2015 Word and Verse

Like most of the country, we fell victim to illness the first week of 2015. Fortunately, we only had colds to deal with! A few of us are still a little stuffed up, but we're in much better shape than before :)

I've been giving 2015 a lot of thought lately. Things I'm hopeful for, things I want to avoid, traditions I'd love to start, and other similar things. As I mentioned at the end of the year, 2014 was not an easy one for our family. Some wonderful things happened, but some not so great things happened as well. Although my word for the year was "Treasure," I know I didn't treasure much. In fact, I thought about changing my word to "Survive" because that's how I felt. I just did everything in my power to make it through the year. This year, no matter what happens, I'm choosing to do more than survive. I also decided on having a personal word and verse of the year, as well as a family word and verse for the year.

Deciding on a word for myself was relatively easy. However, I did have an issue with the word that kept popping up. I don't like to be cliché. It is an annoyance of mine if everyone is doing the same thing for the same reasons. I get annoyed because it seems insincere. The interesting thing is that the word continued to enter my mind. Even though a few others have the same word, or general idea of my chosen word, here it is:

Live

For two years, one of the things I have done at the beginning of the year is create a calendar for both sets of parents. It's a Christmas gift, but I wait so that I can include pictures from Christmas. When doing so, I noticed 2014 had a definite pattern. A handful of months had too many pictures for me to choose from. Other months, I had a hard time picking any because they were so few in number.

I feel like, if I am truly living life, I would be able to recall something from every month of the year. Sure some months will be quieter than others, but I know that I can make some memories every month if I'm really trying. So I will be focusing on living my life with my loved ones and making an effort to make memories. {Even if I have to plan a special trip for ice cream or something once a month, that is that type of "sacrifice" I will make ;)}

"God has delivered me from going down to the pit, and I shall live to enjoy the light of life" - Job 33:28 NIV {via}

After a few discussions with Phil about other matters, we feel like we both need to really make an effort to connect with those we care about. I know that I am personally guilty of reading messages of all types that I sincerely enjoy without responding back. By the time I remember to respond, it's been long enough that I worry about offending the person. Instead of letting other things get in the way, we are going to do our best to respond in a timely manner :) With this in mind our family word is:

Connect

If we are connecting with those around us, and keeping Christ in the center of our lives, then we will be able to praise him together. Whether that is with words of praise, or by our actions we praise the God who is supporting the relationship.


"O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together" - Psalm 34:3 NRSV {via}

I'm still deciding if I want a To-Do List for 2015 or not. If I do, I'll post it this week :)

What are your hopes and desires for 2015? Any resolutions?