Tag: motivation

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A Guiding Word

krisshetter 
Let your eyes look directly forward,
    and your gaze be straight before you.
Ponder the path of your feet;
    then all your ways will be sure. Proverbs 4:25-26

Hello Friends and Happy New Year! This weekend my husband and I sat down and did a review of 2023. Boy did we have a lot of fun! In the midst of vacations, concerts, family visits, the birth of a new grand baby I know there were also difficulties. My husband’s business is still recovering from the COVID lockdowns, as is the restaurant we invested in back in 2018. My sinus issues and pain reared its ugly head over and over. But I made a point last year to seek the Lord in every circumstance. 

When things were good I prayed for the blessings bestowed. When times were hard I prayed to see Him at work pruning me and sharpening me. My bad days were more like bad hours or minutes. All because I made the conscious choice to trust in the Lord and release the work of the Holy Spirit in me. I cried during those hard times and the Lord comforted me. I celebrated during the good times and the Lord danced with me.

This morning as I headed out for a walk, I pondered over the varied goal lists my husband and I created yesterday. I realized I needed an umbrella plan to guide me again this year. A word to focus on as each day comes at us with force. Some of you may already partake in this annual “word selection.”  Two Christmases ago while attending a women’s brunch at my church the topic came up and our tables discussed which words they had chosen that year and how successful they were at focusing on them. Being a results oriented person myself I was surprised I had never taken this on as a challenge. While this last year didn’t include a single word, I did make it a point to seek Him everywhere.

This year, I have decided to pick a word to guide me. I’d like to issue you the same challenge. Think about it, ponder, pray, ruminate, chew on it and then write it down.  Put it on your bathroom mirror, in your car, on your Bible, on your refrigerator, or even on your wrist. It should be a word that can focus you on God’s Word in every situation.  Once you’ve found your word, find a corresponding scripture to anchor it. 

I found this great, short article by Steve Kyle, in the Mount Paran Christian School newsletter encouraging students, staff and parents on why you should select a biblical word of the year:

  1. Focus – Once you have prayed about and discerned your word for the year, you’ll begin to notice that you hear it everywhere. Not only that, but your word will flow through your thoughts at seemingly random moments, when God knows we need the reminder. These moments may occur when we see a book title and read it because it relates to our word. Other times a sermon or even a social media post will catch our attention with a correlation. In every case, we are drawn toward the Lord with a fresh perspective. 
  2. Motivation – Our word will pop up at the most uncomfortable times. It’s easy for us to lose sight of long-term goals, becoming bogged down in the daily stuff. But, small emergencies rob us of our greater purpose, the “tyranny of the urgent.” When we feel overwhelmed, it’s easy to shut down. Big or long-haul goals seem impossible to attain. But, our word of the year grabs our attention again.God never gives up on us. Neither does He fail to remind us when we’ve made a commitment. Whatever your circumstances, a single word as a theme can and will motivate you. You’ll gain a longer-range spiritual goal and a desire to implement concrete actions to solidify it.
  3. Accountability – The natural progression from focus through motivation leads straight to accountability. Our chosen word hangs like a store sign over our life. Part of the attraction of prayerfully choosing a word for the year is sharing it with friends. As soon as it’s uttered, the deal is sealed. We should not change our word or make excuses. Even if we never share our word with another living soul, God knows, and who can hold us more accountable than God?

Each day before rising ask the Holy Spirit to guide you with your word. At lunch time do a mini check-in with your word. During your evening prayers, review how you did with your word and ask the Lord to bolster you again tomorrow.

I’ll reveal my word in the coming days. I’m still pondering. It may become a blog series! Once you have your word drop me a note so I can pray for you because sharing your word will only help lead you to success this year!

Your friend in Christ, Kris

There are so many words to choose from but if you’ve never done this before, here’s a short list to jumpstart you!

  • peace
  • kindness
  • service
  • love
  • patience
  • self-control
  • gentleness
  • joy
  • courage
  • silence
  • yes
  • surrender
  • strength
  • humility
  • decisive
  • balance
  • build
  • faithfulness
  • stillness
  • rest
  • trust
  • seek
  • grateful
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Burn Brightly

krisshetter 
Then you will shine among them like 
stars in the sky as you hold firmly 
to the Word of life. 
Philippians 2:15-16

I have to admit in the carrot and stick scenario of motivation I tend to be more of a “stick” motivated person.  My fear of punishment or failure outweighs any reward I might be offered.  It’s probably why my favorite book in the Bible is James.  He’s upfront, to the point, and sounds a bit chastising at times.  So, when I read about the glorious promises of faithfulness to God, I can sometimes gloss over them.

But when I read this section in Philippians – where Paul is urging the church to obey God’s word – I was struck with the visual he presents as our reward.  “To shine like stars.”  He reminds us to pray, be obedient and faithful without grumbling or arguing (a bit of chastising).  He also reminds us that as Christians, we are to be constantly viewing ourselves as being “set apart.”  

Do everything without grumbling or 
arguing, so that you may become blameless 
and pure, children of God without fault 
in a warped and crooked generation.
Philippians 2:14-15

And the reward for being set apart through this constant reminder that we are firmly attached to Jesus’ main vine? To be like those beautiful, twinkling stars in the night sky.

My husband and I walk our dog each night after dinner.  We are just far away enough from the city to have a decent darkened sky.  Each night we stop in one place briefly and look at the stars.  From our location we can easily find the Big Dipper and Orion’s Belt.  I’ve always had a fascination with the stars – wondering what is beyond our tiny blue planet.  When we are in a season to see other planets, we bring out our phone’s star apps and marvel at the world beyond.

Although in reality there are billions upon billions of stars in the sky, we can only see a few of the brightest ones.  They wink at us saying “hello old friend!”  And when I look up and see the ones familiar to me, it brings me comfort that they are the same today as they were when I was a child.  They steadily burn bright.

That’s what the apostle Paul wants for us.  To be those shining, steady beacons. Comforting many who see us as ones set apart for the glory of the heavens. This is surely the carrot in our motivation story.  But it is the chastising spirit of the stick – obeying God, immersing ourselves in His Word, praying regularly – that will help us burn brightly.