Every year for a few years now, I have thought about what word I want encapsulate where I see myself going, where I hope I’ll be closer to in the months to come.
Last year, I chose two words and a phrase, bad writer I was!
healing
peace
not-caring-what-people-think-of-me
Looking back, I am fascinated that these are what I chose. I have healed more in this year of my life than any other year. My life and my home are filled with more peace than at any time in my life prior to now. And I was hit upside the head time and again with opportunities to learn to not care what people think of me. (That one, still working on.)
This year’s word that I’ve chosen for myself:
FREEDOM
This hits so many aspects for me.
I want to be free of obsessive thoughts.
I want to be free of other people’s opinions of me.
I want to be free to be who God really created me to be.
I want to be free in what I say and write. (Some might argue I’m already too free with that!)
I want to be free to accept that how I design my life might be different than how our manic culture does but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong.
I want to be free of the horrible words that have been spoken to me.
I want to be free of the compulsion to be liked.
I have a feeling I could go on and on. So I’ll just say this:
In [this] freedom Christ has made us free [and completely liberated us]; stand fast then, and do not be hampered and held ensnared and submit again to a yoke of slavery [which you have once put off].
–Galatians 5:1 (Amp)-
What’s your one word?
Content.
Content with where my life is.
Content where God has me.
Content enough to let go of the past and move to my new and very different future.
This is my third year of doing this. I usually go with the word I feel God lays on my heart. This year my word is “strength”. Strength to listen to God, strength for my marriage, strength for my personal goals, strength for my battles both personal and spiritual and strength for obedience. I hope mostly I have the strength to turn everything over to God and have the strength to wait on Him and act when H speaks.
Happy New Year!
Thank you Trina! That’s exactly what I needed to hear. I’m seperated and sometimes life together looks good and sometimes not. Strength is what I need and what I’ll ask for.
Oh Elisabeth, what a wonderful commitment to the new year! Peace, I found the first year as well. Freedom I found my second year. This year my prayer is for Health! As I was taking great care of my spiritual health, I somehow lost track of my physical health. I believe some of it was putting up barriers to men in general and my ex in particular (he is a health nut and was trying to “win me” back so I stopped working out and gained 20+lbs in the last two years)! I had to go to the doctors yesterday and my blood pressure was 170/100!!!! I was not stressed. I am the most laid back person I know. But high blood pressure runs in my family and my body just can’t handle the weight I have gained and lack of exercise!! So this year I turn 50 and I am ready to start living again. Being active and healthy was always a part of who I was and it is time to get back to being ME!
Happy New Year Ladies! 2014 – HEALTH! Spiritual AND physical!
Dignity as in strength and dignity from Prov 31:25. I so often forget my God-given dignity and to walk in that. I think if I did I would treat myself better and do the things I need to do to be healthier emotionally, physically and emotionally. I too often get sucked into a victim mentality and feel hopeless and helpless. If I have strength and dignity as a gift from God and walk in that, I can hopefully avoid that and see all the things I’ve been working for come to pass and not be afraid of them (like my own book being published!). Last year was: Delight. Previous years were courage and shine. Every single one of those God seemed to challenge me on and I’m still learning.
I will be doing this for the first time and think it’s a wonderful idea. Although I don’t just have one word lol. Mine are Freedom and Strength.
My word for the year is “heal.” I don’t WANT it for a word; I don’t really want to “work” on healing; I don’t want to take the time to do so, I just want to work on my new life. But God put it on my heart and I know I need to take the time and make the effort to do so, for my own peace and if I’m ever (right now I’d put the chances at 0.0000000000001% or less) in another relationship with a man. Right now my plan is to read several Christian books about divorce (including yours Elisabeth!) and journal about what I read. Any other suggestions are welcome!
My word for the year is “embrace”.
I will be working on embracing this new life that has opened up for me.
I will stop living in the past, grieving the “what could have Been” .
I will keep my eyes open to new opportunity.
Mindfulness…
Choosing what I think about…
Choosing to meditate on these things…peace…joy..,the virtues …..Phil 4:8
Aware. Aware of what I am feeling.What I need. What I don’t need. Aware of others. Aware of what others need. Aware of the voice of truth. Aware of the voice of lies. Aware enough to be present.
RELEASE…release of the past and what could have been…release of control over things that I shouldn’t be trying to control…release of the pressure that I place on myself to be a certain way or please people…etc
My word is CHOOSE.
“Choose this day whom you will serve” from Joshua 24:15
2013 was very difficult for me. Some of the difficulty was my fault. Despite trying to keep in close relationship with my God, I made some bad decisions and fell into the enslavement of a certain type of sin. It was like an addiction and something I’ve struggled with and have had a weakness for for years. This weakness was seriously magnified once I left my ex husband almost 3 years ago. I knew it was there but I was so naive. I had no clue what my identity was and what God’s love for me looked like. I relied on other people for validation and to tell me who I was. I was not vigilant about this issue (sin) that was stirring inside of me. In general, I realize I have been too casual about my sins. I need to make better choices and cling to Christ moment by moment in order to change. Really change. Become the woman God has called me to be.
Every moment is a choice. His will or my will. Will I do things His way, or my way? I must choose every day, every hour, every moment. From the small things to the big ones. I am not a victim. Even when things happen to me that are out of my control, I can choose how to respond. I have the power of Christ in me to CHOOSE His way and trust Him. This is going to require dependence and surrender to Him. My will and my way has not worked.
I will choose His way and live in Him, through His strength.
This gives me so much hope.
Thank you, Lord. I trust You.
I choose You.
I also set a goal for 2014 of not letting other people’s opinions sway me, and to just cling to God and His plan for me. To counter negative thoughts, or wasted time of what if’s and how-can-that-work, with Scripture. For January, I’ve been reciting Deuteronomy 31:6, Psalm 37:23-24, and Jeremiah 33:3. And I’ve discovered that the better I get at catching my stinkin’ thinkin’ in the act, and saying these verses in response to them, the more peace-filled I become. There are soooooo many unknowns, but only to us…because God already knows what He is going to do with them all. I may not have a clue, but I know the One who knows it all. And His opinion of me, truly needs to be the only one I am listening to. Easier said then done, but countering with Scripture has helped tremendously to get me moving in the right direction.