Discover your more when you give god your YES.
It still haunts me all these years later. My selfishness and insensitivity. I often yearn for an opportunity to speak to her and tell her how sorry I am, but it will most likely not happen this side of heaven.
My best friend and I were renting a townhouse apartment...
Read moreEveryone struggles with purpose. Deep within the human heart is a desire to mean something. We want to know that our lives matter. Why? Because God created us with that longing. He put it there and He alone can answer that cry.
In the book of Ephesians, Paul declares that we should “live to the praise of His glory.” God created you and me to live a life filled with His glory, to reflect Him to those seen on the earth and those unseen in the heavenlies. You were made to live a glory-filled life. You were made for glory! How’s that for a purpose?
Read moreIt was a terrifying moment. I remember exactly where I was. I can clearly see the room around me in my memory. I was about to do something that could potentially rock my world, but I knew that it had to be done. The consequences of not following through outweighed the risk of taking the plunge, so I did it. I prayed Psalm 139:23-24 and meant it! “Search me, God..."
Read moreThere are those moments that become engraved in memory. Often, they are the most beautiful moments. The proposal. The graduation. The birth. But sometimes, they are the most painful moments: The breakup. The failure. The loss. This was one of those kinds of moments.
It isn’t necessary, or wise, for me to share the details with you. It was a moment of great loss, loss of position, loss of hope, loss of future...
I was 14. He was almost 18. It was my first "real" relationship. I remember the moment he said "I love you. And I've never said that to anyone before!" I believed him. He believed himself. We were happy. What else would we be?!
It lasted almost a year...
Read moreIf you hadn't noticed yet I may as well tell you that this year my posts are going to focus on identity statements. “Why?” you ask. Because in order to live the YES life I need to say yes to who God says I am, not just what He wants me to do. Sometimes, it's easier to say yes to doing something than it is to say yes to becoming something.
God's ultimate desire for you and me is that we would be reflections of His glory, His character, who He is.
The summer of 2017 was all abuzz with talk of the solar eclipse. In some locations the sun would be totally covered by the moon.
Read moreWhat could have been one of my most terrifying childhood memories has become one of my most treasured moments because someone decided I was worth it.
At ten years old I was already comfortable swimming in the deep end of the pool. In fact, I loved it! One of my favorite games with a friend was to push ourselves from the surface to the bottom of the pool and then back up. We had spent summer mornings at swimming lesson for the past several years. I knew my way around the water and had a great time splashing, swimming and playing water games.
My dad has always wanted to see as much of the world as he can. When you have a family, traveling can be cost-prohibitive, but Dad found that renting a camper for our summer vacations gave us the opportunity to go farther on a smaller budget. One of his favorite activities was planning our itinerary and determining which new places we would visit.
Read moreEvery Thanksgiving that I can remember my mother’s table has been set with special dishes that are only used when we are having a holiday turkey. These plates and platters have a special pattern on them called His Majesty that communicates exactly what they are intended for.
When you look at His Majesty you know the exact purpose the set was created for....
Read moreRemember those times in school gym class when student team captains got to pick teams? That was one of my worst middle-school nightmares.
Read moreIn the past I had made it a practice to create a list of goals at the beginning of every new year. I found it helpful and focusing. Maybe you have too. By the end of the year, some of the goals were completed while others were still hanging out there and got transferred to the goal list for the next year. It wasn’t a perfect system, but it helped me to start the year purposefully. Having the goals written down on an index card used as a bookmark in my journal kept them before me throughout the year and helped me to refocus when necessary. I appreciated being able to review the card at the end of the year and see some progress.
A few years ago I came across a devotion in the YouVersion Bible app that challenged readers to choose one word to focus on rather than create a list of goals. The idea intrigued me, so I downloaded the guide and began the prayerful process of choosing one word to focus on. The objective was to allow God to show me an area I needed to grow in and focus on that through my one word.
My one word for that year was “value.” I had struggled with feeling valued and valuing my own thoughts, opinions and contributions. So, along with the verses I had picked up in our church New Year’s service, I took an index card wrote VALUE at the top, my New Year’s Scripture references below that, and crafted some goals built around the word VALUE. Some examples: I will value relationships. I will value my own voice. You get the idea? As before I kept that index card as a bookmark in my Bible to remind me. But my phone’s reminder feature was also a great way to keep the word “value” in front of my eyes on a daily basis.
At the end of the year, I could look back and see tangible growth in this area of my life. Growing in VALUE had helped me grow in stepping forward in God’s plan for me. I accomplished tasks. No doubt about that. But the inner growth was much more satisfying. I have continued this practice in the years since and have appreciated the focus and growth as a result.
Sound like something you’d like to try? Let me give you some suggestions to get you started. Here’s a snippet of Scripture full of words that might be worth your focus for the year:
"Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” Colossians 3:12-14
Do you need to focus on an identity statement? How about “chosen” or “holy” or “loved”? That’s who these verse say you are. Struggling with a relationship at home or work or church? You could focus on “compassion”,”kindness”, “humility”, “gentleness” or “patience.” Maybe your word is “forgiveness” or “forgiven” or “love” or “unity.”
Whatever word you choose, go through the process with God. Our ultimate goal is to let Him do His work IN us as well as through us. Will you pick up the challenge? Let me know!
Key thought: God wants to do His work IN us not just through us.
A Scripture to consider:
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility,gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Colossians 3: 12-14
A YES challenge: Choose one word to focus on for 2018 and see what God does in your life.
Prayer:
Lord, You know me inside and out. You know where I most need to grow and what I need to focus on for this year. Task goals have some merit, but I want a deeper goal. I want to grow in my character. I want to grow more like You and to become all that You planned for me. I give this year to You. Do Your work in me not just through me. Amen.
Some resources:
Lots more info than I used at http://getoneword.com/
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