Have you chosen a Focus Word for the Year? Did you have one in 2018?
Where do you find your heart led as you consider 2019?
Steadfast…
2017 was the first year I locked into a focus word and felt the heartbeat of it.
Steadfast was my word and the deep longing of my heart and soul.
Steadfast faithfulness to my God and Father.
I chose 24 Bible verses revolving around this theme and loosely memorized them throughout the year. {Post here}
Because of my word, I noticed other verses or habits or inspiration pointing towards steadfastness. All year long, anything about steadfastness caught my attention.
When we desire to go deeper, opposition usually rears its ugly head. I know this, but I was still surprised, taken off guard by events occurring in 2017, wanting to undermine the secure steadfastness I was seeking.
Aspire & Aim…
2018 found Aspire & Aim as my focus. Wisdom and discernment, while never “officially” chosen as focus words, had long been in my prayers and heart longings through 2015 and 2016.
Thus, 2018 found me desiring to aspire to more soulful character, to aim for higher, both spiritually and personally. To continue seeking God for wisdom, for His discerning spirit, continuing steadfastly, to aspire to more prayer, to aim for better gratitude, to love well and better, to aspire to have a compassionate and kind heart.
That’s a lofty picture and before you slip quietly away thinking I totally attained to this and you compare the state of your own heart and review where you find failings, while I aspired and I aimed, I am not an expert marksman. I wish! How I wish!
I wish my character and actions could so easily be attained by simply tapping out what I long to be.
Contentment…
2019 brings me the word, Contentment.
I already know I will be challenged by this. I already am. That’s why I find myself choosing this word.
It’s not that I’m thoroughly discontented. I love many, many things about this life I’ve been given. I just long to settle into a deeper contentment, come what may. To not allow my happiness to be stolen when life deals hard stuff. I’d like to more fully rejoice for others while recounting my own blessings to my heart.
To be a better encourager for others and find contentment in lending a listening ear.
I’m choosing contentment because I so desire to settle more deeply in Christ, confident in Him, in any circumstance, despite my circumstances, through every circumstance. I want to know Jesus is enough. I want to rest in Him, come what may. I want His Providence to surround my purpose and to recite His promises to my soul. I want to trust and obey. I want to sing contented, thankful, joyful praise!
Joy and Happiness…
Joy and Happiness in any and all circumstances is something my heart has long hoped for. Fact is, that’s where my blog name A Delightful Glow came from. Eight years ago, as I tossed around ideas for a blog name, I thought about what I desired in my life. Joy was the attribute I landed on. I loved so many things about my life, yet the mundane and impatience and annoyances and interruptions always creep in. I contemplated calling my blog A Joyful Journey for that’s the vision I wanted for my life. A quick Google search revealed I wasn’t the first one to think of this name or the only one seeking to live a journey of joy. This sent me back to throwing around name ideas. A synonym for joy is delight and as I thought about my life and my desire for it to shine forth in a God-glorifying way to my own little family and my friends around me, A Delightful Glow emerged.
“You are the light of the world-like a city on a mountain, glowing in the night for all to see. Don’t hide your light under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”
Then I found the above version of Matthew 5:14-16 containing the word glow, and it felt like a beginning. And it was. A Delightful Glow became a blog.
Encouraging words…
I hear from readers and they tell me how my words bless them or encourage them and I am deeply grateful and so completely happy when I hear this. I want to serve others and come alongside with an encouraging word for the woman who needs one today. I appreciate their kindness in blessing me with encouraging words in return. I’ll admit writing can seem a lonely place, a vulnerable place. It can feel like a waste of time and it can feel that I have nothing to share or say that anyone needs. I don’t have anything new or earth-shattering. I’m pretty simple. I’m not a deep theology student and there are lots of big words I can’t even pronounce. Truth is, if asked to describe myself over my life, some of the first words likely to pop into my head would be Average, Awkward, Mediocre. I simply love light and beauty and books and words and cheering and encouraging women when the rough patches of life hit.
And while I am so deeply grateful when my words bring cheer to someone’s day or lift their spirits or point them to a verse they needed, any of the words you find at A Delightful Glow are here because I needed them first. I’m learning, seeking, needing as much or more than anyone. I’ve never really wanted to “tell-you-how” as much as link arms with you as a fellow comrade and say “We can do this! One step at a time, friend, one step at a time.”
We can go deeper. We can seek and claim His promises. We can focus on a word or phrase or verse and Jesus will meet us there.
Verses about Contentment…
I’m choosing verses about Contentment this year, like I did for Steadfast in 2017. They may not all contain the word contentment, but the theme will be there. I’m seeking verses that settle me in Jesus and the knowing if I tuck them into my life they will bear the fruit of contentment.
The first one in my spiral of index cards is 1 Timothy 6:6-8
“But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.”
I think the whole heart of Contentment for me will be summed up in the verse I have written as my sixth verse.
Philippians 4:12
“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”
The secret of being content in any AND every situation!
Imagine!!!!
Truly able to utter the attainment of learning the secret of contentment.
I’m expecting challenges. I know choosing Contentment as my word is setting myself up for struggles. A bit like praying for patience. π I very much believe there is always fierce combat from the enemy when we grapple after growth.
Music Speaks…
I’ve been listening to Satisfied by Chris Tomlin. It’s definitely a beautiful expression and tribute to my heart’s cry for contentment and satisfaction right here, right now, Today!!
Stories Speak…
We do not know when our stories end. I’m currently on the launch team for the book, Emptied, by Jonathan and Wynter Pitts. It’s a beautiful encouragement for marriage, and a bit of a tear jerker to read. The very day they submitted their manuscript to the editor, Jesus also called Wynter home to Him. A few hours after submitting their story, Wynter’s story on earth ended and her most glorious story began. She was 38 years old and Jonathan and Wynter were blessed to share 15 years of marriage. No guarantees of tomorrow. It grips me because I want to live out each day well.
Wynter Pitts died in July of 2018, just a few days after my fortieth birthday. {Her ministry site for girls is here.} Reading about her death resonated deeply with me. I embraced turning forty for why should I sulk or bemoan aging when I can press into rejoicing in Every Good Day? I kept repeating to my husband, “Not everyone gets forty years!” A few days later I heard the news of Wynter’s death and I wept for her husband and four precious daughters and my words echoed in my head. “Not everyone gets forty years.” I know it is gain to step out of this life and into glory with Jesus, yet I truly believe so many things about life are a gift. I don’t think Wynter would wish to come back, but it is still beautiful to get to watch our children grow and invest in their lives. It is beautiful to walk beside our spouse and settle in beside each other at the end of a long day.
It Leads Me To This…
Much like a multicolored rag quilt pieced together, all these moments and thoughts and observances of life, form the blocks behind my desire to add a deeper Contentment to it all.
Your turn!
Friends, I would absolutely love to hear if you have a focus word or a special verse for 2019!
Share your words, share your stories, share your songs with me! You’re welcome to share in the comments or email me at adelightfulglow {at} havilandtelco {dot} com.
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