I love the simplicity of having just one word
~ it’s beautiful, it encompasses a larger concept, it’s not boring, and it
demands your attention better, clearer, and stronger. Just
to recap, here is my previous My Word for the Year, which you can
find here in my blog:
2011 –
Focus
2012 –
Present
2013 –
Intentionality
2014 –
Nourish
2015 –
Strength
2016 –
Worthy
Choosing a different WORD
every year has taken me into different kinds of changes, more so…a new level of
transformations. Instead of focusing on
my physical appearance and having tangible resolutions (lose weight, get fit,
have this, have that…yada, yada...yada…), I focused on my inner self. The WORD directs me and sets the tone for my
everyday functioning. It doesn’t set
boundaries, rather it offers flexibility and grace into my daily intentions; consequently,
allowing me to evaluate myself and my responses, and the leniency gives me the
opportunity to alter or modify certain behaviors and responses. More importantly, the WORD allows me to
control my behaviors in every situation; therefore, reflecting and triggering a
transformation that is favorable and honorable.
Honestly speaking, I normally come up with My Word for the Year around the end of January, but not this year. It came to me suddenly on 2 January 2017. My family and I went to Kahana Bay Beach, Hawaii for our much needed family day. We enjoyed a whole day of playing in the water, eating, napping, and relaxing. The word came to me while reading a book, while in between watching my husband play ball with my twins, as well as while savoring the cool breeze from the ocean, listening to the sound of the water and my family laughing, the gorgeous mountain view near the shore, and the soothing sands in between my toes. Everything about that moment and that day was beautiful and memorable! It truly touched the deepest part of my heart and it even made me cry. It was that exact moment when the word came to me.
My Word for 2017 is LOVE….
LOVE….the greatest of them all!
The Bible is full
of great verses and passages about the topic of love. God’s love for me and
my love for HIM is a perfect example…a good starting point in fulfilling My Word for the Year. Love encompasses an expansive concept in
relation to my faith, marriage, my children, my job, my friends, my home, my
neighbors, my planning world, my pets, and my overall environment. To better unite
my reason for selecting this word, I referred to one my favorite Bible verses, Psalm
91:14-16, which speaks about LOVE in the
most profound and reciprocated way….
“Because she loves me,” says the Lord, “I
will rescue her; I will protect her, for she acknowledges my name. She will call on me, and I will answer her; I
will be with her in trouble, I will deliver her and honor her. With long life I will satisfy her and show
her my Salvation.”
Look
around us….somehow, in our world, in our country, in our families, and even in
ourselves, love is transitory, if not absent.
Hate, indifferences, and anger have significantly mounted. Therefore, as
a child of God, I want to be an example of HIS everlasting LOVE by meeting
indifference with love, understanding anger and frustration with love, accepting
and receiving fear with love, delivering and applying forgiveness with love,
and sharing and showing love with more love.
So,
this year, I wanted to fulfill my word LOVE in many different aspects.
Yes! It is easy to say “I love…..” but
how can I truly quantify and explain its impact? To do this, I will seek LOVE each day. I will
document “I LOVE…” in order to deepen my understanding and appreciation for my LOVE
in EVERYTHING around me. To do this, I’ve
selected and dedicated this new 2017 Planner to document these understandings
and appreciations by writing daily about something that touched my heart. I will capture each “I LOVE…”, then explain
how it has impacted me and my day-to-day activities.
I know that 2017 will bring
loads of challenging situations, but I will be, as always, a fierce protector
of my heart. I will be conscientious in my
quest for LOVE each day in order to maintain a balanced lifestyle that
encourages positivity, joy, loyalty, blessings, and gratitude. God’s wonderful LOVE for me must transcend
further than HIS expectations. I must
continue to honor HIM, respect HIS gracious guidance and mercy, and convey God’s
wonderful LOVE for me to others every day.
I
wish you all a Happy and BLESSED New Year and I hope 2017 bring you an
abundance of LOVE.
