2019 | Week 01 Word of the Year: Intentionality
Words are swirling all around inside me. It helps to bring them to this table.
This table, where I sit across from you and you from me, whether that’s from where I write in sunny California to where you may be sitting, at a table in the blustery winds of the northeast or another part of the world. My kitchen table is wiped clean while the dining room table still has some remnants of Christmas gifts and decorative candles. The Christmas tree is still up, decorated and aglow. The Christmas season comes and goes so fast, so it’s comforting to me to keep it for just a little while longer. I also like to think about the days after Jesus’ birth, what happened next? We know what happened in his thirty third year (the cross) but what did his first birthday look like, his fifth, his thirteenth?
The week after Christmas was somewhat of a blur. Then the New Year and all its celebrations. I fell asleep at 11:00pm on New Year’s Eve (whoops!) but I woke up rested and ready to take on 2019. The popular slogan is “new year, new me” and to be honest I’m not sure I’m entirely comfortable with that. I looove the feeling of clean slates, clean tables (*see above) and can’t really work when there’s clutter. I understand the expression and that it’s nice to try and pick up again if the previous year felt like it wasn’t quite your year. But for me, that’s almost like taking a step back. It was hard work persevering through the previous year but it was work and I gained a lot because of that work. I gained wisdom, friendships, and progress was made even though it felt like an uphill climb. Especially when it felt like an uphill climb. I now see a new year not as a fresh start but as a continuity, a building upon the years prior. To negate the things which the previous year held would be negating the work done…inwardly. Whether a challenging, disappointing or harrowing year something beautiful happened inside of you. A little seedling that had been planted there however many years ago began to push through the cracks of the weary, parched part of your heart and there is now a tender green shoot springing forth. Or maybe it’s already pushed through and grown an inch taller. This is what began to happen to me as I let God into my plans, into my dreams, into my life and into my heart — real growth, real development of character and seeing His purpose unfolding for my life. Even in the midst of what may have felt like a brittle winter (parts of 2018 for me), I can still see evidence of growth and blooming that’s taken place. Don’t throw out all the hard work done and start over, simply build upon what previous years have taught you and how they’ve defined you. Imagine a giant oak tree and you’re it. This little seed that God has been producing in you is becoming that tall, resilient and strong oak, able to withstand and rise above. As a believer in Christ, these are the promises the Bible makes.
“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,
whose confidence is in him.
They will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7-8
New year’s are great and fun and I am so excited at what 2019 holds. I already have a list of goals, prayers and resolutions taped up where I can be reminded of what I believed for at the start of the year. It’s a year of intentionality and getting things done. Looking forward, not backward yet thinking of the previous years fondly and remembering all the plowing and digging and building that’s been had to get me here. And no matter what the coming year brings, I can be confident this will be another beautiful year of more growing and becoming more deeply rooted in God’s Word.
The tools and places and people He’ll use to do this work in me this year may look different than last’s, but the work is the same. It’s all a culmination to produce character in me…in you. He uses our hopes and dreams and desires to propel us forward so that we can participate in a grand adventure with Him, getting to know Him more and more.
What a wonderful use of time.
I pray you see it that way as well.
Some of my goals:
Publish my book (I’m almost there!) but the next part needs a lot of prayer — publishing, professional editing.
Travel out of the country at least once (I have my sights set on a few different countries hehe)
Record at least 6 more couple’s stories for The Marriage Project (launching this month, 01/23/19!)
Share my story with girls/women and share the gospel through what God has done!
Resolutions:
More empathy — to really think about what the other person may be thinking, experiencing, feeling
That I’d own how I’m feeling, sharing openly and honestly.
Limiting Netflix and phone time
Stop avoiding, confront what needs to be confronted
Intentional living —prayer, what I’m reading (less is more, take in less but digest more)
Getting outside and enjoying creation and God’s people!
What are some of yours?!
Happy New Year!!