my one word

Back at the beginning of the year, I shared that I was going to be choosing one word to live by throughout 2016. I had a word in mind at that time but I wasn't completely sure it was the right word. So before I share anymore here, I'm going to be honest and say that I wasn't even going to write this post at all. But then today during my IF:Equip devotional, I read this:

"It’s easy to put up a front and try to keep up appearances. To pretend to be put together when you’re really falling apart. To try and please other people rather than God. Something deep in us wants to be “fine” all the time, to act like we have it all together. But when we allow our walls to come down and we get real and honest about our lives, we see that Jesus is ready to carry the burdens we bear and others are ready to help carry them, too."

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Hebrews 10:24-25

I feel like God put that in front of me to read today on purpose. He wants me to open up, be authentic, and share my heart with you {whoever might be reading this}.

My one word for this year is LOVE. Such a simple word but I truly believe it is the most important word of all. It holds so much in those four little letters. During January and the beginning of this month, that word has been on my mind and has come up in so many of my interactions with others. The moment that stands out the most is when Julianna told me that she was telling other kids in her class about Jesus. I asked her what she shared and she said, "I told them that Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sins and that He loves us." At five years old, she is bold. She is brave. I am so thankful that she knows just how much our Savior loves us.

This past weekend, I had the honor of spending time with some wonderful women from my community. We gathered together for the IF: Gathering. The vision for IF is to gather, equip, and unleash women to live out God’s calling on their lives. Getting together with other women and having to open up on a deeper level terrifies me! But it's necessary. We have to open up to one another. We just can't do this alone and we don't have to. The word love weaved itself throughout all of the messages I heard. At the end, we had to choose something that we were going to fall into this year and write it on a domino. I chose love.

So how is this one word going to change my day to day? I am going to more intentionally show love. This can be done by simply acts of kindness because they are so powerful. But it's gotta be a little harder than that or it isn't going to push me to live my life any differently. I plan to work harder at loving people in my life that are hard for me to love. I want to show my husband and children more grace. I just want to live like Jesus. 

Life is so messy sometimes but I hope to be able to share more of the real me here and on my Instagram account because there's more to me than just clothes. I have a heart for the Lord and I want to share the good news with others.

What's your one word?