out with the old & in with the new! or whatever sharpay evans said.
volume seven | stained glass windows - happy 2025 new year!
hey there & happy new year morning! I hope you had a very happy year full of love & memories. welcome to a special post all about my 2024 season & what I’m praying over in 2025! thank you so, so dearly for being here! if you enjoy my content, please make sure that you are subscribed to get weekly updates straight to your inbox:
a surprise post: the 2024 year recap! & 2025 prayers!
“it’s out with the old & in with the new, goodbye clouds of gray, hello skies of blue! a dip in the pool, a trip to the spa. endless days in my chaise. the whole world according to moi!”
Sharpay Evans, singing “Fabulous” in the second High School Musical
another year has gone by, & once again, I feel forever changed! I look back on the entire 2024 season with so much peace, joy, & gratitude in my heart (especially for every single one of you reading this right now). I feel as though I am absolutely dancing in radiance under the hand of the Lord, every step I take echoing His mighty works + presence. sweet friend, the Lord can absolutely do so much in 365 days; He actually only needs one of those days to change your heart + entire life. will you trust Him to do so in 2025? will you give Him your heart to be changed?
look around, & in this moment, appreciate what you have right now - not many things will be the same in a year’s time if you let Jesus dictate your steps. God has shown me so much of His character + the meaning of being an obedient daughter in 2024, & I have complete faith in His plan for my 2025. He has placed such big things on my little heart! & I know He will see them to fulfillment! what has He placed on your heart over this last year that you have complete faith in for 2025?
⛅️ 2024: the Lord blossomed a ministry out of my willingness to obey + to use my gifts for His glory.
“I hear His voice calling out to me in the wind, a faint melody of His goodness trying to reach me from within. my hands grasp at His Psalm, & clutch His life-changing tune in their palms. my heart holds His voice like an new song, that when heard for the first time, I’d swear that I’ve known it all along.”
a poem by Ansley Claire, 2024, titled “the gentle sheet music of the Only Creator”
earlier this year, the Lord so clearly called me to start a blog dedicated to using my gifts to glorify Him. a month into college, He expanded that by directing me to pursue the blog further than just on this website. a month after that, He instructed me to start the path of pursuing ministry.
I know we’re not into the section for this upcoming year yet, but I just cannot help getting unbelievably excited every time I think about how much further He will water these seeds soon! (I also may be crying a tad while writing this piece!)
the Lord has continuously called me to step out into obedience & fully immerse myself in the calling He has placed on my heart. if you expect Him to move, He will! He has opened up so many opportunities this year that have so clearly aligned with His Scripture + His direct Words to me. in every moment He has spoken to me, it has been a completely random situation & I have felt so much peace + determination. my only response to Him was & will always be: here I am, God, send me!
here are some of these doors that He has so clearly opened up for me throughout 2024:
founding a blog! & developing Tuesday Mornings into a ministry!
becoming a 2024 Christian Leader of the Future as named by MS Christian Living Magazine!
getting an internship with said magazine over the summer!
also! got to write an article for one of the magazine editions!
read the actual piece: "to: God, love: Ansley Claire"
speaking at my high school’s last FCA of the 2024 school year!
proofread a book for a local author! & got the opportunity to write an endorsement for it!
got to attend Passion, The Live Original Sister Conference, & Unite Night!
read about Live Original: "the live original sister conference."
read about Unite Night: "unite night."
became a member of my college’s Wesley Foundation ministry team!
sweet friend, let this serve as proof that the Lord connects the dots of your life like no other. I am just an ordinary girl who serves an extraordinary God! every single step that I have danced & tear I have wept was orchestrated by the Only Creator. glory to God in the highest! oh, how sweet He is! how deserving He is of my obedience!
⛅️ 2025: a willing vessel for God to exalt Himself in + a heart that waits in expectation hidden in the secret place.
there are some really big goals/dreams that the Lord has placed on my heart, mainly pertaining to ministry work, that I have been called to keep a secret until He has watered them from seeds to flowers. in the meantime, I will continuously be in the secret place until the Spirit calls me out of it - waiting in expectation for the Lord to cast my steps, praying over what He has placed on my heart. this year, I desire to be so in sync with the will of the Father & for Him to always be glorified in my place. however, there is one thing that I’m so excited to share with you about 2025:
my word of the year: celebrate!
"write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year."
a quote from page 157 of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s 1870 work, Society & Solitude
the full definition of celebration is to “honor or praise publicly/to take part in special enjoyable activities in order to show that a particular occasion is important/to express admiration & approval for something or someone.”
the first reason I chose this word: it was literally the only word that came to mind when my mom asked me at the dinner table, “what is going to be your word for this year?”
the second reason I chose this word: I have more reasons to celebrate than I can count! just like that Emerson quote suggests, I can be joyful every single day of 2025 if I wake up counting on my day to be the best one yet. I also need to learn to celebrate when things are not looking so joyful in my life. I really don’t want the little negative things in life to dim my celebration!
the third reason I chose this word: isn’t the definition of celebration just so fitting in the context of Christianity?! my God is holy, & by publicly celebrating each day He has blessed me with, I am praising Him. celebration is honoring my deserving Father in Heaven! now, this I can do despite my circumstances seeing as just knowing Christ brings joy!
“this is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice & be glad in it.” - Psalm 118:24
in 2025, every day is going to be something to celebrate - I’ll just one big personality of party over here! friends, please hold me accountable in this season of celebration!
dear sweet friend + avid reader, I just want to personally thank you for supporting this dream that the Lord has placed on my heart. I wouldn’t be here without you! I am just absolutely always overflowing like a waterfall with gratitude + appreciation for all of your kindness, generosity, & prayers! I cannot even begin to describe how valuable you are to me; just thinking about all of the support you have blessed me with over this past year renders me without words, just tears of joy. never forget your worth, that you mean the absolute world to me, & that you will always have a friend in me. I love you & so does Jesus!
let me know: how can I pray for you? what’s your word of the year? where did you really see God in 2024?
this concludes 2024 reflection & my prayers of 2025! cheers to another year! thank you for being here & I hope to see you again soon! 🕊️ x Ansley Claire!
“therefore, encourage one another & build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” - 1 Thessalonians 5:11
So many amazing accomplishments and memories in 2024!! Can’t wait for the new ones in 2025!! So proud of you bestie! 🥹💝
This is so encouraging! It’s a good reminder to celebrate in 2025 🎉 no matter the circumstances around you!