This Year.

This is a year for wonder, a year for paying attention.

What if this year was your last?  How would you live it full?

This is a year for courage, to live fearless in the face of a world full of fear.  To “be you bravely” –kind, compassionate, generous.  To speak with grace and answer ugly words with love.

This is a year for faith.  Bring your best and brightest gifts to be sure, but with a tranquil heart, leave the results to God.  It’s a year to follow, through uncharted waters and maybe stormy seas.  “Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders / Let me walk upon the waters / Wherever you would call me…”

This is a year for taking stock.  What makes you Beautiful You?  Have you brought all you are to the table, offered it all back to the One who designed you?  Is there a place where your gifts and passions intersect with the world’s great need?

This is a year for standing firm, ready for whatever life throws at you.  Not to falter but to rise up, not to be ensnared but to be set free.  It’s a year for pre-emptive forgiveness.  It’s a year for mad focus.  You’ve already decided what to do when trouble comes:  press in, hang on, love anyway.

This is a year for singing.  Loudly.  A year to learn all the words, a year to let the Word sing over you.  “For the Lord your God is living among you.  He is a mighty savior.  He will take delight in you with gladness.  With his love, he will calm all your fears.  He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”  (Zephaniah 3:17)

This is a year for the hope of heaven, eyes on the prize, baby.  What’s ahead is better than what’s behind, to the degree that an ice cream cone on the beach is better than mud pies in a dirty alley, to the degree that Westminster Cathedral is better than Tinker Toys.

This is a year to spend — to invest — wisely, extravagantly, confidently, joyfully.  May this year be your best year ever.