My One Word – Susan's Reflections

Reflecting on My One Word

The My One Word campaign encourages people to choose a word that reflects what God has shown them He wants them to focus on in the coming year. It is time to prayerfully consider your word for 2023. My One Word for 2022 was Praise. I have focused on praising God for who He is, what He is doing and has done, and the promise of what He will do.

Praise is the theme of many psalms. So, I spent much time in the book of Psalms. A friend gave me a copy of the two-volume work Thou Art with Me by Abie Kulynych. It is a reflection on God’s heart and nature as revealed by the the psalms. These daily devotions helped me to meditate on the depth of God’s love for us. I highly recommend these volumes. https://smile.amazon.com/Thou-Art-Me-Revealed-through/dp/1735592609/ref=sr_1_1?crid=N7122RM4VYYU&keywords=thou+art+with+me+abie+kulynych&qid=1672503951&sprefix=thou+art+with+me%2C%2Caps%2C1132&sr=8-1

cover of book, Thou Art with Me, by Abie Kulynych.

For 2023, my One Word is Reflect. Reflect can mean to give back or show an image of; as a Christian, I want my words and deeds to reflect Christ. Reflect can also mean to ponder or meditate, as in meditating on God’s Word. The verse I have chosen for the year that embodies these combined ideas is Psalm 77:12. “I will also meditate on all Your work and talk of Your deeds.”

I encourage each of you to select a word that God has put on your heart to be your focus for 2023,. Great resources to help you find your word and grow through your word are available from My One Word (myoneword.org)

Prayerfully consider the word God is putting on your heart and then please share your word and why you chose it.

What is your One Word for 2023?

Praise

At the beginning of the year, I chose “praise” to be my One Word for 2022. I have endeavored to making praising the Lord my focus of the year. I have made an effort to read the Psalms faithfully and post verses emphasizing praise on my Facebook page. So, I do not believe that it was a coincidence that God led a friend at church to give me a book that explores the Psalms in some depth.

Woman's hand held up in worship — Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

The book, Thou Art with Me, is in two volumes of about 350 pages each. That’s a lot of pages, and I found it a bit intimating. When would I have time to read the 700-page tome? But I felt an urge to begin reading it last week. I pulled Volume 1 from the shelf. To my surprise and delight, the volumes contain short (3 – 4 pages) essays—one or two per Psalm.

I had just read Psalm 113, so I decided to start there. I replace Volume 1, took down Volume 2, and flipped to the commentary on Psalm 113, which was titled “Praise.” Again, I was reminded that there are no coincidences when we listen to the Holy Spirit.

The commentary by author Abie Kulynych was insightful and instructional. Kulynych explained that Psalm 113 – 118 are called the “Hallel Psalms” and that hallel means praise. They were sung as part of the Passover celebration. The Passover was an event that demonstrated God’s power and His love for His people. It is certainly worthy of great praise and celebration.

As the true Passover lamb, Jesus provided us with an even greater reason to praise God. Jesus’s death extended the protection of the Passover to the Gentiles. His blood covers our sins and allows us entry into Heaven, if we accept His free gift of salvation.

Bible and hands folded in prayer — Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Kulynych goes on to explain hallal further. He says its literal meaning is “to be clear,” and it is a call to pay attention—to listen and learn more about God and His character. Jesus’s death on the cross tore the veil that blocked us from seeing God. Through Jesus, we are able to see God in His glory. He explains this using 1 Corinthians 2:9,10, “But as it is written: ‘Eye has not seen, or ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.’ But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.”

God sent the Holy Spirit to helps us to know God and to know God’s will for our lives. Kulynych writes, “If you are in Christ, then the Holy Spirit is in you, and if the Holy Spirit is in you, then your eyes have seen, your ears have heard, and your heart has received the things which God has prepared for those who love Him. God has made Himself clear.”

Kulynych ends his essays with, “Praise is so much more than the fruit of our lips; it is the revelation of God’s heart.”

Wow! I am inspired even more to make Praise the focus of my life, not only in 2022, but always. I want God to reveal more of Himself to me, so that I can live a life that reveals God to others.

Abie Kulynych books, “Thou Art with me,” Volumes 1 and 2 are published by City of Refuge Fellowship, Burlington, NJ. To learn more about this church, see www.cityofrefugefellowship.org. The books are available for purchase on Amazon.

If you have never considered that God loves you and created you for a purpose, you may not have experienced the joy of knowing Jesus Christ as your Savior and having your sins forgiven. Please click on Basics of Salvation in the tool bar above to learn how you can invite Jesus to be your Lord and Savior.

The cross of Christ — Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

New Year’s Resolution or My One Word

We are seven days into 2022, and, if you made a New Year’s resolution, you may have already broken it or you likely will soon. Studies show that most people throw in the towel by the end of January, and 68% don’t last a full month.

