JOYFULin2015

Who else is shocked that it's already 2015?  I am.  Or I still am I should say.  Three days in and part of me just doesn't believe it.  The other part of me though?

Happy.  Relieved.  Ready.

2014 was tough.  If I listed the hardest years of my life, 2014 would definitely be up there.  So now that we've entered into a new year, I'm happy to put the past behind me and start anew.  At the start of the new year a lot of people make resolutions.  Courtesy of usa.gov, I found a list of the most popular resolutions people make.  Lose weight, volunteer to help others, and quite smoking were at the top of the list.  Get fit, eat healthy, and drink less were also on there.  Seems like a lot of people are interested in being healthier this year.  Does it last though?  Does anyone ever keep those resolutions for 52 weeks, 365 days over the coming year?  I never have, and I'm quite sure I'm not alone.  But I knew I wanted some things to be different this year.

Through some different avenues, I came across this website: http://oneword365.com.

Here's the idea of it.
 

So, I got to thinking.  I didn't want to just choose any word.  I wanted to choose a word that would really encompass what I wanted this year to be.

Do I want to be healthy?
Do I want to be loving?
Do I want to be patient?

The answer to all of those is, yes.  Duh.  Of course I want to be healthy and loving and patient.  There's a lot of things I want to be.  But I went in a different direction.  That direction stemmed from what I felt most in 2014.  Sad.

I want 2015 to be nothing like the previous year.  Sure, I learned a lot.  Sure, it made me grow as a person, as a wife, as a friend, as a Christian.  But last year also made me frustrated, hopeless, and at times even bitter.

So as I turn the page to a new day, a new year, here is what I will strive to be each and every day.

This is the word that I hope shapes my year.  This is what I hope to feel and be.  This is what I want.  More than anything.  Last year brought a long of sad days and tears.  I allowed myself to focus on what wasn't instead of what already was.  I allowed myself to be miserable instead of being thankful. I allowed a lot of discontent instead of choosing happiness even in the sad moments.

This year will be different.

Psalm 30 11-12

11 You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing.

    You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy,

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12 that I might sing praises to you and not be silent.

    O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever! 

I will take the mourning of 2014 and turn it into joyful dancing in 2015.  

I will recognize that my clothes of mourning of 2014 have been taken away and have been replaced with clothes of joy in 2015. 

I will sing praises to my Heavenly Father and not be silent in 2015.   

I will give thanks in 2015.   

I will be joyful.  

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