals/resolutions, we must have the obligatory stats, right? XD

~ 2017 Stats ~

stats 2017

  • Views: 50,174
  • Visitors: 16,171
  • Likes: 10,656
  • Comments: 8,958
  • Total Posts (over all years): 456

~ Popular Posts from 2017 ~

So those are some of you guys’ favorite posts… here are some of my favorite posts. Actually these are just the posts with some of my favorite photos from 2017 in them. 😉

~ Best Photography Posts of 2017 ~

  • Summer 2017: basically summer memories + a selection of summer’s best pictures.

summer 2017

  • Bunnies in Autumn: One of my very favorite photoshoots of the entire year! EEEE THEY’RE SO CUTE!

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~ Resolutions ~

And now for last year’s goals… Let’s see how I did.

  • Meet at least one more of my blogger friends. Sort of not really? I got to video chat with one of my friends, which was SO fun, and I saw pictures/videos of many others, but sadly I did not meet any in real life. :/ Oh well, there’s always next year!
  • Grow my Etsy shop. If I was talking about my clay Etsy shop… not exactly. If you’re talking about my new art Etsy shop, yes! (Since I have two sales compared to zero when I started. XD) I think this year was sort of a practice run and I’m looking forward to digging deeper into this business in the coming year.
  • Start a Bible journal and keep it going throughout the year. Check! So far I’m in 1 Samuel, and I’ve hand lettered my favorite verse from all the chapters I’ve read so far. I cannot WAIT to see all the journals when I’m done, and I’m definitely going to continue this goal into 2018.

So what is my New Year’s resolution for 2018? Well, it ties in to one of the most important things I’ve learned this year: I can’t do it.

You know on Disney movies how they’re always like, “Believe in yourself”? That’s true, to a point… but only to a point. I’m not saying self-doubt is good or you should hate yourself – not at all! That’s way too far in the other direction.

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BUT. The thing is, I’m a pretty poor thing to believe in. I’m broken and fallen and weak, and so are we all. But even though I know that, sometimes I forget, and think that I know best instead of God.

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Considering moving and selling the farm and other things that are out of my control has shown me that I just can’t do this on my own. I’m not big enough, not strong enough to change the weather or the timing of plans or… well, anything.

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But see, this is not depressing or sad for me – it’s a relief. Because even though I can’t do it, God can – and he will. Why would I want to believe in myself and my weakness, when I can believe in God and his strength? I wouldn’t. I don’t.

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So one of my “New Year’s resolutions” is to believe less in myself and more in God. I’ll have to put it into practice to even complete it, because I certainly can’t do that on my own!

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So yeah. Those are my thoughts (and some pictures) from this past year.

summer

I can’t wait to see what God will do next year. Eeep, it’s so exciting just thinking about it! Happy New Year’s, guys. I hope it’s the best one so far.

Bring it on, 2018. I can’t do this… but God can.

***Allison***

82 thoughts on “~ Hello, 2018 ~”

  6. Happy 2018! I had fun reading this post, and seeing some of what you did earlier in the year, as I only discovered you in the fall 😃 Great job, and good luck for this year!

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        1. Ooh, really? That’s great! Hmm, well I really like it but I don’t know if it would be good for beginners or not… What do you have experience with so far? I mean, you can definitely figure it out, but it’s a DSLR, so it’s a bit more complicated than other cameras (but you already knew that XD). As far as DSLRs go, it seems like it’d be a good beginner option – and you can always start with the Automatic setting instead of Manual until you get the hang of it. I’d be happy to (at least try to) answer any questions if you get it! I hope you can!

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          1. Oh, okay! Well, I have a point and shoot now, and I’ve pretty much figured out all of the features that it has, ( which aren’t a lot), and I’m looking for something that will be able to grow with me. 😇

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  12. Great post, Allison! Your goal for 2018 is a worthy one, and something I should think about more, as well.
    I love the pictures you used in this post, and your favorite photography posts are some of my favorites from your blog, as well. 🙂
    ~Sassafras

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  14. Wow! What a year you had, how awesome . It’s amazing to look back and actually see how much we did accomplish. While we are busy, it’s hard to see. Once we stop and review, it’s unbelievable what we are capable of. Happy New Year 🎆🎊 I’m enjoying your blog. Many blessings and be well!

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  16. This was a wonderful post, Allison! ❤ I loved seeing all of the beautiful pictures and reading about your year. I also really liked what you said about "I can't do it". That was really encouraging! 😀
    Happy 2018!

    -Clara ❤

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  19. Happy New Year, Allison! And great part on believing in God. Very true that it’s God to believe in rather than ourselves. We have responsibility to work hard, but He is completely sovereign over any efforts and goals we make.
    Have a blessed 2018!
    ~Gracie

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  22. It seems like you had a blessed year of 2017!
    God has truly worked through you to reach the blogging community around you, and is continuing to do so right now. 🙂 ❤
    I've enjoyed reading every single one of your posts and can't wait to see some more!

    Blog on!
    Lydia ❤

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  23. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! I know what you mean about making ‘resolutions’ or ‘goals’ —-we can’t do it. You’re right. One time I was wondering why we remake so many of the same goals every year. Probably because we didn’t match up to our own expectations the previous year. Whenever I try to do something in my own own strength, I ultimately will fail in the end. 😀 Thanks for this post, Allison!

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  25. What do you really put in you Bible journal? Just verses you like, or what you think the verses mean? Or do write in blessings and things you think God is behind?
    Happy New Year! I wish you many blessings for 2018 and may God be with you every day.

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  31. This was a wonderful post, Allison! I loved hearing of your fun in 2018! And you are so right, trusting God in those kinds of situations is so important! 😀 Thanks for the encouragement! 2018 is going to be an epic year! 😀

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