Reflection & Anticipation

As it is the beginning of a new year, I have spending a lot of time reflecting on the past year and anticipating the one we have just entered.

Last year 'round this time, God told me that 2007 was to be a year of freedom. I didn't fully understand all that He meant by that. Now with hindsight, I can see how true that word was . . . is. I didn't have any amazing breakthrough. But I have learned more about what it means to be free. I've learned more about truth. I've learned more about the truth of who I am, the truth that I have been set free. And I can choose to live in that freedom or remain in bondage.
Now that 2007 is over, I ask myself am I living in freedom? No, I am not completely and totally free; that will be a life-long process. But I am freer than I was a year ago. I have grown. I'm not as hard on myself. I have been stretched and learned to loosen up on my expectations of myself. I have stepped out of my comfort zone on a few occasions. And God has been absolutely amazing!

Now I am excited about this year. I know growth will continue. God's been speaking to me of what this 2008 year holds for me and for others.

The word for this year: Leadership. And all that that entails.

I still don't know all that that word means for me, for this year. I know it means taking initiative with things God places on my heart and leading others in them. For example, I am planning and leading a trip to Morocco for this June. Leadership means servanthood in my family, to my friends, in my work. Leadership means stepping outside my comfort zone in new ways, talking to people I haven't really talked to before, doing things I wouldn't normally do, speaking up with my thoughts.

I'm excited for 2008 for others reasons too. God has something brewing; He's got some big BIG plans and desires for this year. I know He has some things up His sleeve for me, in my world, with my friends and family. But He has big plans outside of that too. Can't you feel His Spirit just brooding with anticipation and the fullness of time? He's up to something; I want to be a part; and that makes me excited.

LOVE

"See, how great a LOVE the Father has lavished on us that we would be called children of God . . . the one who does not LOVE his brother is not of God . . . he who does not LOVE abides in death." 1 John 3

It's all about LOVE . . . Life is all about LOVE . . . to LOVE the Lord our God . . . to LOVE our neighbor as ourself . . . I want my life to be characterized by LOVE.

To LOVE means to serve. To LOVE means to deny myself. To LOVE means to think of the other first. To LOVE is to be true, honest, open, vulnerable. To LOVE is to laugh with those who laugh, to smile. To LOVE is to cry for those who hurt, with those who mourn. To LOVE is to hold my tongue and touch with my hands . . . with my heart. This I want to learn.

How can I LOVE others without first loving God?
How can I truly LOVE others without first loving myself?
How can I truly LOVE if I have not received LOVE?
How can I truly LOVE if I have not accepted the LOVE of the Father for me?

LOVE . . . the word we use for a transitory liking of something . . . the word we use for the strongest feeling of life . . . the word that we have forgotten the meaning of is a decision, an act of the will, not merely an emotion. Teach me to LOVE, Daddy. Teach me to LOVE as you have LOVED me.