Intentional: my word of the year for 2026

 

January is past -- and now February is also. It's more than time for me to write this word of the year post.  I've been struggling to pull my thoughts into coherent form, but I need to stop putting it off and just write and see where it goes.  

I can start, obviously, with a simple dictionary definition of my word for the year:

So that is pretty straightforward.  Done on purpose; deliberate.

 

I want all that I do to be done on purpose. The first time I ever chose a word for the year was in 2013, and I chose the word purpose.  In that 2013 post, I noted that I chose that word because I want to live my life on purpose, and I want to be daily living out God's purposes for my life.

 

And I am still committed to that.  I want to live my life on purpose, and I want all that I do each day to be moving me toward one or more of God's purposes for my life.

 

I'll mention those purposes again for those who may not have seen them.  (Some of these very same purposes may well be yours also!)

 

GOD'S PURPOSES FOR MY LIFE
 

Overarching purpose:  To bring honor and glory to God with my life (using the spiritual gifts and the talents He has equipped me with) as I seek to:
 

1) Be a godly wife [includes being a good homemaker], mother, and grandmother.
 

2) Use my teaching gifts (and other spiritual gifts -- giving , helps, hospitality, serving) for God's glory -- to encourage fellow believers and help them grow, and to reach out to those who don't yet know Him.
 

3)  Use my writing talents (and other talents -- crafts, cooking, home decorating, etc.) for God's glory -- again, to encourage the family of God and to be a testimony and an outreach to those who don't yet know Him.

 

As I read through these again,  they helped to clarify my thinking as to what I will be intentional about.  

 

The first one, the overarching purpose, is the same, actually, for every believer.  But the specifics will look different for many of us. 

1) I'm a wife, a mother of three adult children, and a grandmother of fourteen.  I'm an aunt, a niece, and a cousin.  My primary human responsibility is, of course, my husband, and I need to be much more intentional in my care of him and just nurturing our relationship in general.  It's easy after over 50 years to take some things for granted and not be as intentional.  One thing I am seeking to work on is being a better friend to him.  

As a mom, I always want to be intentional in praying for my kids and their spouses.  To that end, I have a list that I am praying for each of them.  And I seek to always be purposeful in not offering advice (unless it is asked for).  Oh, I might suggest a home remedy or two, but not advice on life or spiritual things unless they ask.  I also seek to be a help to my local daughter with things like cooking or cleaning if she has a particularly busy week.

I do pray for each of my grandchildren every day.  Some years ago I wrote this prayer for my grandchildren which expresses well the intentionality with which I pray for them, but I do pray for individual needs as well.  Salvation for some; spiritual and character growth; mental, emotional, physical and spiritual health for all.  I pray about their decision-making, their schoolwork, their future spouses, their jobs, and much, much more.  I also seek to encourage them in person and sometimes by email.  Because I have an Etsy shop, I've been able to advise my local granddaughter who sells on Etsy about a few questions she has had.  Quite a few years ago I wrote a monthly, or semi-monthly, newsletter I called the Grammy Gazette, to keep the grandkids up to date with happenings in our lives.  At least one grandson is wishing I would revive that, and I just might!

2) God has given me spiritual gifts that I can use to glorify Him.  Isn't that astounding?  So I need to be purposeful about using those gifts, and I seek to do just that.  There are opportunities to use every one of my gifts at church, but also in daily life.  Bringing someone a meal is just as much hospitality as opening one's home, for example.  If we know our spiritual gifts, we must be developing them and using them.  Helps is a spiritual gift I can also use in my volunteer job.  I use my teaching gifts in Sunday School and occasionally in other contexts, as well as here on my blog for Sunday Scripture posts.

3) And then whatever skills and talents I possess -- those also are to be used to glorify God.  I like to cook, decorate, and I like to be creative.  I have some writing skills.  I have years of experience in cleaning, which I've been able to put to use at my volunteer job and in helping to clean our church building on a regular basis.  I can also blog about all of these things and encourage others in that way as well.

Using my gifts, talents and skills intentionally is an ongoing goal in my days, weeks, and months.  But I am seeking to become much more intentional in my use of time.  As I age, I'm becoming increasingly aware of just how limited my remaining time on this earth might be, and am purposing to use every bit of time to the glory of God.

In this article in The Epoch Times, Walker Larson notes that "Time is our most valuable resource because it’s the most limited. Once lost, it’s lost forever." He adds that time is the "resource by which we acquire all other resources, which makes it the most powerful one of all. Without time, we can’t experience or enjoy anything else in life. Time is the very medium of life itself."  And that's such a sobering thought!  Larson noted that he once heard this saying: "Our priorities are what we do.  Everything else is just talk." And he commented, "We show what we really care about by what we spend our most precious resources on."

Elizabeth George says something similar: "We dare not waste our most precious resource: our lives."

My use of the book Fix Your Focus over the past 40-plus weeks has really helped me to use my time much more intentionally.  I shared also about a planning tool -- a weekly calendar schedule that I've been using along with Fix Your Focus to make a real difference in my weeks.

I'm also seeking to be more intentional in my interactions with people -- to make it a goal that they will be encouraged in some way or somehow pointed to God through time together, however brief it may be.  

And those are just a few ways in which I'm seeking to live out my word of the year.  We will see how I do over the next ten months.

TRUST -- my word for 2025

Lovely graphic from Abby at Little Birdie Blessings

Yes, "trust" is my word for 2025.  It seems like such a basic word, such a foundational word, part of Christian Living 101.  Yet it's indisputably the word that God impressed upon me for this year.

I knew, well before the end of 2024, that "trust" should be my word.  It has taken me this long to pull together my thoughts about it.  So ... 

