P.S. When the ball drops... Well, I'll be filling out my FAFSA... but immediately after that I'm changing my blog title (not the URL) to my 2015 theme! I'm super excited for all of you to get to hear all about it! I'll post a little something on it as well!
So here's some themes that I thought of.
2015 is the Year Of:
Unique Boldness
Renewed Purity
Ignited Passion
Bold Self-Control
Adventuring Faith
Relentless Love
True Wisdom
My theme is not on there, but you will find out January of 2015! I might use one of these in future years, though.
Unique Boldness spoke something special to me. Don't "step out" to do the reckless things the World tells you to do. Be reckless for Jesus! Don't let your school take away Christmas. Speak up for the girl getting made fun of. Wear your NOTW shirt to school (because, if we're honest, some of us are afraid to do even that). Whatever that means to you!
Renewed Purity doesn't have to be just in a sexual nature. Sometimes we feel like our purity in our minds has been stripped away by the World. Maybe that means this coming year you read "Every Young Woman's Battle" (GREAT book btw!). Maybe that means you filter what you watch. Maybe that means you get a new group of friends who are committed to keeping Jesus the center of their lives and won't settle for anything less. Purity goes deeper than the sexual purity that we often focus on. Pray about it if you are interested in leading a year focused around this!
Ignited Passion is one of my favorites. Ever feel like you're just going through the motions in your walk with God? Challenge yourself to wake up every morning and pray until something happens in your soul. Start walking into church expecting God to speak to you (because He speaks to us, but sometimes we block Him out by not being open). Don't prioritize people or yourself above your relationship with God. There's a plethora of challenges you could take with this theme over your year. Email me if you need more ideas and are serious about taking this theme.
Bold Self-Control. Often times, the world tells us that self-indulgence is okay and that we should get all we can for ourselves. The World says "go out and drink as much as you want, party until you want to go home, and date someone until you've gotten what you want from them and don't care for them anymore". It's a shocker when you see someone not doing that. Be bold and have self-control this coming year. Make it your everyday challenge not to eat the last cookie if you know you shouldn't have it. Etc.
Adventuring Faith makes me think of the bridge in "Oceans". Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders. Ask God to take you to extraordinary places and when he calls you to something, go when He says "Go". Be ready to accept anything that comes your way and put yourself in situations where you have to have faith and rely on God (i.e. choosing a college to transfer to, living off of the minimum amount you can so that you can give more to God in tithes and offerings, going on a mission trip for the first time, etc).
Relentless Love. This can be about God's relentless love for you and how you show that to others and how you give back to God because of it. If this speaks to you, make it about whatever it means to you.
True Wisdom. I wasn't going to give my own analysis of what I think these could mean until I wrote out "True Wisdom". Maybe you could start a study with you and God in Proverbs and pray for Wisdom like Solomon. Maybe it would go as far as to studying Theology. I don't know where it would take you, but seeking Godly wisdom and making 2015 about growing wiser may be something to invest your year in.
I don't know if any of these spoke to you or if you have one that you're coming up with, but I pray that these help to inspire you to change and grow you in your walk with the Lord. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to email me. If you're comfortable with it, share with me what theme you have chosen. I'd love to know and pray for you about it. :)
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Quick Story on how I ended up in the class that I hear this idea at....
I had gotten the classroom numbers mixed up and my group of girls wanted to go into this girl's class. I hesitantly went in with them (although the class was full). I had wanted to go to another that I just couldn't find. The venue was a little confusing. Maybe 5-7 minutes into the breakout session, I hear a girl singing and think "Oh, maybe the worship team is practicing for our last big session". A few minutes later, I'm tapping my foot and singing along quietly to the girl in the room beside us singing. Unfortunately, I didn't hear a lot of what the young woman in our breakout session was saying because I was so distracted by this incredible worship I was hearing. Then I heard the woman in our class say something along the lines of "dance is my passion" and I immediately thought of my sister. I wanted her to be here to hear this and maybe get something out of it. I contemplated it, but I didn't want her to have to leave whatever class she was in that I was sure she was enjoying. As it went on, I felt more and more like she needed to be there instead of me. Unfortunately, I never texted her. And the worship in the room next to me faded out... then, I started to hear "Shake It Off" being played and I eventually came to the conclusion that the classroom next to us was the one that I was trying to find and never got to.
So we left the class, and my sister and I met up and basically said at the same time "The class I was in was totally for you! I was gonna text you, but I thought you were enjoying the one you were in!" and we laughed about it (but secretly it's one of my biggest downfalls currently, Lol). Anywho, all that to say I may have not gotten to the class I totally should have been in, but I was able to get this idea from the one that I made it to! Lol.
