"Embrace" The Word For 2018

Hey Friend,

Here it is.....my "word" for 2018.....EMBRACE.

In 2018, I vow to embrace God

I want to embrace His great love for me

I want to squeeze His righteous right hand

Look deep into His eyes

to see the look that says, 

"You are mine, you are loved, and you are worthy."

In 2018, I want to embrace the journey

No matter where it takes me

I want to accept the good God has planned

For me along the way rather than

Try to take control

I want to follow rather than try to lead.

In 2018, I want to embrace life and living

I want to cuddle and hold my loved ones close

I want to hug the life out of every experience

God chooses to bring my way

I want every breath of His love and the love of others

To caress my cheek and leave me

Feeling breathless

I want to laugh and cry with friends

I want to weep when they weep and rejoice when they rejoice.

In 2018, I want to embrace my crazy

You heard me right, I want to embrace the uniquely

Individual, and sometimes quirky person

That God created me to be.

I want to sing and dance in my kitchen 

When no one is looking

And raise my arms in praise to Him who not only enables me,

But causes me to move by the power of His Holy Spirit.

In 2018, I want to embrace my creativity

I want to write of God's mystery

And explore every inch of His majestic creation

I don't want to overlook even the finest or smallest detail

I want to capture it and let the world know

How it points to His goodness.

In 2018, I want to embrace change

Oh how I love my rut and bristle at being forced

Outside my comfort zone

I am reminded that God always sends an angel ahead of me

To bring me to the place He has prepared

And in that, I take comfort.

In 2018, I want to embrace the pain,

the struggles, the trials, and the heat of the crucible

Because I know that it's only through

The hard that we truly draw near to Him and learn to

Rely and Depend upon Him.

Only when I am laid low

Will I dare to look up....

In 2018, I want to embrace His Word 

So that it would not just inhabit my brain but

Would infuse every part of me

Leave me wanting more.

I want to welcome it into my wanting heart

With open arms and ask it

To take up residence there.

I want to hold, to accept, to enthusiastically welcome, to hug and hold close, to affectionately draw to me, to linger long, to clasp and to welcome with open arms....Everything God Has For Me.

In 2018, I want to EMBRACE.....

This is my prayer....

10 With your whole being you embrace God setting things right, and then you say it, right out loud: "God has set everything right between him and me!" 

11 Scripture reassures us, "No one who trusts God like this - heart and soul - will ever regret it." 

12 It's exactly the same no matter what a person's religious background may be: the same God for all of us, acting the same incredibly generous way to everyone who calls out for help. (Romans 10:10-12) MSG

What about you?  What is your "word" for 2018?  If you don't have a "word", what is your prayer?  What is the deepest desire of your heart?  Would you dare to share?

Be blessed.....