What's your #ONEWORD for 2021?

     So we all know it has been a year... as we sit back on NEW YEAR'S EVE 2020, we can reflect on the year that has passed and wonder about the year ahead. Most NEW YEAR'S EVE nights are spent with friends or family, enjoying food and festivities... but again 2020 threw a wrench into those plans, and the government and their Covid-19 regulations have put an end to getting together. Again they want to throw us into isolation and try and put fear into our lives as we enter the new year. But we are not isolated alone, we always have GOD with us. He is our wisdom, strength, peace and more!

     Usually during the end of the year, and the beginning of the next year, people make resolutions. They decide on things that they want to change or need in their lives. Some people choose to make more time for family; make more time for God; read the Bible more; lose weight or have a more proper diet or choose to eat more healthy foods; etc. However, most people don't stay with some of the resolutions they make, and so for the last several years people have chosen #oneword or #onelittleword for the year ahead.

     I somehow don't have a record of words I have chosen, but I remember in 2017, I (along with Holy Spirit) chose "resolute" and "#finishwell" in 2018. I don't remember what word was chosen for last year... I know "vision" was a big theme as it was 2020. Our vision sure was cleared this year, physically and spiritually. We saw that although the world was in chaos around us, our GOD was still in control and on His throne and gave most of us PEACE. Our vision was altered as we shifted our vision on things of the world to things of the Kingdom. During the first quarantine, we grew closer to God and His Word. He allowed our vision to be focused on Him. This year, I believe Holy Spirit is leading me to the #oneword #onelittleword PURSUE. Pursue after Him... Pursue after Truth... Pursue after what is Right...  I was led to a Bible Verse found in 1 Timothy 6:11 which says, "But you, Timothy, are a man of God; so run from all these evil things. Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness."

       I enjoy learning more about WORDS and ETYMOLOGY (the study of words).  The word etymology derives from the Greek word ἐτυμολογία (etumología), itself from ἔτυμον (étumon), meaning "true sense or sense of a truth", and the suffix -logia, denoting "the study of". The word pursue in the Greek means; "to run swiftly in order to catch a person or thing, to run after; to press on: figuratively of one who in a race runs swiftly to reach the goal; to seek after eagerly, earnestly endeavour to acquire". I also like to take words apart and choose other words to go along with them... so taking the letters in the word PURSUE, I can pull out different things that I will PURSUE this year. 

PURSUE

        Prayerful - 1 Thess. 5:17

        Understanding/Wisdom - Exodus 35:31

        Righteousness - 1Timothy 6:11

        Spiritual Truth  - Psalm 86:2 & Psalm 78:2

        Unwavering Faith - Matt 21:21

        Excellence - Proverbs 31:10; Ruth 3:11; Matthew 5:16; Philippians 4:8

    I love to learn and am a #lifelonglearner and have always loved God and His Word. But it means a lot more when you walk in relationship with Him and gain understanding and revelation when reading or being taught His Word. This year will prove to be a time of greater growth in the Lord spiritually and I have #greatexpectations to what is going to happen.

What's your #ONEWORD?? Let me know in the comments and I can keep you in my prayers when I am reminded of you. THANKS!

BE BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING!

Happy 2011~~ New year, New blog posts... New fun!

So, this year I am going to try to continue with my devotional thoughts, and try to keep them more up to date. I have a 'A Woman of Faith' Devotional book that I have been reading this past year (again not faithfully), so this year I thought I would read the devotional and then comment on the verse or the thought of the day and share it with you, instead of in a notebook/journal form.

Today's 'DAY 1' entry was rightly called 'A Woman of Faith' and the verse was found in Matthew 21:21 -- "Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done."

Earlier in the book of Matthew in 17:20, Jesus also uses the mountain analogy, "He replied, 'Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.'" The last sentence in this verse is what should be a resounding truth in our hearts and minds, but we somehow cannot let this truth really manifest itself in our lives. That little thing called 'doubt' and one called 'fear' get in the way of us truly believing that 'nothing will be impossible for you'. We try to pray and live with FAITH... and then a little pinch of doubt creeps in, and throws us for a loop. Somehow the promise of 'nothing will be impossible for you' just doesn't hit home with us. Why we can let ourselves get so worked up over sometimes little things, and not truly believe that God can and will do what He promises makes God sad I'm sure. Sometimes we even try to make it work on our own, and try to do things our way, since God is obviously not listening to our prayers and our hearts cries and desires. (Truly He is listening, but we try to make ourselves feel better thinking we can do it for Him.)

Sometimes God promises us something, but we have to wait for it, but we don't desire to wait any longer and patience and endurance are not gifts that we want to utilize. Like Abram and Sarai, when God told them He would make Abram (Abraham) the Father of many nations. How was he supposed to be a father of many nations, when he didn't have any children to call his own. He was getting older, and so was Sarai, and so they took their 'promise fulfillment' into their own hands and allowed Abram to sleep with Hagar, and she bore a son, Ishmael. Later Sarah and Abraham did conceive the 'promised' son, yet Ishmael was there as 'thorn in his side'. Isaac was conceived in 'due time'... every promise in the Bible belonged to those in the Bible, and also to each of us. We just need to read, meditate and claim the promises... However, in most cases it says "God will..." and that's what we as readers of the Bible dwell on. Different people (not just Christians) can quote different promises of God from the Bible. They then question why God isn't granting them that promise. If you look closer at the Scriptures, there are two little words usually in front of the promise (or just after)... "If you..." We have to do our part too. I can't just walk through life expecting God to bless each and every thing I do, I need to do my part too. For example, one of the well-known Scriptures in the church is found in 2 Chronicles 7:14, "if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

What does it take to be a 'woman of faith' (or a man of Faith)... technically it's easy for me and other members of my church, as our church is called Faith Tabernacle. So being of that church makes me a woman of Faith... LOL! However, it takes much more than that! Believing and not doubting... not letting fear or guilt get in the way of receiving the full blessings of God. We need to LIVE out our FAITH. The Bible also says that Faith without works is dead... (James 2:17)


This day is a NEW BEGINNING... a FRESH start at living a life of FAITH. Come join the journey with me...

I've heard it said that FAITH can be described as...
Forsaking
All
I
Trust in
Him

So trust Him today, and lean not on your OWN understanding (stop trying to do things your own way), and He will direct your paths (He will bring you to where you are to be!)

BE BLESSED, and BE A BLESSING!