LIBERTY...Word of the Year

Liberty.  This past week, this word (along with a couple of others) was floating around in my brain.

It means freedom.

And I believe it is the word that God wants me focusing on for this new calendar year.

Yes, I have goals.  But they can be applied with this word in the forefront of my mind.

Last year, my word was "Still".  I even had it engraved via this website on to a silver bracelet and wore it just about every day as a reminder.  I chose "still" based on the Scripture "Be still and know that I am God"  I have to say that my goal of spending some quiet moments with the Lord each and every day was met with some success. I'm still not perfect at it...there are some days when my only "still times" are late at night in bed.....but I've improved in this area and I press forward in that.

So, yesterday, the last day of 2014, I was reading from Galatians 5.

Here is the Scripture that stood out to me.

"Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage." ~Galatians 5:1~

And I knew right away that the word "liberty" was going to be my "word of the year".

Here are my goals revolving around the word, that I believe God wants me working on:

•  PHYSICAL:  I desire to be free to hike, walk, bike, kayak, dance.  To MOVE every day.  Some days, especially during the work week from now until April, it will be difficult to squeeze in work-out times.  But my goal is to MOVE at least 20 minutes a day.  Every day. And my fun goal is to complete this challenge!!  I am almost done!  And I'd like to begin this new challenge .

•  MENTAL/EMOTIONAL:  I desire to be free to write and read more.  I  am an avid reader as I love books.  But I desire to be free from the mind-set that I "must" have the perfect house, the cleanest kitchen, etc. This detracts me from time to write and read. I read the Scriptures every day but I want to go deeper in those times.  I want the reading to be quality over quantity.  I am purposing to stay off social media like Facebook. I don't want to be checking it constantly.  It's such a waste of time for me!  I am purposing to be free from the bondage of "stuff" and that suburban mentality of "I need the latest ________" or "I have to do everything my self if I want it done correctly".  I am going to strive to ask for more help around the house without nagging at the teen or husband.  I am going to set the goal of writing each day.  Even if it's just in my "blessings" journal, where I list 5 things a day I'm thankful for.  One major goal is to begin gathering old notes from old journals and turn them into a memoir or devotional type book.  I don't know how far I will get with it, but my goal is to write!

• RELATIONAL:  I desire to have liberty with the relationships God puts on my path this year.  More quality time with my husband is needed.  My goal is to make more time for him, even on those busy days.  I'll be sharing more on this later.  I want to be free to embrace moments with our college daughter.  This is her very last semester of  college!!  And even though she is 4 hours away from us, I want to be free to contact her more often.....setting aside a time of prayer for her and encourage her with texts or emails or notes in her mailbox.  I am going to be really listening to my teen girl...she is so busy with school and youth group but I purpose in my heart that we, too, will spend more quality time together.....more conversation with me listening more than talking. I don't want to get caught up in the bondage of "what will ____ think" when I share things with my friends or family....the freedom to be "real" with the small group I lead, with the women friends God has put in my path.  More freedom to be spontaneous with invites for coffee, etc.  More freedom to say "No" to certain things and to know my limitations.  I can't do it all.  Could we ever??  God wants me to focus on different things this year. I will need the freedom and peace of mind to do those things.

• SPIRITUAL:  My goal is to be more intentional with the reading of God's Word and to pray continuously.  Like I said before, I do read the Scriptures every day.  But my goal for this year is to be free to dwell on what God is trying to whisper to my heart.  And to share those things with my family or small group. To have the freedom we do in Christ is a huge blessing!  It doesn't mean we get to do whatever we want, and we will be ok because we are "saved".  It also doesn't mean we have to live by a bunch of legalistic man-made "doctrine" or be bound by ridiculous rules. We are free in Christ!!  We live by what the Scriptures say!  Let's ponder over His Word more to really learn how to be free.  When we are free in Christ, we can do His work!!  My goal is to be the hands and feet of Jesus more and more in the world.  To draw ever closer to my Redeemer and to help my daughters find intimacy with Him as well.  To show by example.  More acts of service.  To fully worship God where I am not necessarily in a church building.  To embrace who I am in Christ. Another spiritual goal is to represent Jesus well to family, friends and co-workers.  To really shine His Light.  To be real.

Do you need more freedom in your life?  There is freedom in Jesus!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!