I'm very excited to introduce you to one of my favourite people in the world...COURTNEY! I've had the honour of being friends with Courtney for the past four years..the beginning of our friendship was kind of a funny thing but you can read more about it here. Courtney is one of my closest friends and one of the first people I go to for advice, she's crazy wise and just so wonderful so listen up to her one word...!

"I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid." John 14:27 NLT

I started out 2014 with a bang! I turned the big 3-0. And no matter what anyone says, turning 30 does make one look at their life. Most people would head into their thirties thinking about all that they have accomplished and what was in store for the next 30. However, I was one of those people who started to look at all the things I hadn’t accomplished. All of the things I had yet to check off as complete. And then something changed.

When Laura suggested we all pick one word for 2014, I immediately thought my word was “patience”. I just had to be patient. If I kept waiting and was patient enough things would fall into place. Here I was, 30, and there were things in my life I had not yet experienced and its hard not to worry that they never will. I was convinced I just needed to pray for more patience and to wait for those things to happen.

It soon became clear that I didn’t need patience. What I needed was Peace.

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 NLT

A few years back I did the Esther bible study by Beth Moore. There is a verse in Esther 4:14 that ends with the phrase “…for such a time as this.” That verse has always stuck with me. I so often look for what is yet to happen, spending time worrying about where I’m “supposed” to be, I was missing out on an amazing portion of my life. Life isn't a race. There are no first place ribbons for being the first person with a degree, the first person with a house and yacht or the first married.

A wise person in my life helped me to realize what a blessing it is to be 30 and in my position. A position of great possibility. I have dubbed this year, the year of Courtney (and yes this was stolen from a TV show). Taking time to live in the now. And I have found the peace that has turned this year into a time of looking at what’s happening right now, instead of what isn’t happening. I don’t want to miss out on the moments that life is measured by. Moments like when your bestie buys you a present to show you she's proud of you. Or hearing your nephew tell you he loves you 80,260 times to the moon and back just because he actually does. Those are the moments that make my life meaningful, that make it important.

I’m sure I will have my moments of questioning or doubt. But I need to have remain confident in the fact that I am exactly where I am supposed to be, that I have been called for such a time as this.