Whenever one year ends and another begins I find myself being contemplative. What did I actually accomplish in this year and what would I like to accomplish in the next. I don't really believe in New Year resolutions, perhaps because I know how undisciplined I am and how unlikely I am to actually succeed in completing any resolutions. But I think the real reason is I am better at short term goals.
I have been seeing different people on my Facebook feed say they were picking a word for the year. If I look back on 2013, I think my word was "thankfulness". Ever since I read Ann Voskamp's book, One Thousand Gifts, this past summer, I have made a concerted effort to count my blessings and to put I Thessalonians 5:18 into practice "In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you".
I have asked myself is it really possible to give thanks in all things? And the answer is "yes, yes it is". It all comes down to determined focus. Even if I have to say "God I don't know how to thank You for this, but I am giving it to You and saying thanks that I can trust you to take it and do with it what You will." Thanking God for all things requires trusting God. Reminding myself, that He is God and I AM NOT!! Truly trusting that when Romans 8:28 says "ALL things work together for good for those that love God..." that I can trust that whatever it is I am going through He has it in His control and for His purposes, so therefore I can give thanks for that.
Since I have begun trying to practice giving thanks more, I have noticed that I am so much more at peace. I no longer feel like I have to fix everything. God can do so much of a better job than I can. I have also found I am more content. It takes a lot more energy to be negative than positive. While negativity drains me of energy, thankfulness actually lifts my spirit and gives me energy.
I hope I do not forget the lessons I am learning. It is easy to fall back into old practices. But I find if I say when I put my feet on the floor "Lord, please give me a thankful Spirit this day", it definitely helps!
So now on to 2014. I think the word that God has given me for this year is "DWELL". According to Meirriam Webster this is the definition of "dwell":
1 a: to remain for a time
2 a: to live as a resident
3 a: to keep the attention directed
I then did a search on dwell on Biblegateway.com and these three verses stood out to me:
Psalm 61:4 I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.
Psalm 84:4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you.
Psalm 91:1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
So I want to dwell more in the presence of my Lord. I want to be eager about spending time with Him. I am eager to see what Facebook updates, or emails I get in a day, shouldn't I be ever so much more eager to hear from my Father? Sometimes I think my time with Him is more of a "I should" than a desire to just dwell. Over the Christmas season Steve and I celebrated Advent for the first time and it was such a blessing to have a determined time set everyday that we shared time with readings about our Savior and then time praying together. We need to determine to continue to do that even though the season is over.
So if you are reading this and consider me a friend, would you please check in with me from time to time and ask me how I am doing at DWELLING? Even greater would be if you actually saw a change in my life because of my DWELLING!
