Faith.
Discipline.
Believe.
Joy.
Four years ago, I started living out each year with a focus word. However, it was not until last year, where I can honestly say, I lived by my word joy. Joy surrounded me everywhere. Joy made a difference.
I lived joy.
I prayed about joy.
I shared joy.
I breathed joy.
The word joy was on my bracelet, on the bulletin board outside my classroom, bible verses referencing joy were written on sticky notes stuck to my desk, joy was even hanging on our patio doors. And the days, I didn’t necessarily see joy, my husband would kindly remind me, “remember joy is your word, Shelly.”
With a school year right around the corner, I am not ready to change my word. Yet, new year, new word. Though I may not have realized it at the moment, God has been orchestrating ways for me to realize what my new word should be.
Sign One: Spontaneous trip to Wyoming in March
Sign Two: The Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes
Sign Three: Pinterest pin that showed up on my timeline in June
“Be fearless. Have the courage to take risks. Get out of your comfort zone.”
Sign Four: “Draw the Circle” 40 Prayer Challenge by Mark Batterson
Sign Five: A tweet by Brené Brown (@BreneBrown) on 7/11/16:
“Every time time we choose courage, we make everyone around us a little better and the world a little braver. And our world could stand to be a little kinder and braver.”
Fearless. Adjective. Lacking fear. Synonyms: brave, courage, audacious, bold, daring.
Fearless...this is way too hard, I really like my comfort zone bubble.
I said, “Yes to fearless.”
Then, “No to fearless, that is being reckless.”
Reflecting upon the word fearless, I realized, not only is this a great word for me, it is a God word.
God was preparing my heart. Now I am discovering what fearless may look like for me in the upcoming year. I definitely know, fearless is not reckless (yes, I did the research to know the difference). Last week, I started to create a “fearless list” with four items on it, now the list has 10 ways for me to be fearless in the next year. I circled the list in prayer. However, what is most ironic about this list, each time I look at it, I feel joy.
I told myself, “Yes to fearless. Choose joy, be fearless.”
Discipline.
Believe.
Joy.
Four years ago, I started living out each year with a focus word. However, it was not until last year, where I can honestly say, I lived by my word joy. Joy surrounded me everywhere. Joy made a difference.
I lived joy.
I prayed about joy.
I shared joy.
I breathed joy.
The word joy was on my bracelet, on the bulletin board outside my classroom, bible verses referencing joy were written on sticky notes stuck to my desk, joy was even hanging on our patio doors. And the days, I didn’t necessarily see joy, my husband would kindly remind me, “remember joy is your word, Shelly.”
With a school year right around the corner, I am not ready to change my word. Yet, new year, new word. Though I may not have realized it at the moment, God has been orchestrating ways for me to realize what my new word should be.
Sign One: Spontaneous trip to Wyoming in March
Sign Two: The Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes
Sign Three: Pinterest pin that showed up on my timeline in June
“Be fearless. Have the courage to take risks. Get out of your comfort zone.”
Sign Four: “Draw the Circle” 40 Prayer Challenge by Mark Batterson
Sign Five: A tweet by Brené Brown (@BreneBrown) on 7/11/16:
“Every time time we choose courage, we make everyone around us a little better and the world a little braver. And our world could stand to be a little kinder and braver.”
Fearless. Adjective. Lacking fear. Synonyms: brave, courage, audacious, bold, daring.
Fearless...this is way too hard, I really like my comfort zone bubble.
I said, “Yes to fearless.”
Then, “No to fearless, that is being reckless.”
Reflecting upon the word fearless, I realized, not only is this a great word for me, it is a God word.
God was preparing my heart. Now I am discovering what fearless may look like for me in the upcoming year. I definitely know, fearless is not reckless (yes, I did the research to know the difference). Last week, I started to create a “fearless list” with four items on it, now the list has 10 ways for me to be fearless in the next year. I circled the list in prayer. However, what is most ironic about this list, each time I look at it, I feel joy.
I told myself, “Yes to fearless. Choose joy, be fearless.”