Today I turned 27. 今日私は27歳になりました。

So here I am…27 years old and grateful to be home this holiday season. It’s crazy to think about the fact that I spent my 24th, 25th and 26th birthdays in Japan! And now I am back and celebrating the joy of turning another year older by making gingerbread houses with my nieces and nephews, getting donuts and hot cocoa from my dad, and going to brunch with my siblings. Man, it’s good to be home!

26 was a momentous year for me. I hosted a bunch of loved ones in Japan, finished up my three year job at Ichikashi, hiked Mt. Fuji and moved back stateside. And now I am beginning this new journey as a 27 year old!

The older I get, the more I feel like God is peeling back the blinds and exposing so much more to me. More about how He truly created us to live authentically - without this heaviness and fogginess that comes from the chaos of this world. My prayer for my 27th year of life is that I would continue to grow in confidence, assurance and diligence in all the Lord has for me. I want to see with clear and crisp vision, highly aware of the presence of God in every aspect of my life.

God is truly a faithful and loving Father. He has blessed me more than I even realize…and this is my final prayer…

"Lord, grant that, in all my weakness,
I would remain close to the one clear, grand theme of my life :
your magnificence."
-j.piper.