Hellooo, 2018! It has been quite a journey through 2017. A lot happened – we saw a couple hurricanes, hundreds of mass shootings, fires that have destroyed a large part of the West coast, and countless deaths. With the end of this year, there has been a lot of negativity surrounding 2017, whether it is political, cultural or some combination of the two. I believe that this year was especially trying for a lot of people.

But it was not all bad.

In 2017, we had a solar eclipse. The heavenly bodies aligned perfectly to showcase God's immense and wonderful talent as an artist. I think that in the age of the internet, we can sometimes forget to take a step back and look at the beauty all around us. For me, the eclipse helped to point my views back to the sky. The stars are beautiful, regardless of the positioning of the moon and the sun.

There was also a change in the way our economies function with the rise of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. If you don't know what bitcoin or cryptocurrencies are, they're pretty cool. You can follow this link for a decent explanation of what bitcoin is if you're curious. I would recommend reading up on it; it might just change the world.

There have also been strides taken in the battle against sexual assualt. The #MeToo campaign, which circulated during October, brought a lot of awareness to the issue, and with Roy Moore losing the election in Alabama, our culture seems to be looking in the right direction concerning the issue. Progress is slow, and there is a huge amount of pain, but there has been progress.

I don't have anything to compare to that in scope, and so I'm not going to try. In the sports world, we had a pretty cool Super Bowl back in February. The Patriots, led by the GOAT Tom Brady, overcame the largest deficit in Super Bowl history by winning in overtime after being down 28-3 at halftime. No matter who you wanted to win that game, it was an adventure to watch.

Also in the sports world, we saw the Astros win the World Series. After the hurricanes, Houston was damaged, so to have the Astros battle through the playoffs to defeat the Dodgers in 7 exciting games showed us that Houston can fight their way through the disasters that have struck them this year. It's hard, but it's not over. #houstonstrong

Also, Tim Tams came to the USA. Tim Tams are Australian cookies that are pretty sweet (pun intended), so to have them in America is a cool thing.

2017 was a year full of hardships, but we had some bright spots, too. It's also been a year of huge development for me personally. I've visted Ireland, a good portion of the continental US, been a part of ResLife at George Fox University, gotten to build some great relationships with some great people and seen some pretty cool things. Through everything this year, I was able to see God at work.

I'm excited to see how God works in 2018, too. No matter what happens, I know God will be at work. I'm excited to see how he works in your life and also in mine. 2017 is over. 2018, it's your turn. Let's see what you've got.