Hello, 2018: One Little Word

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This one’s kind of lengthy and vulnerable, so here it goes...





I have so many new, brave, even scary goals for this new year. 2017 was good to me, but I can’t help but feel like I often times didn’t make the most out of it. I don’t want to live a squandered life. But I also want to be mindful, vigilant, and protective of my time and energies because I’ve learned I can care for no one when I’m burnt out and used up. 


This new year will hopefully hold even more exciting opportunities than last year. I’m praying God will give me wisdom and discernment to know which to pursue. It feels like so much is happening right now in my life, but I don’t want to take another step if it’s not toward God. As hard a pill as it is to swallow, I don’t want any part of anything that isn’t God’s plan for my life, even if that means I don’t get everything I want. 


My one little word for 2018 is discipline. It sounds harsh, but I realized something when I was studying a few weeks ago that made me shift the way I perceive the word. Our culture has a negative connotation for the word discipline. I think we often confuse it with punishment. But discipline in its purest form comes from love. It’s the forgoing of a preferred activity for a less desirable alternative for the sake of a greater good or goal. It’s not getting what I want now because I must learn something first. It’s loving myself enough to “deprive” myself of unhealthy things. God loves me as His daughter and thus disciplines me when I need it. It isn’t punitive; it’s from love. Can I love myself enough this year to master discipline in the domains of my life?  I’m going to try, and there’s more success in trying than in remaining unmoved. 


I want to use up my life on this side of eternity. I’m tired of living according to others’ standards because theirs won’t judge me in the end. I want to live this year and the rest of my life BIG!  I’m surrendering that to God. No one can know me better than the One who knit me together from the womb; it’s time I trust Him like never before. 

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