It's going to be 2016 in a little less than ten hours, so I thought I should write one more blog post in 2015.

How was your year? Mine was pretty great. Sure there were a few things that were unpleasant, but so many more happy things happened then them. God is so good, and He blessed me so much. 

     So for the last blog post of 2015, I decided to write about things I suggest you do in 2016. 

    1. Pick a Bible plan. This year I did the M'cheney Bible plan, which was a really good thing. It really helped me, (at first forced me) to dig deeper into the word. I hadn't really taken it seriously before, but now I really enjoy reading the Bible, and I'm much more familiar with the Bible. 

    It did have a few things that I didn't like, which were simply that the prophetic books were included, and I find that they can't just be read quickly. There's so many symbolic things, and they have to be studied really closely, so I did skip over Daniel, most of Ezekiel, and Revelation, and a few of the minor prophets. 

   Even if you don't want to do a 'read the Bible in a year' plan, I really urge you to get at least half the year filled up with plans. I'm using smaller plans, and just doing one at a time, so I'm hoping that will work well. I'm also going to try to memorize a few verses a week. I really didn't memorize any this year, so that's something I want to focus on.

   2. Read some great books! I don't just mean fictional books, although I enjoy them too, we readers really need to spend some time reading other books. I know that reading so much adventure can make the others seem boring, but trust me that's the more reason to read them. I suggest Set-Apart Woman by Leslie Ludy, which was a very good book. I'm currently reading through Sacred Singleness, also by Leslie Ludy, and it is amazing. I'm almost done it, and rather than focusing on how to find your soulmate, or how to make sure that you're properly dealing with the dating-courtship issue, it addresses what we should be doing with our single years. It focuses on letting it go, and not being worried about it all the time. 

   I also suggest the 'Christian Heroes: Then & Now' series, which is about a bunch of different missionaries. It is really inspiring and humbling to read about their struggles, victories, and what the Lord did in their lives. My personal favourites are Rachel Saint, Mary Slessor, David Livingstone, Amy Carmichael, & Gladys Alward.

    3. Think more about others than yourself. I know I'm still working on this one! Help those in need, and ask yourself if you're hurting someone else before you do something. Think about those in other countries, and the plight of slavery. Become more responsible in your buying. 

    4. Watch Polycarp: Destroyer of Gods. This movie is so good. Also you should really watch Amazing Grace, it's literally *pun alert* amazing.

    5. Laugh more. We take things way too seriously. We get insulted easily, we get embarrassed and angry if someone says anything about us that we don't like. You know what? Your hair probably does look funny, you probably are dying after that run, you probably did a bad job trying to do that fancy thing. So what? If you can't laugh at yourself, life is going to be pretty hard. There's always going to be something you do wrong, or someone who is a fault-finder, but you have to deal with it! We have to choose to be happy. 

   I hope you all have a wonderful 2016. I'm going to be going all of January without any social media, but I'm still going to be blogging. I'm not going to be using pinterest, snapchat, instagram (except my musings of a God girl account), or Facebook. Let's see how that goes! I'm hoping I'll have a lot more time to do writing, and other things that I'm missing out on.

     Here's some verses to take into the new year with you!

    "This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.But ye have not so learned Christ; If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil. Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice. And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." Ephesians 4:17-32

      God Bless you!
    Sincerely, Rachel R.