Partway through 2024 I began to notice something rather disconcerting about myself.  I'm not sure if it had to do with aging or something else, but I noticed that I seemingly wanted to avoid situations that could potentially cause me discomfort or difficulty.  (I'm sure that's fairly normal for most of us!)  But I'm talking about avoidance to a greater degree, such as not wanting to do a certain thing, go to a certain event, or even seeking to manipulate circumstances in such a way that I wouldn't have to face whatever was concerning me.  I finally recognized this as a pattern ... and a problem.  

 

For Sunday School, the last few months we have been going through Jim Berg's series on Quieting a Noisy Soul.  And I recognized what I had been doing as a kind of self-protection.  Shielding myself from things that could hurt me.  Surely, that is not my job, but God's!

 

🌲 I went to my prayer journal and added "an unwavering trust in God" as the most important character quality I want to work on.

 

🌲 I then went to the section of my prayer journal where I keep my pages regarding character flaws and sin issues.   I first made a page titled "Lack of trust".  (With each of the pages in this section, I list out verses that will help me to see why the particular issue is a problem biblically, and also verses that will help me to move forward and do right.  Below is a scan of one of my pages:

 

 So the verses I listed out for my "lack of trust" page were as follows:

"And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; for You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You."  (Psalm 9:10)

"The fear of man bringeth a snare; but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe."  (Proverbs 29:25)

"The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knoweth those who trust in Him."  (Nahum 1:7)

"Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of His servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light?  Let him trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon his God."  (Isaiah 50:10)

"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths."  (Proverbs 3:5-6)

 

"The LORD redeemeth the soul of His servants; and none of them who trust in Him shall be desolate."  (Psalm 34:22)

 

"Be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God ..." (1 Timothy 6:17)

 

"What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee.  In God will I praise His Word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me."  (Psalm 56:3-4)

🌲 A note from the Scofield study Bible concerning "trust" reads: "Trust is the characteristic Old Testament word for the New Testament 'faith' and 'believe'.  It occurs 152 times in the Old Testament, and is the rendering of Hebrew words signifiying 'to take refuge' (Ruth 2:12); 'to lean on' ((Psalm 56:3); 'to roll on' (Psalm 22:8); 'to wait for' (Job 35:14)."

I thought it would be helpful to look at those Scripture references, so here they are:

* "The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust."  (Ruth 2:12 -- where trust signifies to take refuge)

* "What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee."  (Psalm 56:3 -- where trust signifies to lean on) 

* "He trusted in the LORD that He would deliver Him: let Him deliver Him, seeing He delighted in Him."  (Psalm 22:8 -- where trust signifies to roll on; He rolled Himself on Him)

"Although thou sayest thou shalt not see Him, yet judgment is before Him; therefore trust thou in Him."  (Job 35:14 -- where trust signifies to wait for)

🌲 For good measure, I made another character flaw/sin issue page for my prayer journal, this one titled "Tendency to want to manipulate circumstances."  I found this tendency in myself quite alarming, as I have never considered myself to be a manipulative person.  But in recent months I have noticed a desire or wish to manipulate circumstances or outcomes, as mentioned earlier.  Below, the verses I chose for this page:

"Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God."  (2 Corinthians 3:5)

"O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps."  (Jeremiah 10:23)

"Man's goings are of the LORD: how can a man, then, understand his own way?"  (Proverbs 20:24)

"The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me; Thy mercy, O LORD, endureth forever; forsake not the works of Thine own hands."  (Psalm 138:8)

"Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in Him; and he shall bring it to pass."  (Psalm 37:5)

🌲 As I do whenever I settle on a word for the year, I will be making a Pinterest board for the word "trust" where I'll place all sorts of helps and good reads to help me in my application and following through. 

And that's it for my word this year!  I always want to emphasize that choosing a word for the year is completely optional and up to the individual.  It doesn't make one any more or less spiritual; for me, it's just another help to greater personal growth, something that works for me.

If you do choose a word, though, I would love to hear!

How my word for the year -- "Continue" has looked so far

 

 Back in March I wrote a post about how I hoped that my word for the year would be looking.  Here's the link: How my word for 2024 will look.  

So it's probably high time I report in on how the year is going in that regard.  I'll say up front that there is good news and bad news.  I will put the updates in a different font.

As you may remember, this was the definition:

And, as I mentioned, in choosing the word continue for this year, I was mostly thinking about continuing on faithfully with a number of things, most (but not all) of them related to my spiritual life. Let's look at the various parts of the definition and how they might look in everyday life.

First, "persist in an activity or process".  I'd relate this to Bible study and blogging.   I intend to persist in both of these. 

 Bible study is a given.  There is so much more I want (and need) to learn about God's Word!

And I can report that now, at the end of summer, I've continued with Bible study as I planned.  I'm currently working on the study of Habakkuk pictured below.  I want to study Hosea next -- not a formal study like this one, but something simpler.  That said, I love the Daily Grace studies!

Blogging might be considered much more of an option, a personal choice.  But is it really?  I don't think so, at least not for me.  Blogging, I've come to believe, is an integral part of living out God's purposes for me.  It's a way to use the talents, skills, and even some of the spiritual gifts God has given me, to bless others.  So, as I said at the outset,  this is an activity I'll be persisting in for sure.  It's looking fairly consistent, and I did manage to post every day in July for Christmas in July at my Christmas blog.

Recently, too, we were visiting with old friends in Canada who hadn't been familiar with my blogs.  When the wife realized how many of my recipes were located therein, she declared, "I'll never use Goo*gle to search for a recipe again!"  So I see another reason for continuing to blog.

Then, "carry on with something that one has begun".  I had been hoping we could get back to getting together regularly with a younger couple we had been informally mentoring.  I had been chatting with the wife weekly by phone, and that has been wonderful, but in-person time is important as well. However, some changes in their living situation may have brought that hope to a halt for now.  We will see.

