JOY Blog

My One Word for 2015: Strength
January 13, 2015By Cari Bousfield

Smoothicles - Strength by Sander van Dijk on Flickr under CC BY 2.0In a recent blog post, Fran Dwelle discussed the concept of choosing one word for your yearly focus instead of writing out a list of resolutions. If you are anything like me, that list of resolutions is long forgotten by February, which is one reason I loved the one-word idea so much. 

My one word

In thinking about my one word for 2105, I kept going back and forth between strong and strength.

Then one day I noticed my mom had tagged me on Facebook with a prophetic word from the Elijah List. A few sentences spoke loudly to me and confirmed my decision to use the word strength: “The Lord will intervene in the places you have been stuck and needed strength. He is blessing you in the wilderness, the hard pathways, and upon your hillsides…You will also be given strength to climb the hillsides and go to a higher altitude.” (Jennifer Eivaz, January 7, 2015)

I then began searching the Scriptures for a correlating Bible verse as Fran had suggested. I couldn’t decide between two of them so I am using both!

  • “I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13)
  • “The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1

As a way to remind myself on a daily basis of my word and verses, I wrote these on an index card that I can easily take with me wherever I go.

Physical strength

Physical strength is the first reason I chose the word “strength.” I have always been sort of a weakling. Honestly, it’s never bothered me that I haven’t been able to do a single push up, chin up or anything else requiring upper body strength. But now that my daughter (who is in a wheelchair) is reaching 60 pounds, it would be nice to have more physical strength for easier lifting.

Besides praying and knowing that I truly can do all things through Christ who gives me strength, I know there is more I can do to attain physical strength.  I can maintain healthy eating habits and get out of my writing chair to get some exercise. I have even thought about joining a gym. Who knows, maybe I will start lifting weights, albeit very light ones!

Spiritual strength

Another reason I chose the word “strength” was for spiritual strength. It’s no secret we are living in perilous times. Some even say we are living in the end times. As such, I think we as Bible-believing Christians are going to need more strength than ever to stand firm in our beliefs. For me personally, this includes overcoming the fear of man, something I have struggled with most of my life.

To continue growing in the area of spiritual strength, I must stay in God’s Word, receive encouragement from my church family, and fast and pray continually. Only then can I establish an intimate relationship with my Heavenly Father and find my spiritual strength.

What about you? What are your hopes and dreams for the New Year and how will you go about making them a reality?  Is there one area you would like to focus on for personal change and growth?

Cari Bousfield is a freelance writer and blogger. Besides blogging for JOY, Cari blogs at Faith's Mom's Blog and Write On! She is also writing her first book, Having Faith, to be published in 2014. Cari has a strong desire to help people connect with one another and to God. She prays that through her writing, she can reach the hearts of others and help to bring hope, inspiration and courage to "walk by faith not by sight". Read more articles by Cari.



Visitor Comments (1)
strength
Posted By SJACOBSON on January 13, 2015
More power to you, Cari!
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