My One Word is an alternative to making New Year’s Resolutions. The concept was conceived Mike Ashcraft, senior pastor of Port City Community Church in Wilmington, NC, in 2010. Mike realized that resolutions are often focused on overcoming past failures–I resolve to lose weight gained or to get out of debt that I have accumulated. He recognized that a better approach is to focus on what God wants to do in your life.

Mike challenged his congregation and blog readers to pray about where God wants to lead them in the coming year. What is God speaking into your life? What does God want you to become? How does God want to use you? What does He want you to learn?

As you pray and focus on God’s will for you, you will feel God impressing a word into your spirit. This is your One Word for the coming year. Your Word will be unique to you and where God is leading you.

I chose my first One Word in 2011; it was Delight. I also chose a theme Scripture for the year that went along with my word, “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4 At that time, my husband had been unemployed for two years, with no end in sight. Yet, the Lord promised that if we delighted in Him, He would bless us. I meditated on Psalm 37:4, and God lifted my spirits and increased my faith. And, despite my husband’s continued lack of employment income, God provided for us to celebrate our 30th anniversary that spring with a cruise to Alaska. And, by the end of the year, my husband was back at work with the company that had laid him off nearly three years earlier. Praise the Lord!

Some of my other One Words have been Commitment, Intentional, Rest, and Stewardship. My year of focusing on stewardship lead me to write a book and start a newsletter. The book and newsletter are designed to help others become responsible stewards of the financial resources God has entrusted to them.

My One Word for 2022 is Praise. I look forward to focusing my energy on praising the Lord throughout each day. Rather than a single verse, I have selected Psalm 150 as my theme Scripture passage. I am considering choosing a new Psalm of praise for each month, or maybe every week.

I encourage you to pray about God’s desire for your focus in 2022 and to select a word that represents your focus. To learn more about the My One Word experiment, go to myoneworld.org.

If you have questions about faithful stewardship of your financial resources, please feel free to email me at susan.ball5@aol.com or write your question in the Comment section. Those who email me will be signed up to receive my free quarterly newsletter with money management tips, encouraging stories, and Scripture inspirations. You may also sign up for the newsletter on the Contact page of this site.

For those desiring a better understanding of Biblical principles of money management, I have written a book Honoring God with Your Money. It is available on Amazon and from Barnes and Noble.

My One Word of 2021–Stewardship

I have chosen “stewardship” to be the word that I focus on for 2021. Stewardship relates to how we care for the duties and possessions entrusted to us. Specifically, how we manage the resources given to us by God.

In Genesis chapter 1, God commanded Adam to care for the earth and subdue. There are many stories of stewards in the Bible–some good and some bad stewards.

Growing up in the Assemblies of God, I have been involved in Girls Ministries for nearly 50 years. One of the principles that was impressed upon my was that I was to be a good steward of my time, talent, and money. 1 Corinthians 4:2, “Moreover, it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful,” is a verse that I learned at a young age. It has guided me throughout my life in how I manage my money and conduct my life.

Managing my time has been more challenging. This year, I will focus on displaying faithful stewardship more thoroughly in how I spend my time. I will also encourage others to be faithful stewards in how they handle their money and other resources entrusted to them by God.

Money stewardship is the theme of my newest book, “Honoring God with Your Money.” In it, I examine what the Bible says about money in how we budget and spend our money, as well how we give and our attitudes towards money. The book will be published in the coming weeks.

As I juggle being a full-time employee, a wife, and mother and grandmother, with other obligations that include working in Girls Ministries and church leadership and writing books, faithful stewardship of my time has been even more critical.

Throughout this year, I encourage you to examine your own stewardship of your time, talent, and financial resources. Are you honoring God in all that you do?

My One Word for 2019–Commitment

“Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.” Proverbs 16:3 (NRSV)

My sister-in-law posted this verse on her Facebook page recently, and it spoke to my spirit instantly. I felt that this would be my verse to focus on for the year, and Commitment would be my One Word for 2019.

For this purpose, I am using as the definition of Commit, “to give in trust or charge.” I will ‘give in trust’ all my works to the Lord, and He, in return, will permit those works to come to fruition, so long as my works are in harmony with His word.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is pexels-photo-267559.jpeg

This principle applies regardless of whether the work involves (1) doing my job, (2) improving my health, (3) taking control of my finances, (4) learning new skills, (5) building new relationships, or (6) stepping out into new areas of service and/or ministry.

The One Word concept is that one should focus on one word for the year, rather than making a bunch of resolutions that will be quickly broken. So for this year, I will focus on committing to the Lord whatever work I feel led to pursue. And, I will be certain that He will bless the efforts I commit to Him.

What word will you choose to reflect on in 2019?

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