I had been hoping and planning, too, to get back more faithfully to decluttering and downsizing.  I've started that; have done some closets and dressers and have continued going through our many bookshelves.  We've made a good start on the attic and my craft closet, but oh, there is still so much more to do!

In another instance in carrying on with something I've begun -- I had gifted six of my teen grandchildren the Stand Firm Bible study from The Daily Grace Co.  I've finished my own study of the book, and found it a great blessing.  My intent had been to have a group chat with them weekly via email, but so far that's only happened once. 🙄.   Obviously I want to carry on with encouraging them to study their Bibles for themselves.

I have learned that two of them have completed the study.  I'm pretty sure at least one hasn't even started, and I'm not sure about the other three.

I do have some ideas for Christmas and birthday gifts along this line that I hope will get them meditating on God's Word for themselves.

I failed to mention this in my first post, but another thing I'll be carrying on with is my volunteer work at The Wilds of New England.  I imagine my hubby and I will be spending a good bit of time helping  with maintenance projects there in the late fall and likely some in the winter too.

Another thing to carry on with (unless or until God shows me differently) is listing and selling small vintage items from my childhood home on Etsy.  There is so much more to go!  I have shelves, a half dozen boxes, and even an entire dresser full of these small treasures.  It could take me years just to list all the paper items, so I'm thinking I may need to zero in on the children's books and see if I can get some of those out of the way.

I have listed a few more books and cards, but it's been slow going.

And then, "remain in a specified position or state".  I'll continue teaching Sunday School to ladies, at least for the foreseeable future. We are going to be doing a video series next (starting in a couple weeks) which will be watched as a group with all of the adult Sunday School class, then we will divide up as men and ladies to discuss.  That way the ladies will still get to keep their class and teacher.  I've been praying about what to do when that series finishes, and I do believe God has given me direction on that.

  I'll also continue with writing Sunday Scripture blog posts.  And with other things like writing notes and doing other things to encourage friends and family.  I've been keeping up with all that, and am praying about what to do next when I finish my Everything Beautiful Scripture series.

And "carry on traveling in the same direction".  To me this zeroes in on spiritual growth.  I've said before how our former pastor who retired after decades often reminded us that there is no standing still in the Christian life.  If you're not moving forward you're moving backward.  Period.  So very obviously, I had purposed to carry on with traveling forward in my pursuit of spiritual growth.  And I've been doing that.  I've even changed up a little bit in my devotional life to keep it fresh and varied.  It helps so much.  You can read about it here: Variety -- the spice of my devotional life.

Finally, "extend farther in the same direction".  For me, this speaks to my prayer life. I'd been hoping for some time to update some of my prayer journal pages to make it even more of an effective tool.

And at last this is an area where I can report progress!  If you read my "variety" post above, you'll see that I'm incorporating prayer journal pages into my quiet time one day a week.  I only have a few pages left to update in my own prayer journal, but I'm trying to make one for my husband as well.  That is going to take some time to complete.

This "extending farther in the same direction" also applies to my memorization of the book of James, which my younger friend Jennifer and I had been working on together.  We finished chapter 2 and that's where it seems to be stalled.  I do need to get back into it.  Gayle, a lady in my Sunday School class this summer, has shared with us how she has memorized entire books of the Bible and it really has been an encouragement to me to jump back into it.

And, I see now that some of the things on my list really fit with definition 2 of continue at this point -- "to recommence or resume after interruption."  My James memorization, my checking up on the teens with their study of Stand Firm, our in-person time with our younger friends -- all of these have been somewhat interrupted or stalled, so it's time to face that fact and see about resuming the ones I can.

What about you, friends? If you chose a word for 2024, how is that playing out for you?

How my word for 2024 -- Continue -- will look in my life this year

 

Even though I decided on my word for 2024 fairly quickly, it took me awhile to write about it.  Now, though admittedly still behind, I thought I'd jot down some thoughts about how that word -- continue -- will hopefully play out in my life on an everyday basis.

Recall, here is the definition:

As I mentioned, in choosing the word continue for this year, I was mostly thinking about continuing on faithfully with a number of things, most (but not all) of them related to my spiritual life. Let's look at the various parts of the definition and how they might look in everyday life.

First, "persist in an activity or process".  I'd relate this to Bible study and blogging.   I intend to persist in both of these. 

 Bible study is a given.  There is so much more I want (and need) to learn about God's Word!

Blogging might be considered much more of an option, a personal choice.  But is it really?  I don't think so, at least not for me.  Blogging, I've come to believe, is an integral part of living out God's purposes for me.  It's a way to use the talents, skills, and even some of the spiritual gifts God has given me, to bless others.  So for sure, this is an activity I'll be persisting in.

Then, "carry on with something that one has begun".  I am hoping we can get back to getting together regularly with a younger couple we had been informally mentoring.  I do chat with the wife weekly by phone, and that's wonderful, but in-person time is important as well. 

I'm hoping and planning, too, to get back more faithfully to decluttering and downsizing.  I've started that; have done some closets and dressers and have begun going through our many bookshelves, but oh, there is so much more to do!

In another instance in carrying on with something I've begun -- I had gifted six of my teen grandchildren the Stand Firm Bible study from The Daily Grace Co.  I'm not sure how they are doing with it.  I'm keeping up with my own study of the book, and finding it very much of a blessing.  My intent had been to have a group chat with them weekly via email, but so far that's only happened once. 🙄.   So obviously I want to carry on with this important activity.

Another thing to carry on with (unless or until God shows me differently) is listing and selling small vintage items from my childhood home on Etsy.  There is so much more to go!  I have shelves, a half dozen boxes, and even an entire dresser full of these small treasures.  It could take me years just to list all the paper items, so I'm thinking I may need to zero in on the children's books and see if I can get some of those out of the way.

(Looking for a vintage Little Golden or Junior Elf book?  I might well have it.)

