Hi friends!  I hope this finds you excited about the year that’s upon us!  I’m praying that you are rested and filled up from the Advent Season and ready to hit the ground running.

In my last post of 2011 I described the need to take time and be still before the Lord.  When I wasn’t reading, I spent most of my quiet times trying to actually be still and quiet.  It turns out I’m a bit of a conversation hog when it comes to prayer.

During those times of prayer when I actually stopped and listened, I felt like the Lord impressed a few specific things on my heart.  I want to share them with you today.

HEART NOTES
-I must listen more.  God has been whispering… (make that shouting) that listening is obedience.  I need to listen to His voice, follow in His ways and trust Him at all times.

–I need to claim and believe that God is glorious – so that I don’t fear or compare myself with others.

-I am blessed to be a blessing.  I need to start actively and purposefully blessing others with what I’ve been given: time, talents, and treasure.

-I must apply the gospel to my heart every moment of every day.

-I can manage my struggles on my own, but I can’t change them.  Only God can transform me.

-I must simplify my ministry by giving it determined focus – (Know the target and make the aim sure.)

CHANGES
Because of these things (and many more) I’m going to be making some changes here on the bliggity-blog.  Some will be superficial like the font type and formatting, but a few other changes will be more purposeful and noticeable.

Let’s start with this one: A theme for the year.  I thought we could use something to direct us into deeper relationship with our Abba Father.

2012 is the year of “Living History” – there are lots of avenues to explore within that theme, but more than anything I want us to truly realize that we all have a vibrant part to play in HIS story.  By living with an eternal perspective you and I can begin to live a better story than we ever thought possible.  Let’s move from being reality-TV buffs and facebook addicts to dreamers, risk takers, and adventurers for the Kingdom of God.  I’m in… are you with me?

THEME
My personal theme from this year finds it’s source in two action verbs: Listen and Follow.  I’ve selected Deuteronomy 30:15-20 as my theme verse for the year.

“See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you today, by loving the LORD your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess.  I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.” Deuteronomy 30:15-20, ESV  (I know it’s a chunk of a verse to memorize, but I’m excited to hide this word in my heart!)

So what about you?  Here’s your challenge for the day/week: What is an action verb/character trait/or fruit of the spirit that you want to focus on this year?  Care to join me in memorizing a theme verse to go along with your theme word?  I would love to hear about it once you’ve decided so that we can encourage each other.

2012… it’s so on.

Living out His story,
Ginger