Critty Joy

One Word.

Going into December I was pretty sure I knew my one word for 2012.

I was going to revisit a word that I still struggle with.

Hope.

As I emptied my office (from my former job) out on the last day of the year I was praying and thanking Him for the last 6.5 years and also thanking Him for the adventures to come.

My heart was the softest it has been in a while.

In the midst of busyness and other things it had been a while since I had quietly just prayed and listened.

One thing that came out of 2011 was that I wanted to live my life fully. And as I prayed a phrase I used a few months ago came to me.

Live life daringly.

When I got home I took a few moments to jot down the thoughts that came as I prayed and to look up the definition of a word.  I took some time to ponder the journey of 2011 and all that I learned.  To embrace trust.  To embrace adventure.  To embrace faith.

The word I looked up...

Dare ::  to have the necessary courage or boldness for something; be bold enough:  to have the boldness to try; venture.

To have the boldness to try.  To risk. Those words echoed in my heart and I knew... my one word for 2012 would be...

In my heart the challenge came....

Dare to love fully.

Dare to finish.  

Dare to hope.  

Dare to adventure.  

Dare to be brave.  

Dare to dream.

Dare to step out in faith again and again.

Live life daringly.

This year I am going to dare to do the things above and so much more.

I am going to embrace the boldness He has placed in my heart and dare to live life to the fulliest.

Terrified excitement rules my heart.

Fear because I am not bold.

Excitement because I know just like last year He is going to do a work in my heart and I will not be the same!

So today and for the other 364 days I choose to live life daringly!

 

Do you have one word for this year?  What is it?

Linking up with Alece's One Word 365 Community and with Jen's Soli Deo Gloria sisterhood.

 

A Reflection on My Year of Freedom.

I cannot believe it's almost been a year.... my journey toward freedom...it seems as if it just started and yet here I am and at such a different place... and one I am forever grateful for. I had no idea what He had in store when this One Word journey started!

I actually went back through and read all the posts I had marked with freedom.  Each post a reminder of what He has done and what He continues to do.

Several things come to mind when I ponder on this year.  Things that I learned and that I hope to always keep in my heart.

-- True freedom is found when you trust Him...wholly and completely.

-- He is not safe...but He is GOOD.

-- Being brave and courageous doesn't mean not being afraid but rather doing something in spite of the fear because you have deemed it more important than your fear.

-- Faith is not meant to be safe...we are meant to take risks.  He did.

-- Life is an adventure and it is meant to be lived daringly.

-- There are far better things ahead than what I am leaving behind.  We are meant to move forward and not look back for the past is gone.

-- Be present in my daily life.  Stop looking to the past for it is already gone and the future?  It has not come yet.  We have only this day and I need to live it to the fullest.

This year was a year of making decisions in spite of fear... having courage to do what I needed to do and what He has been asking me to do.

-- I quit my nice safe and very comfortable job.  My last day is 12/15.  When I gave my resignation that date seemed so far away.  I will say a 6 month notice is one of the hardest things ever... a very long season of wait.

-- Waiting has been a theme this year... and I am learing to trust in His timing...knowing He has my very best interest at heart.

-- I opened up my heart and He has started healing some things that have long been broken and that I hid behind.

-- I started letting go of baggage I had long carried.

-- I started tearing down the walls of the box I had lived in for so long because I liked safe and comfortable.

-- I opened my heart to allow Him to direct my steps and He is leading me to Nashville at some point in 2012. 

--  You can be both terrified and excited all at once!

-- I started trusting Him completely... for first time in my life.

And this journey?  It inspired a whole series on Becoming.

Because I have been becoming the preson I am meant to be.  

Letting go... growing... waiting... learning...listening....

 

And as the December days slip by and we get closer to a new year (and a new word!) I am so thankful for my word this year.  For the journey it has taken me on....and for getting to know Him deeper and more intimately than I thought possible.

I am learning how to fly.

And that?

Is true freedom.

Linking up with Grit and Glory's One Word Community and at Jen's for our SDG sisterhood.

image via pinterest.

My Journey to Freedom :: 6 Months In....

I took some big steps toward freedom last week and I find it so appropriate it is time to give a 6 month update on my journey.

To be honest the idea of freedom, true freedom, was sparked by my counselor last year.  Within a few sessions with him he very firmly told me I had created a box and lived in it....and continued to choose to do that.