And then, "remain in a specified position or state".  I'll continue teaching Sunday School to ladies, at least for the foreseeable future.  That may change once we've completed this study, but that's months away.

  I'll also continue with writing Sunday Scripture blog posts.  And with other things like writing notes and doing other things to encourage friends and family.

And "carry on traveling in the same direction".  To me this zeroes in on spiritual growth.  I've said before how our former pastor who retired after decades often reminded us that there is no standing still in the Christian life.  If you're not moving forward you're moving backward.  Period.  So very obviously, I am purposing to carry on with traveling forward in my pursuit of spiritual growth.

Finally, "extend farther in the same direction".  For me, this speaks to my prayer life. I hope to update some of my prayer journal pages to make it even more of an effective tool.

This also applies to my memorization of the book of James, which my younger friend Jennifer and I are working on together.  We finished chapter 1 during the last quarter of 2023, and hope to get through chapter 2 by the end of March.  That should give us the remaining three quarters of 2024 to finish memorizing the final 3 chapters (which are shorter than the first two).  We will see!

So there you have it, a little late.  

Jennifer left a sweet comment on my March goals post and noted that these were wise and purposeful goals.  I can't tell you how much that encourages me.  It made me look at my goals with fresh eyes, and I was struck by how many of them involved continuing.   I've been continuing with these things throughout January and February and, Lord willing, will continue on with them through the remaining ten months of 2024.

What about you, friends? If you chose a word for 2024, how is that playing out for you?

A word for 2024 -- Continue

 

 Before I begin, my usual yearly disclaimer:  I understand, and I'm sure most of my readers do also, that it's not a necessity to choose a word for a new year.  It's not in any way a practice that makes one any more spiritual, any more committed, or any more anything.  Vast numbers of believers don't choose a word for the year, nor do they need to.  I had never thought of doing such a thing until 2013.  I'd read in the past of others doing so and in 2013 I prayerfully considered it for myself.  That year I ended up with the word "Purpose".  I found it incredibly helpful throughout the year to zero in on God's purposes for me.

Each year since (except for 2022, when I just didn't feel led to do so), I have prayerfully chosen a word for the year.  Some times it has seemed as if God laid a particular word on my heart, and that has seemed to be the case this year, although for awhile I was undecided between "persevere" and "continue" (which after all are rather similar words).   I've now settled on "continue" as my word for 2024. 

First, maybe we should look at some definitions. 

I was surprised to learn that perseverance means "Steadfastness in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success."

In thinking of a word for this year, I was more thinking about continuing on faithfully with a number of things, most (but not all) of them related to my spiritual life.  Although I expect there will be difficulties in the year ahead, "persevere" wasn't quite the word I was looking for.

So here is the definition of "continue":

There are a number of facets with this definition that fit with what I hope to do this year.  I'll be sharing those, most likely in a second post.

And I thought it was also important to check out this word in a Bible dictionary.  I discovered that there are quite a number of Greek words translated continue.  My Vine's Dictionary of New Testament words didn't spell out what Greek verb is used in 2 Timothy 3:14, so I looked it up in an online source and found this from the Defenders Study Bible: "Despite all the perilous times and persecutions of the last days, plus all the false teachers and seducing spirits, believers must simply continue believing and obeying the Word of God. The same word (Greek meno) is often translated 'abide' and 'remain'." 

A couple of other verses regarding continuing came to mind.  One is Colossians 4:2:

"Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving."

Another is Romans 12:12 -- "Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer."

Beautiful graphic by Abby at Little Birdie Blessings

Both of these are the Greek  word proskartereo, literally meaning to be strong toward, to endure in or persevere in, to be continuously stedfast with a person or thing, used here of continuing in prayer with others.

Colossians 1:23 exhorts us to "continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel".  That one is the Greek epimeno, meaning to remain on, to continue long, still to abide.

And James 1:25 instructs us that the one "who looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he not being a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed."  This use of "continue" is the Greek parameno, meaning to remain by or near; hence, to continue or persevere in anything.

To sum up (for now; look for another post on this topic): I want to continue in the things I have learned; to continue in prayer; to continue in the faith grounded and settled; to continue in the perfect law of liberty -- God's Word.  

Continuing in spiritual disciplines and spiritual growth sounds like just what I want to do for the new year!

Have you picked a word for the year?  Do share, if you have!

 

What I'll be focusing on for 2023

 Others may be wondering what living out my word for 2023 is actually going to look like.  I'm working on a more detailed post concerning my goals for the year -- or the eleven months left in it.  But here's just a quick overview of some things I want to focus on.

🌿 Time with God -- I not only want this to be an important focus of my life, but I want to truly focus on God during my time with Him.  That may sound odd, but believe me, it's highly possible to focus on time with God and not focus on Him.  For example, you're reading through the Bible in a year, but you zip through it so you can cross it off on a list or chart.  You're not really getting much out of what you read.  Or you have a structured prayer list (and I'm not saying this is a bad idea), praying for specific people each day, but again you zip through it just to have it done and cross it off, not really considering the needs of those you are praying for but just generally asking God to bless them.  

So I want my time with God to be focused and meaningful, a two-way conversation as it were.

🌿 Personal growth is in great part a natural result of time with God.  When I think of personal growth, I think of both spiritual growth and growth in character.  With each year that passes, I am more conscious of just how few years I might have left in this life.  I want to make each moment count for God and I want to be strong in character and in my spiritual life.  That means, again, quality time with God each day.  It also means that I face up to my character flaws and begin, with God's help, to grow and change in those areas. 

🌿 Health -- I'm really trying to focus on my health this year.  I want to be as healthy as possible, so I will feel my absolute best and will have the energy and stamina I need for serving God and others.

