Happy New Year’s everyone, welcome to 2018!!! With a new year starting that means many people will seek out a ‘fresh start’ on their life and set new resolutions to begin. Gym memberships will be booming at this point. New diet plans will be set in motion. Some people will strive to be a better person, or to truly chase after their dream this year. It is always great to have these goals and want to change their life in some way but I think during this time we seem to forget about how great God is. God gives us a fresh start every single day! That is why He sent Jesus to earth so he could die on the cross for our sins. Psalm 68:19-20 states:
“Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who DAILY bears our burdens. Our
God is a God who saves; from the Sovereign Lord comes escape from death.”
Just as Jesus was raised from the dead by the power of God, now we also may live new lives. Being able to live in this freedom and grace is something that the Lord does for us each and every day. We do not have to wait for a new year to come around to chose this life. We simply have to confess our sins and ask the Lord into our lives, whoop wooahh!!
Each year I pick a new word that I feel God wants me to focus on and truly work on in myself. Being able to pray over a word daily to strive to be like Jesus is a wonderful way to grow closer to Him and see His hand prints in every situation. For 2018, I am choosing the word love. I was inspired by the verses Romans 12:9-10, which reads:
“Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong.
Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take
delight in honoring each other.”
While about to embark on this journey, I think I will need to be reminded of showing this kind of active love; especially when situations get tough and I feel drained. God is calling me to love not only the people in other countries that are without, but to each and every person I come in contact with. This includes the woman that takes my order, the man that I am sitting with while taking the tuk-tuk (if you do not know what this is you should look them up, they are really cool!), the little kid that is begging for food, the people who are kind enough to host us and let us be a part of their culture for a few weeks, and especially my teammates whom I already love and can not wait to do life with. Being supportive, selfless, caring, and honoring everyone is how God shows His unconditional love and this is what I will be praying for to be more like each and every day. I want to show my love for others so they can experience how rocking the Lord is.
With it being less than 2 weeks away from launch, I am excited to see what the Lord has in store for 2018. I want to challenge everyone to pick a word for the year and pray over it daily. Remember that even though it is a new year, we have the same God who is good and loving! Also, in case any of y’all were just dying to know, I do have a resolution to eat better..I mean God does perform miracles everyday!:D
