One Word Resolve

"Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can’t bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can’t bear fruit unless you are joined with me."  -Jesus, John 15:4 (the Message)

"Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me."  -Jesus, John 15:4 (NASB)

I don't make New Years resolutions. I quit that whole mess a long, long time ago. I just lack the stick-to-it-ness that the common resolutions require. Plans to exercise are easily forgotten with the lure of a cup of strong coffee, well-worn pajamas & a fat book. All semblance of a diet goes right out the window with my penchant for hamburgers, greasy French fries & craft beer. & don't even get me started on time management. I just have too much love for people. Chores get set aside to meet up with a girlfriend for coffee & the cycle of breaking the resolution continues.

Shortly after New Years last year a precious friend challenged me to a different kind of resolution. She asked me to choose one word... one where I felt God's moving... one word that I would choose to focus on for the year. I prayed about it & then it came to me. I chose the word 'ABIDE'.

It's funny how one word can change the course of your life. Even now as I type this, I'm astounded by the ways God has worked in my life, sometimes painfully, this year. 

Here is what I mean...

When I found myself on the edge of a full on melt-down over a too busy schedule...  
when I faced changes in my family...  
when I experienced a push into leadership...
when I felt ill-equipped or out of my element...
when I confronted by big decisions in my work life...
when I was frustrated with ministry...
when I was overwhelmed & exhausted...

there it was...

ABIDE

spoken into my life by treasured friends who hold me accountable...
read in the scriptures at the perfect time...
heard unexpectedly in the beautiful words of a song...
breathed into my soul in the stillness by my Savior...

I learned

to stop...
to pray...
to listen in the quiet...

I experienced truly what it means to Abide. Not in a perfect "I've got this thing" way, but in a "I want more & more & more of this thing" way.

This morning, this brand New Years Day, I began praying for another word. To be honest, I did this reluctantly, I just wanted to stick with the one I have. I know there is so much more Jesus has to teach me & yet... I know that just because I choose another word, it doesn't mean I won't continue to abide. I'll be growing & learning & understanding more of that crazy beautiful thing the rest of my life.

Today, as I was praying, a dear friend shared this profound truth with me, "we steer where we stare".

So what will I be 'staring' at in 2015?

GATHER.

I have no earthly idea of what this word will mean for my life as we move into 2015 but I am sure that whatever it is, it will be wreckingly good.

 

"How do we accomplish this matter of gathering life together in God?  We must begin primarily by refocusing our attention keeping our minds and hearts directed toward God. 

The essence of the centered life is attention to God in all we think, say and do. It is the growing realization of His presence in our most down-to-earth living."         
— Sue Monk Kidd, God's Joyful Surprise: Finding Yourself Loved