10 Senior Year Rules to Live By

So supposedly I began my senior year today... at 8:00 AM. So that is weird. It was my last first day of class ever. It's kind of hitting me...

I only have one year left. And I want this to be the best year yet. I want this year to be big and full of life. 

I am daring myself to live a little differently this year... to not hold back and to really live. I have set 10 goals or guidelines for this year and I really hope to stick to them.

1.  LIVE PASSIONATELY- I want this to be a year that I live with a passion behind everything that I do. I want to find the things I love and DO them. I want to serve the Lord with a passionate heart. I want to lead my Young Life team passionately. I want to throw my entire heart behind things and I want to passionately declare the Lord's name in all that I do... as you can see, I am all about the passion.
2. LIVE FREELY- It is for freedom, that Christ has set us free (Gal. 5:1) and I want to live like that. It's not every year that I am a 21-year-old senior at the University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill... but it is this year. I am at a point in my life where I am not tied down by a lot and I want to fully embrace that. I don't want to live this year confined by boundaries, but instead I want to run wild and free and experience the freedom that Christ intended for us.
3. BE SPONTANEOUS- Road trip to Nashville? Why not? Fly to Chicago? Sure. Dance in the rain? You betcha. As T-Swift would say, "Drop everything now, meet me in the pouring rain..."
4. GIVE EXTRAVAGANTLY- I want to be a person this year that is always giving. I want to be able to pour out from the overflow of Christ that is in me. I want to be giving of time to all of the people that are around me. The Lord has blessed me with so many incredible friendships and relationships and I want to give my time to those. I want to be able to truly value the people that are in my life by giving away of myself to them. In Luke 6:30 it says "give to everyone who asks of you" and I want to live that out this year. 
5. DON'T MISS THE SMALL THINGS- One of the biggest things that I learned this summer was to appreciate the small things. In the small things of this summer I experienced the Lord in a completely new way and I felt so incredibly blessed. I want to fully take in Chapel Hill in the fall, the beauty of Saturday football games, the simplicity of coffee in the morning, and the joy of North Carolina weather. I don't want to miss those things at all... therefore, I am going to start another page on this blog where I will post one small thing from everyday that spoke to me. I want it to be a page that shows where I see God everyday.
6. ADVENTURES- This one definitely relates a little bit to the spontaneity goal, but I do want to be adventurous this year. I want to experience God in nature by going on outdoor adventures. I live in one of the best states for outdoor recreation and I want to fully embrace that... so hiking, camping, fishing, fun, here I come!!!
7. EXTEND GRACE DAILY- This is one goal that may be more challenging at times, but it is one that I know is extremely important. The grace that has been given to me by my Heavenly Father is immeasurable and because of that I must extend that grace back out. I want to keep short accounts and I want to live outside of myself.
8. BE BOLD- Enough said.
9. LOVE UNCONDITIONALLY AND ALWAYS- I am currently reading Love Does by Bob Goff and I am beginning to realize that I have a lot to learn on love and a lot of ways that I can improve loving people. Simply put, love does. Love moves things and love changes things and I want to love God, the people around me, my ECHHS  friends, my Young Life team, my Timber Wolf friends all around, and the world in such a new way. 
10. NO EXPECTATIONS- I don't want to live with any expectations this year. My expectations will only limit God. The Lord has taught me that He knows far better than I do and that He has a plan far superior to my own, therefore, I will give my expectations to Him. My only expectation is that the Lord will be faithful.

Let's get it senior year. I'm ready for ya.