Thursday, January 5, 2012

a word

Last year I focused on the {fruit of the spirit}.  One word, per day.  It worked well, and I ended up with some key verses that really helped me.  Here are two:


Romans 12:12
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Colossians 3:15
Let the peace of Christ rule in  your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.  And be thankful.  


As 2011 came to a close, I considered what to do in 2012.  After some deliberation inside my brain, I decided to go through:


Common Prayer:  A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals


My husband owns the book; he utilizes it and enjoys it.  Plus our son chose to go through it this year.  I can access it on line, there's a daily entry, plus morning and evening prayers.


Really, what I feel prompted me to do this was our family's visit to Christ Church Cathedral on Christmas Eve.  We chose to attend their Christmas Eve service, having never attended an Episcopalian service.  While I knew somewhat to expect, I didn't know if I'd enjoy it or not.  Honestly, despite my fondness of modern worship music and inspirational preaching, I truly liked it.  It was entirely God's word and Christmas carols.  No one's interpretation, no one's commentary.  No jokes, no drama, no trying to create a mood.  Just a full cathedral of people reciting scripture together, praying, taking the Eucharist, and singing.  And according to what I've learned of Common Prayer [the book], that's its goal too.  People all over, everywhere, focusing on the same scripture and prayers.  And for this season of my life, I feel it's what I need.  It will keep me disciplined [at least that's my hope].


On another note, I've come across this:  my.one.word.  I haven't checked out the entire web site, but someone I follow on Twitter posted her family's plan, and I decided to pick a word/my word.


my word for 2012 = RISK


Why {RISK}?  Well. . . . . . .  because I thought back to something else I'd recently seen on Twitter [perhaps I spend too much time on Twitter?????.......]  
The safest thing you can do in 2012 is take a risk. ~ Jon Weece
and I tend to play it safe.  Which is ironic if you read the quote.  Taking a risk is safer than playing it safe.  So, while I don't plan to parachute out of a plane or kayak the Amazon, I do hope to bring myself to 


  • risk letting my neighbors get to know me
  • risk communicating on a deeper level with my husband
  • risk walking into a women's bible study for the first time in years
  • risk changing however God wants me to change
  • risk spending without over analyzation
  • risk letting myself be me
 As of yet, I haven't come up with a [key verse] so to speak.  Aren't a lot of bible characters risk takers, though?   

So, here's to a risky.new.year. And a disciplined.new.year.  And hopefully a happy.new.year.






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