Word for the year

A few years ago Life.Church did a sermon on finding a word for the year that you want to focus on. They probably did this way before Trevor and I started attending, but 2014 was our first year to do this. Since that time, we have kept up the tradition. We write or type up our words and they are hung in our bathroom as daily reminders.

Before I start in on my word for 2016, I want to reflect a bit on 2015. 

My word/verse for 2015 was Educate: Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom, knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgement -Proverbs 9:10

I chose that word because I felt like a lot of my beliefs were just by word of mouth from my parents, friends, Lifegroup, etc and I wanted to have a head knowledge and foundation for myself. Not saying I never thought for myself, but I needed to go deeper. I needed to educate myself a little more before I felt like the Lord could really use me in a way that I felt confident. My one big goal for the year was to read/listen to the bible from cover to cover with Trevor. He did this the previous year as well, but we decided to do it together in 2015.  

I am proud to admit that we accomplished that goal. Honesty moment: There were definitely times I didn't feel like reading and there were definitely times when we were listening that I had no idea what on earth was going on, but we mustered through it. Most days it was really uplifting and I knew that we were on a journey together that would help us grow in our relationship with God and each other. I definitely learned so much and the discipline of reading every day was really fulfilling. It is definitely something I want to do again, but maybe break it down a little more, so I can study what I'm about to read first, and maybe grasp a little more understanding on the books I was once confused about. 

I love looking back and seeing the growth that this one goal had on myself and Trevor. 

2016:

My word/verse for the year is ACTION: Yes, just as you can identify a tree by it's fruit, so you can identify people by their actions -Matthew 7:20

In the past I have really had to pray about my word and really work to find the right fit for that year, but this word came to me weeks before the new year. I was leading worship at Switch, which is our Wednesday night youth ministry and we were doing a worship night. So instead of worship first and then their activity/message after, they were all mixed together. We were on stage the whole time so we got to hear different speakers throughout the evening. One of the pastors on our campus said something that really struck a chord with me. He said we need to turn our intention into action. I feel like I have good intentions a lot, but there are many times they stop there. I don't take that intention and turn it into action. Let me just lay out a couple instances. 

I usually get home from work before Trevor, there are so many days that when he walks in the door I think, I should get up and greet him with a hug, kiss, excitement to see him, but instead I stay put, say "hey, how was your day" and continue working on whatever I'm doing. Wow. Saying (typing) that out loud seems cold hearted. But I'm just trying to be real here. 

There are times when I have the intention or thought to reach out to someone, call someone or text someone to see how they are doing, especially if I know they are going through something tough, but I get too busy and forget. 

I go into a month having the intention to cook more, save money on eating out and make health a priority, but the convenience of just going out to eat takes over my brain and I don't cook, we go out to eat and make unhealthy choices. 

There are times when I have good intentions to discuss my faith with someone who needs to hear about Christ, but I chicken out because sometimes I don't think I have the right words to say, or they will have a question or have a defense that I won't know how to answer or combat. 

But these things stop January 1 because my word for the year is ACTION. I am turning my intentions into actions. 

In years past I have shared my word at the end of the year because I don't want to tell too many people just in case I fall short. But this year I wanted to be more transparent, share at the beginning, and make it a public goal. 

Here's to turning intentions into ACTIONS.