🌿 Marriage and family  -- After my relationship with God, my relationship with my husband is my highest human priority.  So my marriage needs to be another daily focus in my life.  It's so easy to just go through each day in a kind of humdrum way, not taking time to appreciate and enjoy the things that make our marriage special.  We should never take a day together for granted.  

Family also needs to be a focus.  What do my children and grandchildren need from me?  My prayers, for sure.  Awareness of needs in their lives so I can bring those before the Lord.  And I won't have that awareness without communication.   Sometimes they need my presence in their lives.  Always they need to know I will be there for them and that I am praying for them.

🌿 Homemaking -- I'm determined to focus more on my homemaking this year.  It would be so much easier to keep things clean and organized if I would seriously declutter and downsize.  I truly want my home to be a place that ministers to others and offers them a peaceful respite from the world.  It is that already, but it could be so much more with a little more attention.

🌿 Ministry needs to be a focus too.  In Sunday School yesterday morning the emphasis included using our spiritual gifts to love and serve one another in our local church and beyond.  As I worked through some of the lesson questions on my own in preparation for class,  I was struck by how God is giving me more opportunities than ever to use my spiritual gifts.  I'm not currently teaching, but He has given me so many other ways to give and serve that I can't help but be encouraged.

🌿 Friendships and church family -- I want to be much more intentional with my friendships this year, staying in better touch with some and maybe rekindling some old friendships.  Our church family too -- they are far more than just people who happen to attend the same church.   I read this quote on my friend Whitney's blog, Come Home for Comfort, and was so blessed by it:

“When God saved us, He made us members of His household, and He gave us as gifts to one another. Each brother and sister is a portion of my gospel inheritance from God, and I am a portion of their inheritance as well. We are significant players in each other’s gospel narrative, and it is in relationship with one another that we experience the fullness of God in Christ. 

"Hence, the more I comprehend the full scope of the gospel, the more I value the church for which Christ died, the more I value the role that I play in the lives of my fellow Christians, and the more I appreciate the role that they must be allowed to play in mine.” (Milton Vincent)

Speaking of quotes, I have in my prayer journal a number of quotes from various people, many of them from Elizabeth George.  The one below is really impacting my thinking for this year:

"We have a limited number of years left to change and grow, to follow God's plan, and to live a life marked by diligence.  But just think what can be accomplished for God and for others when we walk in godliness and diligence for our remaining years!

" We dare not waste our most precious resource -- our lives.  We must number our days -- and use each and every one of them for God's glory!"

With that in mind, these are the major things I plan to prayerfully focus on in the next 11 months.  What about you?  What are you focusing on in 2023?

A word for 2023: Focus

 

Graphic from (in)courage.me

 I understand, and I'm sure most of my readers do also, that it's not a necessity to choose a word for a new year.  It's not in any way a practice that makes one any more spiritual, any more committed, or any more anything.  Vast numbers of believers don't choose a word for the year, nor do they need to.  I had never thought of doing such a thing until 2013.  I'd read in the past of others doing so and in 2013 I prayerfully considered it for myself.  That year I ended up with the word "Purpose".  I found it incredibly helpful throughout the year to zero in on God's purposes for me.

Each year since (except for 2022, when I just didn't feel led to do so), I have prayerfully chosen a word for the year.  Some times it has seemed as if God laid a particular word on my heart, and that has truly been the case this year.   He has impressed upon me without any doubt that my word for 2023 is to be "focus".  The word came instantly, a few days before the end of the old year. 

I don't feel as if I have lost my focus -- which, bottom line would be "all to the glory of God" -- but rather that my focus needs to be sharpened.  

 "Whether, therefore, ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."  (1 Corinthians 10:31)

🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿

I knew I would want to use this word in both its noun and verb form as I consider it this year.  To begin I would need to look at definitions.  Below are the definitions for "focus" as a noun.

 For definition #1 we see that focus means "the center of interest or activity."  The central interest in my life should be God, and of course it radiates out from there.  All of the activity in my life should also be centered around His purposes for me.  As the definition goes on to say, I will want to concentrate on what God wants for me.

And then there is that definition #2 -- "the state or quality of having or producing clear visual definition."  I want to clearly look at God, at who He is,  at His purposes for my life, and make a clear plan for fulfilling them, with His help and in His strength.  

(Obviously, definition #3 is not one I would need to consider. )

 🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿

Back in 2010, I spent a few hours considering God's purposes for my life.  Taking into account God's purposes for all believers and for me in particular, I came up with a list which I wrote out and placed in my prayer journal.   Since doing that, I make it a point to review God's purposes for my life frequently, and always at the beginning of a new year.

God's overarching purpose for me is the same as for any believer: To bring honor and glory to God with my life by using the spiritual gifts and the talents He has equipped me with.    I have broken this down into a 3-part personal "job description":

1) Be a godly wife [this includes being a good homemaker]; mother, grandmother.

2) Use my teaching gifts and other spiritual gifts for God's glory -- to encourage fellow believers and help them to grow spiritually, and to reach out to those who don't yet know Him.

3) Use my writing talents and other talents to God's glory -- again, to encourage my fellow believers and to point others to Him. 

These things are to be my focus.   In her book God's Wisdom for a Woman's Life, in a chapter titled "I Need Help with My Purpose",  Elizabeth George wrote that "Busy women tend to bog down in the day-to-day matters of their lives and fail to understand how the work they are doing today fits into God's purpose for their lives and their futures.  We all forget to look beyond the moment with its urgency ... Instead we muddle through each day ... never comprehending its purpose and where it fits in the grand scheme of our life."  To me this quote gives a very accurate picture of how we can lose our focus.

2022 was a very challenging year for us, in a number of areas but especially with extended family concerns like my mother-in-law's deterioration in health, her admission to a nursing home and her eventual passing -- and also my work on the final land sale for my dad's trust.  Even though I sought every day to keep my focus on God's purposes for me, I know there were a number of days when I did muddle through without paying a lot of attention.

 🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿

And here are the definitions for "focus" as a verb.  

 

So for the verb meanings, definition #1 speaks to me in a couple of ways.  To adapt to the prevailing level of light and become able to see clearly -- well, not to spiritualize things too much, but I think adapting my vision to the illuminating light of God's Word will help me be able to see more clearly.

Adjusting the focus is an important thought to me.  Most often my focus is on God, where it ought to be, but I need to fine-tune and sharpen my focus so that I am truly, intentionally, living out His purposes for me each and every day.  One thing I am focusing on this year is to improve my health and energy so that I am better able to serve God and others -- and most likely that will help me to think more clearly, also!

 And definition #2 -- to pay particular attention to what God wants me to do,  and to concentrate my thoughts on those things -- is obviously equally important.  It's really my reason for choosing this word -- along with the obvious fact that God inclined my heart to choose it.

 🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿

 

And then below we see the origin of the word "focus".  I'm including this because I thought it very interesting and meaningful.  In ancient times the "domestic hearth" was the focal point for the home.  And taking proper care of that "domestic hearth" is an important part of my purpose.  I'm seeking to take better care of my home and to live more frugally this year.

 

 And that is my word for 2023.  Have you chosen a word for this year?

Quote for the day

 Do you have bits and pieces of ideas, quotes, and thoughts scribbled on scraps of paper like I do?  I'm pretty sure I can't be the only one, right?

Sorting through some of those paper scraps this morning, I found a few notes I had scribbled down concerning my word for 2020, diligence.  This quote from Sally Clarkson needs to be shared before I toss that particular scrap:

"Daily life is where diligence is trained and learned.  As our children watch our faithfulness and experience our love, they develop a heart to be diligent.  Giving them work to complete develops moral strength.  Helping children persevere in difficult relationships teaches them to be faithful in adult relationships." ~ Sally Clarkson

Lots to chew on here.  We need to be diligent in our relationship with God and our relationships with others as well as in those all-important tasks of daily life.  Even though diligence was my word for last year, it's something I'm still working on daily.  Glad I didn't throw that scrap of paper away before I read it!

A word for 2021

 

Graphic from Good Morning Girls

 Observant readers may have noticed that I haven’t chosen a word for the year yet.  To be sure, I don’t always choose one.

As has been noted many, many times by me and others, it’s definitely not a necessity to choose a word to focus on for a new year.  It's not in any way a practice that makes one any more spiritual, any more committed, or any more anything.  Vast numbers of believers don't choose a word to focus on, nor do they need to.  I didn't even think of doing such a thing until 2013.  I'd read in the past of others doing so and in 2013 I prayerfully considered it for myself.  That year I ended up with the word "Purpose".  I found it incredibly helpful throughout the year to focus on God's purposes for me.

Each year since, I have prayerfully chosen a word for the year.  Some times it has seemed as if God laid a particular word on my heart, and that was truly the case in 2020 when He led me to focus on diligence.

 And wow, when I went back and read that post just now, I surely saw why God had me choose that word.  Of particular interest were the motivators for diligence, which included things like awareness of the brevity of life and the awareness of time.  Maybe I can eventually write a post about how diligence played out for me in 2020; we will see.

But back to 2021.  I had pretty much decided not to choose a word for the year.  Everything is so uncertain and so unsettled that I had no idea what direction I would go.  So Wednesday morning I asked the Lord to show me a word if He had one for me, but otherwise I would be great with not having one.

So, we all know what January 6 was like — “Chaos at the Capitol”, as our local daily paper put it.  Crazy times.  And we know also that whichever way this election goes, it is not going to be a very settled state of affairs.  Last night just watching a little bit of news (from an honest source) had me very unsettled before going to bed. My hubby noted again the inexpressible comfort of knowing that our all-knowing, all-powerful God is in control, and that we simply needed to continue to stay our minds on Him.

As I started upstairs, my word for 2021 fell into my mind: steadfast.  The verse that came to me at the same time was 1 Corinthians 15:58: “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” 

Just a few minutes later, this verse also came to mind.  It is speaking of our hope in Christ when it declares, "Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast."  (Hebrews 6:19)

The Greek adjective translated “steadfast”  in both of these verses is BEBAIOS, meaning firm and secure.

The word steadfast is used in the Old Testament as well.  In Psalm 78:8 the psalmist Asaph speaks of a “stubborn and rebellious generation, that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not steadfast with God.”  I don’t ever want to be in that category!

In the Bible account of how God delivered Daniel from the mouths of the lions, we read that King Darius wrote these words about Daniel's God:

"I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for He is the living God, and steadfast forever, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and His dominion shall be even unto the end.  He delivereth and rescueth, and He worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions."  (Daniel 6:26-27). 

The simple dictionary on my computer defines it this way:


And the more detailed dictionary on my bookshelf offers this definition: Steadfast — 1.  Firmly established or fixed; firm.  2.  Unchanging, not fickle or wavering.

Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary defines “steadfastness” this way: “Stability in commitment or belief.  The Apostle Paul referred to ‘the steadfastness of your faith in Christ’ (Colossians 2:5).  The loss of stability may be avoided if one will ‘grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ’.  (2 Peter 3:18).”

Going back to 1 Corinthians 15:58 for a moment — “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of  the Lord” — we may ask ourselves why Paul used the word “therefore”.  He was speaking of everything he had discussed in the previous verses: the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, and all that it means to us as believers.  

Believer’s Bible Commentary explains the connection to steadfastness:  “In view, then, of the certainty of the resurrection and the fact that faith in Christ is not in vain, the Apostle Paul exhorts his beloved brethren to be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that their labor is not in vain in the Lord.  The truth of resurrection changes everything.  It provides hope and steadfastness, and enables us to go on in the face of overwhelming and difficult circumstances.”

