I don’t know about you, but I’m struggling to believe that 2018 is mere days away. 2017 has been a year. It’s had so much good and some hard. It’s been a year where God has shown and taught me a lot and it started with a word that I wasn’t sure I liked.
Release.
When 2017 started, I wasn’t sure what it meant and to be honest the word scared me. It still does if I’m honest.
When 2017 started I didn’t think I had anything to release. I was wrong.
In January our oldest got her driver’s license. Then at the end of the month our pastor and his wife asked us to consider my husband coming on staff. That started a season of praying and evaluating. In March our then 13-year-old son learned he’d been accepted to the early college program at one of the local high schools and in August became our first child to attend a public school full time. In June our oldest left for six-weeks in France for an immersion program where she could text us for less than an hour a week.
And so the year went.
It’s felt like God was stripping so much from my life, from our family’s life. None of it was bad per se. It was just a lot.
Now as 2018 approaches, I’ve got this sense in my spirit that God has more to teach me about RELEASE.
Do you embrace a word of the year at the beginning of a year? How do you prepare your heart for a new year?
I’m not big on resolutions, but I do want to chase God’s heart and will for my life. A word or theme for the year works well for me, but I’d love to hear how you do it! 
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Wonderful article. My word for 2018 is GRACE. Remember, remember and show it every day.
Grace! Such a good word and one I’m working on, too.
Thank you for the C.S. Lewis quote. It says so much. I’ve never thought of a word for the year, but perhaps PEACE should be mine for 2018.
Happy new year to all!
I love that word! So much to learn about peace.
I usually pick a topic of study for the year, and then focus my Bible studies for the year on that topic. It’s fun to do it this way because there is a lot of research involved and a lot of time with God in prayer making sure I’m on the right track. It lets me feel closer to God. This year, I’m going to have to lean in to God a lot. I’ve been getting the verse in Paul about being happy in my weakness because it means I lean into God multiple times the last couple of weeks. And, I’ve gotten a ton of verses about God’s right hand protecting His kids, so I think my year’s going to be me leaning into Him a lot while He guides me with His righteous right hand.
Great post today! God bless you, Cara!!!
That’s a good and hard verse. Praying God will meet you as you seek Him!