Well, another year has come and gone. 2018 was surely a difficult year for me despite the birth of Little Miss and I’m praying that 2019 is more kind to me and my family. It’s so mind boggling to look back and remember ringing in the new year just one year ago hoping for and expecting a good year yet having no idea what would happen and come my way.
As I stand at the cusp of a new year, I find myself once again hopeful for God to bring restoration and healing and that he will lead me out from the dark valley I have found myself in for the past few years. Hopefully, you aren’t in a similarly difficult place. As believers, we will surely endure our fair share of trials and difficulty. But it is my prayer that we are brought to a place of rest and reprieve this year to catch our breaths.
As this new year begins I have been seeking a word for my year. I really love the idea of a word over resolutions because a word seems to promote and produce spiritual growth. This year I’m choosing God’s goodness and love.
In the past, I think I have written about how God’s goodness and love attributes kind of alluded me. I’m all about His sovereignty and justice, you know the long arm of God attributes that keep him far off. But I seem to struggle identifying with the closer, relationship-oriented attributes. This year may be the year that changes though as He has invited me to be on the lookout for Him each day, to identify God’s goodness and love in my life.
I was given a coloring book devotional of 365 days through the Psalms for Christmas. It was actually Psalm 2 that God used to give me this year’s word. It came as a challenge to identify and write down how God showed me His love or His goodness each day. I’m already excited to look back next December and see what God has done this year!
So far He has provided the removal of mold from our home; prevented a tragic accident by taking our van out and invited me to document His love and goodness in my life. He also brought a verse to me twice in one day which demonstrated His love and goodness. It is Isaiah 46:4.
Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.
What Love! And that surely demonstrates His goodness! That is my verse for the year. It resonates with His faithfulness in the past and it is a promise for today and the days to come. It is just beautiful!
So will you join me? I made a little printable that we can use to write down the way God has showed us his love and/or goodness each day. After a year we will have a beautiful keepsake of how God worked in our lives. I printed mine on cardstock so it is a little bit more durable. I’ll have a new one for each month for us available here. Just please only use it for your personal use and send others here for their own. I’d really appreciate that! Sign up to join The Goodness and Love of God Challenge to receive January’s printable!
Happy 2019! I’m praying blessings for your year!