Steadfastness will surely be important going into this new year.  I'm thankful for this meaningful word for 2021.

Inspirational Pinterest boards

I thought I would add this bit of information concerning a word for the year.  Choosing a word to focus on each year is something I've been prayerfully doing for about seven years.  The word of choice isn't my only focus of study, but it definitely plays into it.  I find that I tend to study the word and/or the biblical principles it points to at the beginning of the year, usually January maybe into February. 

I have found, though, that as I go through the year, I invariably come upon material relating to my word or encouraging me in my focus on it.  So what I've done the past few years is to make a Pinterest board for my word of the year.  It's great when I come upon a blog post or other online material to be able to just pin it to a specific board to refer to later.  Just as an example, here is the link to my Settled Pinterest board.

 Below are screenshots of my other "word" boards.  If you want to check them out, just go to my Pinterest and you should easily be able to find them.

(Please read: As mentioned earlier, I'm very much aware and sensitive to the fact that there is nothing magical, more spiritual or even necessarily desirable about choosing a word to focus on for a new year.   Barbara H. wrote a bit about this last year, and this year she has expanded upon the theme with this post: You don’t have to choose a word for the year.  She's right; you don't.  I don't have to, and the time may come when I don't feel led to.  

But this year, and the seven preceding it, I have found that having a word to focus on has helped me greatly.  For example, the year that I chose "stewardship", I found it so encouraging anytime I felt like giving up to just think about my responsibilities to God to steward my life well for His glory. 

So please, don't choose a word for the year just because I or others do, and don't ever feel less spiritual for not choosing one.  It's just not necessary.  It's something I do because I have found it helpful in my Christian walk -- and you might too --  but then again it may well not be for you.)

Diligence: my word for 2020

I understand that it's not a necessity to choose a word to focus on for a new year.  It's not in any way a practice that makes one any more spiritual, any more committed, or any more anything.  Vast numbers of believers don't choose a word to focus on, nor do they need to.  I didn't even think of doing such a thing until 2013.  I'd read in the past of others doing so and in 2013 I prayerfully considered it for myself.  That year I ended up with the word "Purpose".  I found it incredibly helpful throughout the year to focus on God's purposes for me.

Each year since, I have prayerfully chosen a word for the year.  Some times it has seemed as if God laid a particular word on my heart, and that has truly been the case this year.   He has impressed upon me without any doubt that my word for 2020 is to be diligence.  The word came instantly, even before the end of the old year.  But sorting out my thoughts concerning it has taken longer.

A dictionary definition of diligence sounds like a good place to start.  My very vintage Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines it as: "Quality of being diligent; persevering application."  From there, of course, it becomes necessary to look up the word "diligent".  This dictionary says that diligent means "Perseveringly attentive; industrious with careful attention; painstaking."

The much newer dictionary on my computer desktop defines diligence as "careful and persistent work or effort".

Sally Clarkson says, "Diligence is the energy, the inner will of determination to keep going, that provides the power to overcome in life."

I have felt strongly the need to become more diligent in the coming year, in many areas of life.  Health is a big one.  I want to be much more diligent about eating properly, specifically to work on avoiding foods that contribute to inflammation.  I need to be more diligent with my water intake and with exercise.

Homemaking is another area where I must become more diligent.  Cleaning out my childhood home has impressed upon me strongly that I don't want my adult children doing this task when I'm gone.  They would be thoroughly disgusted (with good reason) that I had let things get so cluttered and that I had kept so many things.  With my hubby's retirement, he is insisting that he will get involved and help me with homemaking tasks so that the two of us will have more free time to do things together.   So, as soon as possible, we will begin with one room at a time, deep cleaning, decluttering, and taking many trips to the dump and thrift store.

My trust responsibilities dictate cleaning out a house and outbuildings and selling, donating, or trashing the contents.  Although I've worked hard at this task and have accomplished a lot, fresh diligence is required.  With Mr. T helping me, we believe we can knock this task out in a couple of months.  As another part of this process, I also need fresh diligence for listing items in my Etsy shop.  There are still hundreds more of them to list!

Scripture memory is another area that needs more diligence on my part.  I've memorized (and retained) a lot of Scripture in the past, but that is no reason not to work at memorizing more.  As a church, we work together to memorize a short passage each month, and that is great, but I need to get myself organized to learn more Scripture on my own.

Careful spending is something else I need to become more diligent about.   If you've read here enough to get to know me a bit, you know that I am not a "shop till you drop" type of person.  I will go to great lengths to avoid a shopping trip.  I've found, though, that shopping online makes it easier to spend more than I intend.  That said, I do seek out bargains and I buy most of my books, even for gifts, on Thriftbooks.  But the spending I'm thinking most about in my need to be diligent is the weekly grocery shopping.  I've gotten rather careless over time, just buying things that are convenient like pre-cut pineapple and melon rather than doing it myself.  Our local grocery store does offer a great program where one can get 2% back quarterly on purchasing their store brands.  Last week, I saved $25 on the week's groceries because I got my quarterly rewards and also a coupon (through the same program) for $11 off on $100.  Plus, I had some other coupons, both clipped and digital.  My hubby is good about finding deals to save money at CVS, and in fact has saved over $200 there in 2019.  So we're off to a good start here!

In considering diligence,  I turned to Elizabeth George's book Small Changes for a Better Life.  She offers some great motivators for diligence, as well as some very helpful tips for becoming more diligent.  I'll share a quick quote after each one.

First, some motivators for diligence:

* Awareness of the brevity of life
There are no guarantees on the length of our lives.  "We need to seize each and every day ... and put the most into each 24 hours.  We must do as much as we can, love our families as much as we can, help as many people as we can, give as much as we can in each precious sunrise-to-sunset parcel of life ... Let your awareness of the brevity of life be a driving force."

