ONE WORD 2014
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Well, we're 8 days into 2014. Some of you may be right on track with your New Years Resolutions (proud of you dad for quitting smoking!!) and some of you may have thrown in the towel. No judgement from here if you're part of the latter.
As you know, I don't really set New Year resolutions. I'm a big fan of dreams and goal setting on a regular basis, NOT just the beginning of the year. BUT what I do like to do at the beginning of the year is pick one word for the year. This will be my third year doing this one word thang and I'm pretty pumped. (2012- here & here. 2013 here & here.)
God dropped my word for 2014 into my heart on December 27th. I was praying for my husband and writing in my prayer journal and found myself writing out 1 Corinthians 13.
"Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." -1 Corinthians 13:4-7
As I wrote out those verses and read them aloud I realized how much I sucked at loving. I recognized how I can be incredibly selfish a lot of the time and in result, avoid loving people. In that moment, I knew my one word for 2014 was going to be love and the kind of love that God was calling me to was in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. And he wasn't just calling me to love my husband with this kind of love, he was calling me to love EVERYONE.
Loving this way is going to take a lot of stretching. It's going to take a lot of me stepping out of my safe bubble. It's going to take a lot of me getting over myself.
On January 1st, I wrote out this prayer "This year I'm ready to love deeper and wider and higher and greater than ever before. Help me Lord, to love like you love. To believe the best in others. To be selfless and not selfish. To love you Lord and love all those around me."
It may seem simple, but this my friends, is going to be the hardest one yet. But I'm ready (at least I'm telling myself that) to love.
Do you have a word for 2014? If so, I want to hear it (let me know in the comments)! And if you don't, I encourage you to seek one out! (Check out the original one word website for inspiration)
xoxo,
s.s.♥.
