Rocks, Words, and a New Year

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!

Wow! What an amazing year we've had! I look back and see God's fingerprints all over it, and that truly makes me smile! We went through some rough waters and made some major changes, but God was with us through every minute and every mile, and folks ... it doesn't get any better than that!

Last year I decided to join the "word picker crowd." You know, the people who choose a word to sort of represent the year ahead. Of course, it shouldn't just be any ol' word, but rather a word that is impressed upon you by the Lord through prayer and Bible study. A meaningful word just for you. As I thought about what my word would be in the days leading up to the new year, "Trust" kept coming to mind. I trusted the Lord, but I sensed He wanted to take me deeper. As the old hymn says, "Oh for grace to trust him more." Psalm 34:8 was perfect to go along with my word: "O taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man that trusteth in him." On New Year's Day I found a rock and wrote my word and my verse on it. I've kept that rock where I can see it every day of 2017. It serves as a reminder that my trust is in the Rock. When our jobs ended in August and we were unemployed for eight weeks, we trusted God had a plan. When that plan was revealed, we knew we could trust it. I never dreamed I'd be writing a blog on January 1, 2018 from a cozy little farm house in Tennessee, but here we are and we love it! Trust took on a whole new meaning for me the past year, and I'm ever so grateful for the faithful lessons God is teaching me.


A new year means a new word, and I'm already ahead of the game. Back in November I was reading in Hebrews 4 out of The Message Bible. The word "rest" is all over that chapter. I felt the Spirit telling me that was my word for 2018: Rest. So despite the frigid temperatures outside yesterday -- 17 degrees with a nippy wind! -- hubby and I set out to climb the hill behind our house and find a new rock for a new year.

Hubby searching for his rock

Although I don't necessarily make resolutions each year, I'm determined to keep the word rest as part of my daily existence.  Hebrews 4 reminds us that God gave the Israelites the promise of rest, but they didn't accept it. They constantly disobeyed God, so he basically said, "Exasperated, I vowed, 'They'll never get where they're going, never be able to sit down and rest.'" (v. 6) I don't want that to be me! I absolutely want to get where God is taking me, do the things he has planned for me, and be the woman he wants me to be.

In this new year, I am going to rest in God's ...

• Power
• Peace
• Presence
• Provision
• Protection
• Possibilities
• Purposes
• Plans
• Promises
• Partnership
• Grace
• Mercy
• Love
• Salvation
• Discipline
• Instruction
• Word
• Strength
• Healing
• Help
• Holiness

Truthfully, the list is as endless as God's love, but you get the idea. Rest. It doesn't mean I get to be lazy and lay around for a year. I've got a job, a husband, responsibilities, and two new books releasing in February that all need my attention. But I will rest in knowing my Lord and my God has things under control.

Do you choose a word each year? I'd love for you to share it.

2017 was a year of Trust. 2018 will be a year of Rest!

I pray 2018 is a year full of God's presence and blessings in your life! I'm excited to see what the new year holds!

~Michelle