Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.
(1 Peter 4:10 NIV)
As promised, I am revealing my ONE WORD for 2014. (Thanks to Melanie from Only a Breath, who designed this cute button template to which I was able to add my word to all by myself! Also I am linking up with Random Journal Day with Dawn. If you love to journal, join us this year on First Fridays to take a look back in our journals and journeys with God!
Now that you know my word, I would love to share how it came to be MY word for this year. As I mentioned yesterday, I failed to carve out a specific time to ponder and to wonder what the new year might hold.
On the first morning of the year, I was looking back over my”Holiday Re-treat” Journal, where I recorded my Advent/Christmas journey in full mixed-media color! I painted pages and filled them in when I could squeeze in the time.
I distinctly remember grabbing about 10-15 minutes with the two page spread above, titled: “7 ways to create the CONTENTS of your dreams…” one evening after Christmas. I just started writing seven action words that could inspire me to keep pursuing my dreams. Dreams of teaching art classes, dreams of writing to encourage others, dreams of resting with no agenda, dreams of enjoying God’s presence and dreams of celebrating life with others.
So the seven (actually eight if you count “taste” and “see” separately) words flowed onto the page: Pause, Celebrate, Nourish, Delight, Proclaim, Taste and See, Write. I looked over the list and a couple seemed right, but then the phrase: “Use what you have” popped into my mind. What if I used my ability to act on each of these activities in my list? What if I used my current wardrobe, instead of buying new clothes? What if I read the books on my shelves and listened to the music I own, instead of getting more?
The word “use” infused me with energy. Principles to live by started flowing from my mind to my pen to my journal:
use what I have, own or can borrow for free (i.e. library!)
use time wisely and CARE-fully
use energy to live out of my values, such as celebrate, delight, and nourish
learn how to use my emotions productively
use my gifts, skills, talents and possessions to serve others
use my life for God’s best
I think I could get USED to living this way!
What ONE WORD is defining your intentions for 2014?
Linking with Only a Breath and OneWord365 and My One Word and Random Journal Day
souldare 
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