My Jesus Year?

I have not given much thought to turning 33, aside from which affordable anti-aging products to add to my regiment.  The singleness monster has shown it's ugly head a bit in regards to the aging, but I haven't really thought about the number 33. 

Then, my college roomate called to wish me "Happy Jesus Year" instead of Happy Birthday.  She is the registrar for a school of theology, so it was natural for her to think of this.  I thought about this for a brief moment and then moved on with my birthday.  Later, I got my birthday present from her in the mail and she had written again, "Happy Jesus Year".  It's resonated with me since then.

Perhaps because 2011 has continuously kicked my tail, perhaps because I feel like this past summer could be named my "summer of discontent", and perhaps because mother nature seems to have lost her mind - I feel like there is something to this.

Turns out there are Jesus Year books (though I'm not sure the guy wrote it at 33), and Jesus Year blogs chronicaling folks' 33yrd year (some clean, some not).  The blogs are focused on finally doing something with your life, giving back, and getting down to the nitty-gritty.  Hopefully, I've been doing that all along, but I can confirm that there are definitely new and different spiritual stirrings going on in me that I surely hope produce something good.  I relate to the author of The Jesus Year book, who is the son of a rabbi that grew up in Georgia, and decided to spend the year learning about the faith of Christians.  While he remained Orthodox Jew at the end, he said he had a spiritual rebirth where his faith became very personal.  I can feel that happening.

I would also like to thank Jenny at http://jesusyearproject.com/, who confirmed my fear that taking off for a year to Europe means lots of adventures but also lots of lonely crying.  While the idea sounds so grand and romantic and she has some amazing pictures to show for it, I think I'd rather share it with friends and leave my lonely crying for home - where you can go meet a friend and do something and not stay in that condition.

I felt my calendar's scripture of the day applies to this feeling of "what on earth is going on and what do I do with myself?".  It says:
I delight to do thy will, O my God:  yea, thy law is within my heart.  Psalm 40:8, KJV

I think this fits because I have learned that whenever I am in lost in life, I am found again by doing God's will (the basic stuff that I know is right) and by keeping His laws.