I like safe.  I like plans, and comfortableness, and control.  Others in my life often deem me as their safe person and I have accepted that.  I have long kept myself cocooned.  In a life of constant wait. In my box. 

Last year God asked me to quit my job.  I scoffed and said no.  It too is safe.  He actually reminded me of the request several times but my answer was always the same.

I liked my comfortable safe life and was in no way going to change that.

Oh.  If only I knew....He was going to shake me up and shake me up GOOD.

My journey of freedom started off....well truthfully it didn't start for the first four months!

The month of May proved to be very pivotal in my journey.  I went quiet.  I picked up a pen and a journal.   I called May my month of intentionalness.  I intentional set my heart on letting some things go and seeking Him in a different way.

I focused on certain things, I made managable goals, and I set routines into place to help with the focus and the goals.  All of which have now become a daily part of my life.  It has already helped me see how much I need to do these things in the coming 6 months.

One of the biggest things I did was journal.  Journaling my feelings/how my day was/prayers to God are a great way for me to get a handle on things and to see God in a different way.  He also spoke to me differently during this time.  I filled a composition notebook full of words.  

As the month came to a close I knew He was asking me to take a HUGE step of faith and just truth Him.  Faith is not safe.  In fact it is very far from safe.  He asked me to choose to defeat two big issues in my life at once...my need for safety and my lack of trust.

My step of faith :: I resigned (with a 6 month notice because of the nature of my position) from my job last week.  My very safe and comfortable job.

No, I don't know what I will be doing in January of 2012.  I have completely faith He will reveal it to me in time.  I know it is probably going to involve a move and it is going to shake my foundation in big ways.  I also know of some steps I will be taking but there is no clear picture for me past these steps.  The picture is clear to Him and I am going to be okay with that.  

I know this is only the first step.  A beginning.  I had to take this step first because it was one side of the box.  Three more sides to go until I can see all the beauty and freedom around me! I know He is going to continue to reveal to me the other things I have let keep me trapped in His timing.  Trust and faith come into play here too. 

Trust and Faith.

Faith and Trust.

The both lead to a freedom I have never known.

My journey to freedom continues...in a different way than I imagined six months ago but in a way that I cannot help but be excited about.

This butterfly is getting ready to burst out of her cocoon and FLY!

 

**Just a reminder As of Late is this Thursday!

Joining with my SDG Sisters today.

One Word :: Twenty Eleven.

 

Alece of Grit and Glory has created something so great...a one wording little community.  If you do not know Alece...you should go right now and read her blog.  I stumbled on one of her post earlier this year and was immediately drawn to Alece and her heart.  She writes so authentically raw it will leave you breathless and not feeling so alone.  She has encouraged me with her words and her heart.  She is beautiful in her brokeness and I just know God is going to do something amazing in her and through her (well He already has...He is just going to continue that good work!)

Okay...now to my One Word :: Twenty Eleven.

In 2008 it was Journey.

In 2009 it was Hope.

Over the last week I have been really thinking about the word He has given me for 2011.  I have known what it would be for over a month.  As I thought, journaled, and prayed I realized how the last two years have been a build up to this year.  This word.

In 2008 I realized how the path He has us on it like a journey with all the beauty He gives us along the way.  In 2009 I needed something I had not had for a while...hope.

He knew I would need to understand about journey and that I would need hope in all circumstances for the year 2011.

So what is my word?

This has been years coming.

I want to taste and see the freedom that comes from complete faith in Christ.  I know He is our bondage breaker...I want to be set free.  Emotionally. Physically. Mentally. Spiritually.

I want to make my choices based on what I want...what I think God wants for me.  No more letting others opinions and ideas take precedence over my own.  Speaking up when I feel I need to.

For years I have allowed others opinions and ideas influence me in a destructive way.  I went to grad school because it what I thought I should do...because others told me too.  I have not spoken up when I should.  I have done things because I wanted to keep the peace or I felt like my opinion was not important enough.  I bowed down to others instead of the one True God.

Lies.

Upon Lies.

From the enemy and I believed them for so long.

This journey I am on?  It is about breaking free and living FULLY in CHRIST.

Hope.

I have that.

Now...

He sets me FREE.

I hope you will join me for the journey this year my friends...I have a feeling it is going to be awesome...because HE is writing every single page. 

It's time for the caterpillar to become a butterfly.

 

For more One Word stories...or to join with your own One Word visit Alece at Grit and Glory.