Wow, 2014 has flown by don’t you think? This is a special post, detailing a few of the important and impacting events that occurred this year for me personally, and briefly highlighting the rest; relaying them back to how God has shaped me as a person and a believer today. As we are gearing up to the end of the year I thought that a post like this- a special post after a week of hiatus (yes, this is our first post since 6 days ago!), is fitting, seeing that there have been quite a lot of changes of late in my life and the life of the site.

Hands up who can remember what you did on New Year’s Day this year. Nope, me neither. I don’t really remember the intricate details of everything that happened on the day, and although the past 300 and something days have been quick, they also have been very slow as well, and there has been a lot of things jam packed within them. In fact, this year may be one of the most satisfying year’s ever! What are these changes, you ask? Well I’m glad you did as I will be talking about them now.

Firstly, the music site I was working for closed down. That was a very significant change. Christian Music Zine had been operational since 2008, and as of April this year, the owner decided that it was time to close it down. There were a number of contributing factors and reasons surrounding this decision, but I won’t bore you with the details. Essentially the owner wanted to be a professional writer, and he had already written some fiction books prior to this year as well. So that was how CMZ came to an end, and that period in my life is something I will always cherish.

Shortly after that I started up my own website. The site I am posting on now, 365 Days of Inspiring Media, is a site that inspires, motivates and points people to Jesus as I delve into music, movies, books and TV shows, as well as speak about various other prevalent topics in the form of blogs. And so far it has been a blast and such an enjoyment, and great fun encouraging people and hopefully helping them grow in their relationship with Jesus! Hopefully this is a site that will bless many, and last a long time. I can only pray that lives come to Christ through my words. What do you guys think of the site?

While this post is not intended to be a list of all my accomplishments and feats this year, in an egotistical and big-headed attitude that places me on a pedestal above everyone else, saying ‘oh, look at me, I have done this, this and this, and you haven’t); rather this post is meant to encourage you all in the things that God has shown me this year and what he has brought me through. Never before in my wildest dreams could I have thought that I would be running a website even one year ago, but God works in mysterious ways and things can change in the blink of an eye. Which brings me to the next accomplishment of mine.

I am sure you all have seen how myself and my team have taken a break from posting anything on the site in about a week. Now this is unusual to say the least, as usually there is at least one post per day on the site since the inception back in May, mostly by myself and Jonathan as the founders. But as time progresses, things change. Right now my brother and I are starting a paid working job as we have started a family food franchise business (as of a week ago), which is taking up the most of our time at the moment. This job of running a café has been very fun so far and I have thoroughly enjoyed serving people and covertly spreading the love of God to the community, but as a result of no fault off my own, the website has suffered. Maybe some of you are wondering where we are, and I would like to say that yes, we’re still here, still alive, and we hope to post, but not at the same frequency as before. And we hope that our other contributors find time to post more frequently as well- but they haven’t unfortunately due to many factors outside of their control. And that’s fine.

So as far as achievements and important stuff goes, being a member of Shingle Inn and owning my website are pretty big. On top of that here are some other highlights of the past year that I will briefly discuss. I worked at Mission Australia for a time before starting at my family franchise at Shingle Inn, and that experience more than prepared me for working life, it also helped me work with various groups of people. The unfortunate, unexpected and tragic deaths of cricketer Phil Hughes, and actor Robin Williams, as well as a close friend from church who knew me and Jon very well, reminded me of how short life is, and has in a weird and unusual way, helped me to live life to the fullest with the plan God has for me. And also this year, I expanded my cooking repertoire and cut back on my TV shows. This may not seem like a big deal, but to me it is, so I thought I would express it in this blog.

Tuesday night is bible study night, and after spending many years of having the lifegroup at church, Jon and I opened up our home and from this year onwards we have had bible study in our house instead, which is very enjoyable. Jon and I also tried to catch up with our friends even though we hadn’t seen them face to face for ages. For one of our friends we hadn’t seen each other since February and another we hadn’t seen him since September, and May before that. To catch up and talk like not a day had passed, made me think about true friendship, and whether the advent of social media has dampened our views on friends. But that’s for another post, and it was challenging for me to think about these issues.

While blogs will be taking a break until next year, and the same with Sunday News Roundup (we are posting a roundup next week- a special 2 week Christmas edition); reviews will still trickle in in December, and will start in full pelt (hopefully) in 2015. So hang tight everyone, and let’s take the time we have gained as we unplug from the internet, and focus on God and his direction for our lives in 2015. What I have learned this past week with my mind completely focused on the business and off twitter, facebook, and the website, is that there are so many different facets to life. If we only focus on one part, like what we did with the website most of this past year; then we miss out on other aspects of life, such as spending time with friends and what God may have in store for us. He may show us the signs but if we are tunnel visioned, then can we really live to who God wants us to be? Food for thought as we approach the end of 2014.

What have been the achievements of 2014 that have drawn you closer to God? What do you hope to achieve in 2015?