* Awareness of the purpose of life
  "When we realize that we were made by God and for God, and that God has a purpose for each of our lives, we don't live with 'self' in mind.  We instead begin living each day ... for the Lord.  There's a new energy, a new direction, a  new diligence, a serious soberness."

* Awareness of stewardship
"God intends us to manage our time and our lives for Him and to use them for His purposes.  He intends that we live out His plan for us.  That means God expects each of us to be a good steward of the life He entrusts us with ... Seek to live each day with stewardship in mind for that one day.  This mindset stimulates daily diligence.

* Awareness of time
"Diligence simply means pursuing a fruitful pace of life from start to finish as you purposefully move through the peaks and valleys, the ebb and flow, the springs, summers, and winters of your life."

As someone who just celebrated a big birthday, I am more aware than ever of the brevity of life and the passing of time.  This has surely motivated me to greater diligence and may even be a reason I felt led to choose that particular word.

Second, some tips for becoming more diligent: 

* Write out and memorize Colossians 3:23-24. 
* Evaluate the peaks and valleys of your days and plan for using them wisely.
* Consider each day in the light of stewardship.
* Read a chapter of Proverbs each day and take special note of any teaching on diligence.
* At the end of each week, evaluate your diligence and plan for any necessary improvements.

I'm keeping this information at my fingertips for this year.  I'm sure I'll need plenty of tips and motivation for diligence as the year speeds by!

"And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men,

"Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance, for ye serve the Lord Christ."  

Colossians 3:23-24

Courage: my word for 2019

Beautiful graphic by Abby at Little Birdie Blessings

Sometimes it takes me awhile to come up with a word for the year -- and I should be quick to add that I don't always choose one.  I don't think that choosing a word to focus on for the year ahead necessarily makes anyone more spiritual.  I do know that for me, this practice has been helpful in recent years. 

Sometimes I've even made Pinterest boards for my word of the year, for I find that invariably I run across blog posts or other information that relates to the word.  A Pinterest board gives me a place to put these so I don't lose them and can easily return to them.  Below you see a screenshot showing part of 2018's board.  Here's a link if you'd like to visit the board: Settled — My Word for 2018.

This year  I have chosen the word "courage".  Below you see a dictionary definition for courage.


I thought it would be a good idea to also look this up in a Bible dictionary, since I would be approaching this word from somewhat of a spiritual perspective.

Here is the definition from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary: "the strength of purpose that enables one to withstand fear or difficulty.  Physical courage is based on moral courage -- a reliance on the presence and power of God and a commitment to His commandments."

I like that definition quite a bit better,  don't you?  The standard dictionary definition leaves out God, His presence, and His power!

The Bible dictionary references two verses: Joshua 23:6 and 2 Chronicles 19:11.

Joshua 23:6 reads, "Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right and or to the left."

And the last part of 2 Chronicles 19:11 reads, "Deal courageously, and the LORD shall be with the good."

I will add the verse I am using to encourage myself with courage at the end of the post.

A bit about the "why" of choosing this word:  I know that we all need courage from God to face the unknowns of any given new year.  But to me, this year holds some "known unknowns".  That is, I know there are things that are scheduled to happen in the coming year, but I have no idea at all how they are necessarily going to look.

For example: My trust and estate responsibilities will continue, but the time frame and details could be variable.  My hubby plans at least a partial retirement from his current job in late fall 2019, but how that is going to play out is very much up in the air.  At church, we continue to work at our pastoral search and certainly pray that 2019 will be the year God provides a pastor for us.  There will be innumerable unknowns between this point and that.  Dental or health needs need to be addressed for both of us, along with all of the unknowns that decisions like that can hold.  There are concerns about my hubby's aging mother.  We will probably spend time with our Nevada family, but whether they come here or we go there is still being thought and prayed about.  I could go on and on and on; those are just the bigger things.  I will need courage from God for every one of them.

Joshua 1:9 is the verse I am holding in my heart as I trust God for courage in 2019:  "Have I not commanded thee?  Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest."

A couple of years ago, I studied this verse using the simple SOAP method of Bible study, and thought I would just share those very simple insights here.  The "S", of course, is for "Scripture", and I have written that out above, so we will just go on with the rest of the acronym and see what I found.

O= After Moses' death, God spoke to Joshua, who would be the new leader of the children of Israel.  How amazing it must have been to be encouraged by God Himself!  He assured Joshua that every inch of the promised land was theirs (v. 2-4); that He would be with him and not fail or forsake him; that no man would be able to stand before them (v. 5).  He encouraged and commanded Joshua to keep His Word in the forefront of his thinking, to meditate on it and obey it (v. 7-8).

Here in v. 9, God reminds Joshua to be strong and courageous: "Have not I commanded thee?  Be strong and of good courage."  This is the third time God has told him this: verses 6 and 7 record the same command.  He expands on it here:

* Be not afraid
* Be not dismayed

And then He tells him why: "for the LORD thy God is with thee wherever thou goest."  What possible need could there be for fear?

A= This is the perfect day for me to be meditating upon this verse.  Things are changing in my life.  There are many things I could be fearful about, from family concerns to legal matters.  Literally,  things will never be the same as they were before.  And yet ...

* I can be strong
* I can be courageous
* I need not be afraid
* I need not be dismayed

BECAUSE

* The Lord my God is with me wherever I go and whatever I face.

P=  Lord, how I thank and praise You for Your Word!  I thank You today in particular for this powerful verse.  What a great reminder!  Because You, the all-powerful, all-knowing God, are with me, I can be strong and very courageous.  There is no need for fear or dismay.  I pray that you will help me to keep this verse firmly in my mind as I face the unknown, and thank You for all You will do, in Jesus' name, Amen.

Those things are every bit as true as they were in 2017 when I studied that verse.  So thankful that I can face the unknowns of this new year with strength and courage from God Himself!