Posted in: FAITH
Every year I choose a word. A word to focus the year on. A word to set my intentions. Today on the podcast I’m sharing with you my process and how I come up with my word each year.
My word for 2002: SLOW
While I can’t slow down time, I can quiet my heart and my soul and the intention of my heart.
Slow down, take a deep breath and notice God.
Don’t miss the miracle.
Click the links below to read about my other words in years past:
I’ve been doing a “word of the year” since 2011, and it’s a great way to focus your year. Set your intentions and goals. If you haven’t done a word of the year ever, I really encourage you to do one.
For me it starts with prayer and sitting down with my journal. Last year my word was Flourish, you can read more about that here.
To hear more about my word for 2019, keep reading.
Depending on what perspective you’re coming from this word may have a negative connotation to it. For some this might be the case, would you agree?
Maybe you’ve felt at times that you never wanted to come across as to bold or to much. Maybe you’ve been afraid like me to step out in bold ways, even though you knew that’s what God was asking you to do. I’m super into word studies and knowing the definitions of words. Yup, I’m a little nerdy like that. I’ve realized often times our experiences good or bad have given us a false sense of what words really mean.
Bod means not hesitating or fearful, courageous, and daring.
When I actually looked up the definition of this word and spent some time on it, I realized who doesn’t want to be courageous and daring? Who wants to live in fear?
Not me, I’m over it. I hope you are too.
Who wants to be confidents and hesitate in their life?
Me. Oh, yes I want to live boldly this year.
Maybe you want to as well.
Maybe you are over the fear as well, and want to live more fearlessly in your life. Maybe you want to live more courageously and take a leap into something new. Maybe God is calling you to be bold in your life, like he’s calling me.
Taking chances, going for it. Creating new things, having new experiences and living a bold life for Him.
Do you have a word for the year? If so, I’d love for you to share it in the comments below.
All my important conversations these days with my kids happen in the car. Maybe it's because they are strapped in and can't go anywhere. Maybe it's because they are totally undistracted and have time to think and ask me all the hard stuff. Either way, it's happening. Anyone else with me?
A few weeks ago we were headed to school in the morning and my six year old daughter asked me;
"Mom, do wishes really come true?"
We started talking in the few moments that we had before I pulled into the school parking lot about wishes, when I finally got to the root of why she was asking me about wishes it was because she really wanted something and thought if she "wished" for it that maybe, just maybe that wish would come true and she'd get that toy she wanted.
When we think about wishes we usually think magical thoughts, something that may or may not come true right? We kinda don't expect them to come true either, right?
I kept thinking that entire day, how often do I throw my prayers up to God like wishes not even expecting them to come true? How many times do I not really seek the Lord's heart and pray seriously for the things that are on my heart, the things that I desire.
The Lord challenged me that day; let us not be people who throw up our prayers to God like wishes. Instead let us pray, seek God, search his word for who he would want to fulfill our prayers.
I know to often I take the spiritual discipline of prayer for granted. I know God is always there, but yet I often forget to take those cares to him. Often times I forget that God is in the business of answering those prayers, but I forget to ask.
Matthew 7:7 tell us to Ask and it will be given to you. Seek and it will be given unto you.
Today I am challenging myself and you to remember that truth today. To apply it. One practical way we can make our prayers more real is to write them down, keep a prayer journal. It doesn't have to be fancy but writing them down helps. Seeing how God has answered the prayers you've been praying is a powerful reminder of his faithfulness in your life.
I shared a bit on Periscope last week about this topic, this is probably one of the most single important lessons I've learned about myself and Christ these last seven years.
Let me back up, my husband and I have been involved in some sort of ministry or another since before we met. When we met we both knew that someday we'd serve the local church together in ministry. We moved to Arizona seven years ago to take on a youth pastor position at local church here in Phoenix. After a really rough couple years the church finally ended up closing its doors. We were left without a church, a job, hurt, confused and wondered what God was doing in all of it.
I thought we'd quickly move right back into full time ministry. After several interviews with churches God was closing doors left and right. We decided our next move would be to settle here where God had us and make the most of life. We found a church, my husband entered into Grad school, I was still working my full time job outside the home, we had another baby a few years later and God has been faithfully providing for us these last 5 years.
We found a church where we stayed at for four years. During those years God used that time to help grow us together, heal our hearts and we learned to serve together more so than we'd ever had before. We served our local church, we helped lead small groups, we helped out with several ministries, my husband led worship, we helped behind the scenes and God taught me some big lessons through it all.
God broke my heart and spirit for the people of the church during this season. He allowed me to see them as he would. For a long time I feel into the lie that I was only a leader or had influence if I had a title next to my name. If I was a Pastor's wife, if I was the head of a ministry, if someone knew what I was doing an approved. The list could go on and on. The truth was, I needed those four years just me and the Lord.
I needed to be in a season where I could learn to lead without title and position. Even more so God worked on my heart to teach me to be a better leader, that it wasn't about me. It wasn't about my own agenda or about building my kingdom. It was about building HIS.
It was about doing ministry, serving the church and serving my family even if no one saw it or noticed it. He saw it. He noticed it. It mattered to him.
One Wednesday evening we'd just gotten done leading our small group at church, my husband was having worship practice after church that evening. We had one car at the time, so the kids and I stayed at the church till he was done. We played in the nursery for a bit before making our way into the church to hear Daddy sing. The whole day I was dreading our late evening ahead, I was dreading that we were going to be at the church for so long, that Ava would miss her bed time and our evening was going to be crazy.
As I sat there that evening I felt the Holy Spirit whisper to me;
"I see it and it matters to me."
That small confirmation that the Lord sees our work, he knows who we are was what I needed. And I realized that this was a valuable season, these were valuable lessons. No, my husband and I were not pastors at a church full time. No one knew all the things we did, or have always know all our history but I was no longer living under the lie that people needed to know my name or know if I was the "head" of something or not.
No, this was a valuable season because God opened my eyes and showed me how to love his church, his people. He taught me to lead without title and position.
I'm not sure where you're at in your season right now. Maybe you are a small business owner, maybe you are in ministry yourself, maybe you are in a season of mothering small children. Whatever your season God wants to teach you something in it. He wants to help you flourish and thrive. He wants to reveal more of himself as you draw closer to him. He wants you to know that he's placed in a specific season for a reason. As we strip everything else away we begin to realize it's just all about Jesus and loving his people and pointing them closer to Him.
I asked for a journaling Bible for Christmas. My Grandmother gave it to me, and it was one gift I was really excited to get. This is a new hobby for me, I've been following the Illustrated Faith community for a while now and couldn't wait to try out this new way of worship and experiencing God's word.
I don't think there's any right or wrong way of doing this, but as someone who's new to this medium I didn't quite know where to start. So I started at my favorite verse ever in the Bible.
I read the scripture and just jotted down some words & themes that stuck out to me in the passage and wrote those down on the left column.
I used some glitter paint and painted the entire two pages. I used gold & black for the writing. And then used some glitter washi tape to decorate. I decided that the Bible journaling community needs more glitter in their pages.
Have you done any Bible journaling yet? If so, what are some of your faves tips & tricks? Share them with me in the comments below. I recently hosted a Bible journaling event last weekend, I can't wait to share some pictures and spreads with you this week. The Bible I'm using can be found here http://amzn.to/1Qu6X3b