A Word for the New Year - Pt 1

And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47 ESV).

I love the description of the early church that Luke gives us in this short reading today. “They devoted themselves” is the beginning of the description. The result of the things they focused on was that “an awe came upon every soul.” I think I would like to see such a wonder come on every person in my faith community. I want that for each of you who read Morning Devotionals. That certainly is my regular prayer. If devotion is the key, the question surely is how do we become devoted? Let me make a suggestion that will take us into the next few days as I encourage you to become very intentional. Instead of a rigid New Year’s Resolution, use a Word of the Year for your constant, yet gentle, reminder to focus on creating positive change. Use it to help guide your decisions and continue moving towards what you want. After all, the first step to manifesting anything you desire is awareness and intention. A Word of the Year will set you in the right direction by bringing more awareness to your intentions, a theme, for how you want your year to flow. It seems daunting to choose one word to center your hopes and dreams on for an entire year; however, as I believe you will see, it is much easier than at first glance. The first step is to begin to narrow your potentials. Make a list of nouns, verbs, or even short phrases that are expansive. It might look something like: “open, aligned, joy, grateful and confident.” It might be a few of the words in our illustration today. Whatever you first list might be and begin to cast your vision forward into the year ahead. Because of a few things that are swirling through my experience right now, I have chosen “confident” for my word this year. It really came to me as an antithesis of what I am feeling on some days. Because of those circumstances, instead of fear, I’m choosing confidence. It centers my thoughts on who God is in my life; it reminds me that I must not allow outward circumstances to determine my inward joy; it forces me to be intentional with my faith. In the coming days I will suggest some of the possible phrases and words you might consider. It would be incredible if you would simply take a moment and note your word if you already have one in the comments. What is your Word for the New Year?