SEEK the LORD while He may be FOUND!
Psalm 105
1
2024
My word of the year is actually a string of words: AWARENESS. PRESENCE. EMMANUEL.
The words I'm boycotting are INDIFFERENCE, SELF-SUFFICIENCY, EASE, & DISTRACTED.
Let me explain.
Each January, many of us make New Year's Resolutions, and each February, most of those resolutions are already broken (at least for me)! A few years ago, I decided not to make resolutions because I didn't want to fail. Then, a few years later, I realized that when I didn't evaluate the past year and make goals for the upcoming year, I tended to stay stagnant in my walk with the Lord. So, I've returned to setting resolutions, but I've revamped the process a little!
NEW YEAR'S PLAN
- Prayerfully choose a word of the year, and pair it with a verse or verses that are related. Take steps to memorize the verses and post them along with your word of the year in places where you will remember to pursue them all year long
- Select a Bible reading plan, Bible study, etc.
- Find/create an accountability group. Make a plan to meet together to DISCUSS SCRIPTURE and PRAY (not gossip about others, complain about your husband/kids, or anything else that would not draw you closer to each other and the Lord.)
- Make a list of personal goals (health, marriage, work, family, church, financial, etc.) and share them as requests with close friends and family.
- Organize a playlist of worship songs that anchor your heart and mind in the hope of Christ. Play these songs when you're in the car, getting ready, cooking, etc.
THINGS TO REMEMBER:
- Give yourself GRACE. You’re not perfect, and your resolutions won’t be achieved 100% And that’s ok. Don’t quit at the first sign of failure. We’re human, and we won’t measure up perfectly. That can get me so down and tempted to quit altogether, but I’m not sure why this surprises me! We aren’t perfect! While we are dead to sin and alive in Christ, we also still struggle with daily temptations and challenges that are part of our sanctification.
- Start over each month! This was a huge revelation for me one year. The Lord gives us so many fresh starts. Lamentations reminds us that the Lord’s mercies are new each morning. Continuing with that truth, each week can be a fresh start, and each month can be a reset! If you’ve failed to be consistent with a new goal, start over! Don’t wait for next year to retry.
- Pray. Don't let prayer be an afterthought, but rather let it be your lifeline all throughout your day. Begin and end with prayer. Pray aloud so that you can model for your kids how to continually lean on God through all of the daily worries and stressors. Pray with others right away as you see a need, rather than promising to pray for them later. Pray Scriptures and promises of God. Confess and repent daily. Have an attitude of praise and thankfulness. PRAY. (Here's a website for some amazing prayer resource: journals, blog posts, podcasts, etc.)
Read, meditate, and pray through Isaiah 55:6-10. Let us seek the Lord NOW, while He may be found. Let's not waste another minute with shallow excuses. We aren't too busy. We may be too distracted, unfocused, or nonchalant about our relationship with the Lord, BUT His mercies are new, He is still drawing us to Himself, and we have the opportunity right now to seek him and call on Him while He may be found!
Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call on him while he is near.
7 Let the wicked forsake their ways
and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon.
8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10 As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
12 You will go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
will clap their hands.
Happy New Year!
Always, Jacquelyn
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