 It is that time of year again. Most of you have already begun to think about what you hope to accomplish in 2023. I certainly have done the same and look forward to seeing what the Lord has in store for me. One way I do this is by choosing One Word https://getoneword.com/ on which to focus. As I wrote last year, I think about what my Word will be during the Season of Epiphany. Epiphany means “a moment in which you suddenly see or understand something in a new or very clear way”  I use the season between Christmas and the manifestation of Jesus https://www.britannica.com/topic/Epiphany to reflect and focus on what I think God wants my focus to be for the coming year. It is different than resolutions. In fact, I use my word to help me make the most out of every moment of every day. The last few years have seen me focus on Prayer, Generosity, Embrace to what I think was my most impactful word last year UNITY. https://thankfulinallthings.com/if-you-focused-on-one-word-in-2022-which-would-you-choose/ So many amazing things happened both personally and professionally because of concentrating on Unity. I am grateful that the last 10 days of the year slow down from a business stand point. Like in the song from Rent, I use it as an opportunity to look back and measure the year https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/rentcast/seasonsoflove.html 525,600 minutes 525,000 moments so dear 525,600 minutes How do you measure, measure a year? Brad Caldwell who I hope to meet one day challenged folks this week to not be afraid to look back before you rush to set new goals and make New Year’s resolutions. He asked a legitimate question, “Now that the year is over, would your word be different than the one you set on January 1st? If you had known, “would you have crafted other goals than the ones you so confidently set for yourself for 2022? I have no doubt God provided me an epiphany with the words from previous years and I felt the impact of my Uncompromised Never-ending Intensity Toward Yes (UNITY) this year. I am counting on the same with my word for 2023 as I endeavor to RISE to whatever circumstances come my way. I break down the word this way: Resolved Intentional Serving Expectantly and as I RISE UP/P my actions will be about Unleashing (God’s) Purpose/Passion for my life. Matthew 13:33 says – “The kingdom of Heaven is like a yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.” The dough needs to be kneaded so the proteins begin to line up in such a way that strands of gluten develop and create a structure that allows for the trapping of gases and the dough to RISE. I want God to kneed into me the yeast I need to RISE UP/P and be the person He can use for His good pleasure. May I submit my life to Him so in a way that The apostle Paul referred to our bodies as “jars of clay” (2 Corinthians 4:7, NIV). To say that we are clay in the hands of the Potter acknowledges God’s handiwork as the Master Potter, or Creator, of our physical body. May it be in 2023. I would love to hear what your One Word is for 2023. I can be reached by email at [email protected]. If you haven’t already, please subscribe so that you can receive email notifications when new content is posted.  |
My word for 2021 is Embrace
I have been doing the One Word challenge https://www.onewordchallenge.com/ for several years now. I wish I had written them all down. I do know that 2018 was Blessed because I realized how often I forgot how much I had for which to be thankful. Who would have guessed when I chose Prayer as my 2019 word, it would be so needed as I battled Guillain Barre Syndrome chronicled here. http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/michaelguthrie 2020’s word Generosity was an easy one to choose. I wanted to pay forward the generosity everyone shared with Dottie and me the previous year. Covid19 gave me lots of ways to practice generosity. Thinking of and stepping out to serve others kept me from self-isolation pity parties and spiraling into discouragement. If these last few years have taught me anything, it has been stuff happens that is totally out of my control. That is why my word this year is EMBRACE. My focus will be on two different meanings of the word. “an act of holding someone closely in one’s arms.” and “accept or support (a belief, theory, or change) willingly and enthusiastically.” Instead of trying to figure out why things happen, I want to trust God enough knowing “that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28. Therefore, I can be thankful in all things.
Charles Stanley writes-“Signs of God’s blessing are all around us, but discerning them can be difficult. We tend to think God is moving and blessing us when things are going well—when marriages are thriving, we get the promotion, or sickness is healed. But He blesses us even in the wilderness of our lives—in the unknown, unpredictable, and uncomfortable. When things are difficult, it’s common to believe the solution is to move past our problems—to change our circumstances. But God doesn’t just pluck us out of the desert places. Usually, He comes alongside us, bringing life, water, and renewed hope as we journey onward.”
This is what I want to do with 2021. Embrace whatever comes my way. Over these last two years, I have experienced God’s presence in ways that have deepened my faith. I have learned the need to Abide in Christ to have the confidence I can trust Him no matter what the outcome. Jesus teaches in John 15 that we are to cling to the True Vine. John 15:7 says, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. I think we can all agree that clinging on to something during these stormy times sounds like a pretty good idea. It has certainly worked for me and I believe it will work for you as well. This passage communicates we are to be grafted into a place God has prepared for us as a result our faith in Him. The better that attachment the more our new life of faith can flourish. My hope is as I focus on clinging even tighter to my relationship with God, more of what He wants for my life will appear. The result will be the fruit https://www.biblica.com/bible/niv/galatians/5/ produced by my embracing Him no matter what 2021 brings with it.
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