I dropped my phone in the toilet this morning. (Clean water, by the way.)
I’m wearing a heart monitor for a month. (Yeah, my heart decided to rebel recently.)
I had to change my plans for my day off today.
This is life, isn’t it?
An imperfect, messy, ridiculous, unpredictable, crazy, amazing, exciting, beautiful, blessed life.
As 2017 began, I searched my heart to find the one word that would inspire me all year long and would encompass this amazing life I’ve been given. I searched scripture, and I prayed for God to guide me to the one He might have for me. I Googled words, I scanned the dictionary and thesaurus. What would be my word for 2017?
I came up with 5… adventure, shine, happiness, joy, legacy. You might agree, these are great words, but none of them truly captured what I was looking for. Not one of them seemed to be the “perfect” word.
The search continued. I even attended a wonderful and inspiring 1-Word Event with some amazing women and beautiful friends mid-week. My search ended last night when I stumbled on the word thrive. And that led me to my word for this year…
LIVE.
I found every word I was drawn to had to do with living. Not just getting through each day kind of living, but embracing each moment and living vibrantly and intentionally to influence others for God’s glory.
–To live a life of impact, and to make a difference for this generation and the next.
–To live life in a way that leaves a lasting legacy.
–Living outside of what’s comfortable, yet remaining in balance.
–To live a life that’s real, authentic, and transparent.
–To find joy in the simple and even in the drop-your-phone-in-the-toilet kind of days.
–Living by allowing God’s love to shine through to others.
–Living with no regrets, no second-guesses, no indecision.
–And, to continue speaking and writing to encourage others on their journey.
It’s time for me to live.
Maybe it’s time for you, too. Maybe you’re ready to live the life God has prepared for you, to experience all He has for you. And, you know, that you know, that you know, there’s got to me more to life than just getting through the day.
What do we do? Where do we begin? I suggest we start in the beginning. We look at where we are now and how we want to live differently. We look at where our center is, and if it’s not on our Creator, we go back to centering our lives on Him. When we ask God to align our lives with His plans and His purposes, we find life becomes an amazing adventure. Filled with opportunities to grow, to flourish, to live in His strength, abundance, and blessing.
I’m glad I found this word before my phone took an unwanted dip this morning. LIVE is already impacting my attitude, as it stopped me from having a complete meltdown, not yet knowing if my phone is salvageable. (I’ll let you know!) I’m living vibrantly through the messy today.
I’m praying for 2017 to be the year we live.
The year we really live the lives we’ve been given. We only get one chance to do so. Let’s give it all we’ve got. Let’s make a difference and impact the world we live in. And, let’s do it God’s way and in God’s strength. Join me, won’t you?
And, if you’ve chosen a word, a statement, or resolution to define your year, I’d love for you to share it below. I’d love to cheer you on in your journey through 2017.
Blessings to you!
Julie
Linking this post with Crystal and Deb. I invite you to visit their spaces of encouragement!
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I simply adore reading about everyone’s Word of the Year selections, the hope and excitement is contagious. This was a different year for me, with the choosing of a word and a purpose, but through it I see His hand of grace and mercy and that is what I long to have involved in every single one of my days of the year. Live is a beautiful, strong and brave word, Julie. Praying for your heart today, both figuratively as you commit to live and literally as you wear the monitor.
Blessings,
Dawn
Beautiful Julie! I’m still waiting for my word. I’ll let you know!
Julie, your pictures are amazing. I love your word – so very inspiring! My Word for 2017 is Expect (Philippians 1:20) and He is continuing to show me how to Expect Him more – even in the midst of anxiety! Blessings to you in the New Year!
Julie, My daughter and I were JUST talking about “living” this afternoon. That too often we allow fear to get in the way of our truly living. The verse that comes to mind is when Jesus says, He come so that we might have life and have it abundantly. Yet too often, I allow fear to squelch that abundant life.
I love your tweet that when we ask God to align our lives with His will, life becomes and adventure.
Thank you for sharing this encouraging post!
A great word Julie! And what a wonderful list of ways to Live.
I whittled my word down to 2, Know and Hope. And Hope won out because Know is embedded within Hope. The Hebrew definition of Hope is to wait upon. To put my Hope in God in the fashion of being gathered to Him, joined, bound and twisted to Him…to Know Him through Hope.
Happy 2017, Julie! This is beautiful. Praying God’s blessings over you this year.
What a great word. I want to live too! My word is hope!