{"id":32477,"date":"2024-01-01T09:17:46","date_gmt":"2024-01-01T14:17:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/?p=32477"},"modified":"2024-01-01T14:52:34","modified_gmt":"2024-01-01T19:52:34","slug":"monday-morning-moment-word-for-the-new-year-strong-nested-in-filled-theres-a-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/?p=32477","title":{"rendered":"Monday Morning Moment – Word for the New Year – Strong (Nested in “Filled” – There’s a Story)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Photo Credit: Heartlight<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In 2020 (the year of COVID), I read Debbie Macomber<\/a>\u2018s book One Perfect Word<\/em><\/a>. She tells fascinating stories of persons\u2019 choosing a word to guide their year. Finishing her book and praying a bit, the word compassion <\/em>became my focus. 2021 was a good year for that as we dealt with so many divisions over COVID, race, politics, etc. Compassion for all on both sides of each issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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At first I wasn\u2019t going to do \u201ca word\u201d for 2022, and then a rapid series of \u201ccoincidences\u201d drew me to the word: joy<\/a>. As that year ended, I had become negative and even a bit cynical. Still having faith in God but not so much in humans, including myself. Even after a year of compassion!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then 2023 followed, and I chose the word “wonder”<\/a>. It was inspired by my study of Dr. Curt Thompson’s books<\/a>. He encourages a pursuit of mental health and healing including staying “in the path of oncoming beauty”<\/a><\/em>. This focus on wonder – in searching out beauty in the context of community and a loving God – brought me through a year tougher than I imagined it would be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Monday Morning Moment \u2013 Word for the Year 2023 \u2013 Wonder<\/em> – Deb Mills<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now we stand at the start of 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The last several days of December 2023, I have pondered what word would be a fixed point for this coming year. New Year’s resolutions and habit formation are both great helps for my slightly scattered brain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5 Friday Faves \u2013 New Year\u2019s Resolutions, Habit Planner, Year-End Review, Word for the Year, and the Last Days of 2021<\/em> – Deb Mills<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s how it all came together, look toward 2024. In recent days, I’ve been lamenting behing older (i.e. Weaker, more frail). Having lost 2 inches in stature (just in the years of pounding on my vertebra) also made me feel small. I’ve decided to push back against the weakness and seemingly diminished nature of getting older. After all, what does that even mean?! I’m not that old. Right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then the passage in Joshua 14<\/a> came to my attention. First the back-story: During the years after God freed the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, they wandered in the wilderness awaiting his timing on entering the Promised Land<\/a>. In obedience to God, Moses had sent 12 spies to scope out the land. It was amazing, filled with much good but also peoples of formidable strength. Only Caleb and Joshua returned with good reports that, with God’s help, they could take the land as their own. The other spies terrified the people and they pushed back against God’s call to enter and conquer. [This historical account is found in Numbers 13<\/a> and 14<\/a>.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because of their disobedience, those in rebellion would not receive their homeland. They would die in the wilderness. For forty years, Caleb and Joshua would patiently endure the punishment not their own, as they waited for God’s command to enter the land, along with all the Israelite children now grown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

40 years later, when Caleb was 85, he gives a beautiful and faith-filled declaration:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0<\/sup>“I am still as strong today as I was on the day Moses sent me; as my strength was then, so my strength is now<\/strong>, for war and for going out and coming in. Now then, give me this hill country<\/strong> about which the Lord spoke on that day, for you heard on that day that Anakim (giants) were there, with great fortified cities; perhaps the Lord will be with me<\/strong>, and I will drive them out just as the Lord has spoken.\u201d<\/em> [Joshua 14:11-12<\/a>.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Talking to Dave (that husband of mine), he commented that Caleb had that strength for which I am longing because he had “a different spirit in him<\/em>” (Numbers 14:24<\/a>). Whereas the 10 spies and the Israelites influenced by them were driven by a spirit of fear, Caleb was filled by the Spirit of God. In his determination to obey and follow wholeheartedly, his faith emboldened him. He demonstrated strength physically, mentally, and spiritually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He would not be defined by age, aptitude, or ability…but by the great and gracious God he sought to serve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That’s what I long for in this coming year. To be strong. In all ways possible. Including strong in my love for God and others. This can only be mine if nested in being filled with the very Spirit of God.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let’s see what’s ahead that will require me to be strong. Is that a tad unnerving? Absolutely! Yet, again, I am reminded of the goodness of God. “For when I am weak (and it will happen), then His strength is manifested perfectly and completely!”<\/em> (2 Corinthians 12:10<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How is God\u2019s strength made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9)? <\/em>– Got Questions<\/a> [Read this brief glorious article about how God moves in our weakness – like helping us choose a word for the year, in my case right now.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo Credit: The World of Calvin & Hobbs, Facebook<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Photo Credit: Heartlight<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In 2020 (the year of COVID), I read Debbie Macomber\u2018s book One Perfect Word. She tells fascinating stories of persons\u2019 choosing a word to guide their year. Finishing her book and praying a bit, the word compassion became my focus. 2021 was a good year for that as we dealt with so many divisions over … Continue reading Monday Morning Moment – Word for the New Year – Strong (Nested in “Filled” – There’s a Story)<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2763,810,926,34,1618,7027,2307,794,3976,3208,1454,5221,903,3394,317,263,1450,353,8626,1221,32],"tags":[2764,10629,8991,10632,798,10628,1836,3238,650,1459,1458,10630,10631,9743,1616,9733],"class_list":["post-32477","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aging","category-all-good-gifts","category-attending-or-focus","category-books","category-courage","category-decision-making","category-emotions","category-faithfulness","category-fear","category-finishing-strong","category-fresh-start","category-god-the-father","category-grace","category-habits","category-lessons-learned","category-lives-full-of-god","category-monday-morning","category-monday-morning-moment","category-obedience","category-rebellion-and-sin","category-walk-with-god","tag-aging","tag-caleb","tag-debbie-macomber","tag-different-spirit","tag-faithfulness-2","tag-filled","tag-god","tag-habit-formation","tag-holy-spirit","tag-monday-morning","tag-monday-morning-moment","tag-new-years-resolutions-2","tag-old-age","tag-strong","tag-weakness","tag-word-for-the-year"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pauPAB-8rP","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32477","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=32477"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32477\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32489,"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32477\/revisions\/32489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=32477"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=32477"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/debmillswriter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=32477"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}