Moments of LIGHT in 2018

My top 9 Instagram posts from 2018

Okay, I'm back to reflect a bit on 2018. IT. WAS. A. YEAR. Am I right?! If you haven't already watched my 2018 1 Second Every Day video, you can find it here. As I said in that post, it continues to be my favorite project, but I know it's hard to fully catch everything when you watch it "as an outsider".

I decided to write this post to give you a little more information on what 2018 looked like for me, but also to personally reflect back on the moments of LIGHT that I found along the way. As you may remember, I chose the word "light" as my word of the year so it felt important for me to think about what that looked like in 2018...

Moments of LIGHT in January: 

• Hearing the smiles and giggles from the kiddos in the village
• Drinking coffee, of course
• Bonding with a super cool gal
• Discovering beautiful doors
• Celebrating Maveric's 1st birthday from afar

Moments of LIGHT in February: 

• Being celebrated on my 30th birthday
• Celebrating three lovely ladies on their birthdays
• Drinking more coffee, reading and journaling
• Discovering yet another door
• Receiving super cute photos of my super cute nephew and niece

Moments of LIGHT in March:

• Reuniting with close friends
• Capturing a cute photo of Jimmy...the dog who lived in the citadel in Sighisoara
• Eating Chipotle
• Getting surprised by photos from Raegan's mini-photoshoot with her nesting doll dress 
• Visiting friends in St. Louis with other friends

Moments of LIGHT in April:

• Celebrating the beautiful marriage of a close friend
• Receiving a sweet photo from my It Takes Courage group
• Spending time with three of my besties
• Celebrating Easter with my family

Moments of LIGHT in May:

• Eating ice cream at the good ole Union Dairy
• Celebrating my mom's birthday with Mexican food
• Taking neighborhood walks with the family
• Reading "You are Free" by Rebekah Lyons
• Stopping to smell the peonies
• Attending the Reaching Europe's Children conference in Hungary
• Capturing a door with my favorite door model
• Celebrating the local high school graduation in Sighisoara

Moments of LIGHT in June:

• Celebrating the "graduation" of It Takes Courage
• Posing for a photo with my Romanian Studies Program summer student
• Stopping to smell (and pick) the wildflowers
• Reading Katie Davis' book, "Daring to Hope"
• Creating with kiddos
• Enjoying a visit from good friends
• Leading English Camp for the 4th year

Moments of LIGHT in July:

• Participating in a service project with It Takes Courage and ITC 2.0
• Spending time with some beautiful ladies
• Celebrating little kid birthdays
• Making cute crafts with the cutest kiddos in the village
• Finding out the gender of the new Barr baby
• Inviting a bunch of teenagers over to my house 
• Admiring Romania's beauty

Moments of LIGHT in August:

• Re-reading an incredible book
• Bringing my two worlds together by hanging out with an American bestie and a Romanian bestie
• Visiting Belgium with Erica (all four photos in the middle)
• Enjoying camp in the village with my favorite kiddos

Moments of LIGHT in September:

• Celebrating 25 years since Dorothy came to Romania with a vision to impact the community
• Attending Veritas' annual open house where Adela always displays her face painting talent
• Celebrating Adela's birthday
• Attending the Central Europe Field Conference in Albania
• Discovering some beauty at a nearby castle 
• Loving the cute little faces of the kiddos in the village

Moments of LIGHT in October:

• Meeting new teens in Sighisoara and helping them to build their character
• Starting a new year of It Takes Courage with our biggest group ever!
• Drinking more coffee
• Enjoying the annual Veritas staff retreat in the mountains
• Observing sibling love in the village
• Attending a week of training at the Nazarene Global Ministry Center in Kansas

Moments of LIGHT in November:

• Spending a few days at home to visit friends and family
• Visiting a cultural center in a nearby town in Romania
• Taking a cute pic with Adela
• Celebrating the birth of Holden James Barr!
• Taking the It Takes Courage teens to serve the kiddos in the village
• Attending the church's district assembly 
• Celebrating Thanksgiving with some other Americans in Sighisoara

Moments of LIGHT in December:

• Enjoying a mini "field trip" with the It Takes Courage 2.0
• Saying goodbye to my Romanian Studies Program fall student
• Celebrating a birthday of the sweetest little boy with one of the most amazing families (top middle photo)
• Being reminded to be the LIGHT at the children's Christmas program in the village (bottom middle photo)
• Flying home and seeing the beauty of Chicago from above
• Surprising Raegan on her SIXTH birthday
• Enjoying a last-minute visit from a close friend
• Spending time with baby Holden
• Celebrating Christmas with my family for the first time since 2014

So there you have it. 2018 was truly a year full of light. I was constantly amazed at how much light I found simply because I was looking for it. Now, of course there were dark moments as well, but finding the light had become such a habit that I could more easily get myself out of the dark than before. Even though we're almost one month into 2019, I'm still continuing to see the light...and I think the word "light" will not just be a 2018 thing, but more like a lifetime thing. 

I'll leave you with this super cute photo of Raegan and Maveric enjoying the last few moments of 2018.