Happy New Year! What a year 2020 has been! We're all glad to say good-bye to it, but yet we are compelled to thank God for the blessings that he has given us during this past year. During November, that's what we did. We were intentionally thankful to God and expressed our gratitude to him. And now, we must continue this intention into the year 2021. Here are two things that I'm doing during 2021 to continue to express my gratitude to God.
First, I was gifted a "gratitude" journal by a friend. Today (January 3rd, 2021 - the first day of the first full week of 2021) I opened up the journal and started my process. For me, it is very challenging. As I mentioned during our November challenge, being thankful is hard for me. Yes, every day I'm thankful for my family, my health, having a roof over my head, and food on the table. But it's very hard for me to be specific and think of one thing I am thankful for. So that's my challenge -- to be intentional and to examine my day and look for the extraordinary things that I'm thankful for.
The second thing I'm doing is identifying my Word for the Year. I used the quiz provided by Dayspring to find my word of the year. I did this last year and made a vision board based on my word of the year. Last year my word was trust. This year my word is comfort. Here's my vision board:
My challenge to you at the beginning of this new year of 2021 is to identify your word of the year, create a vision board, create and action plan, and display it prominently so that you are reminded of it each and every day. And as you move through this new year, take every chance to live out your word each and every day. Make a list of ways that you can actively challenge yourself in this area of your life.
My prayer for you at the beginning of this new year:
"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
