My Word for 2015

It's no secret on this blog that I continually struggle with issues of burnout. I think it may go hand-in-hand with the ebb and flow of life in full time ministry - or at least in my life in ministry. In the past few years this struggle has become more and more evident and, at times, incapacitating. It is a huge part of why I got connected to art and to art journaling as a way to help create balance and energy. At times my schedule is packed full of activities and events. In the midst of this there are kids and people with needs that need ministering to. My emotional, mental and spiritual energy can get drained and I have tried to find ways over the years to keep this all in balance.

In the past year, with the help of some spiritual companions, I believe I have started to really get a handle on understanding what I need to keep my energy and my outlook in balance and have started to put some practices in place that help. So, I felt the Lord telling me it was time for renewal in 2015. It sure feels like it's time! A negative attitude and outlook has crept in over the past few years and I haven;t felt like myself as a result of that. But slowly in the past year there have been some shifts.

In a sense I have been renewing my mind over the past year and am anticipating renewal in many areas in the year ahead. 

I posted my page with my theme passage of Scripture last week, but am posting it again with some explanation this time.

There are quite a few places in the Bible where renewal is talked about, but the passage in Isaiah 61:1-4 really connected with me. Jesus quotes this passage from Isaiah and applies it to himself in Luke 4:16-20. This passage describes a Savior who heals brokenness in whatever form or circumstances it is found in us - poor, captive, in darkness, mourning, grieving, despairing - He heals us. In healing He rebuilds, restores, and renews our lives. I'm looking to be renewed this year. To have my energy (emotional, mental and physical) renewed. To have my passion and vision for ministry renewed. To have my health renewed. To have my spirit renewed. To have my emotional equilibrium renewed. It all starts with having my mind renewed and this I cannot do myself. I can only place myself before God and position myself through spiritual disciplines and practices in Christ, ready and willing for transformation.

I completed a few of the Logos365 prompts we posted on the HKC site:

Definition page

Goals page

In order for habits to change and transformation to take place we need to be intentional and set goals. I decided to select 5 areas where I feel I need renewal to take place. I am going to set small, manageable goals monthly in some of those areas. It is said that it takes 6 weeks to make or break a habit and that slow is best in order to see lasting change. I'm interested in lifestyle changes not simply in behavior modification. I think the key to change is in making small baby steps that lead to lasting change, rather than trying to look at the full year and then giving up not too far into it. That may have been why I was able to complete the 52 weekly art calendar pages for the Documented Life Project when I usually struggle to complete projects. It was easier to just look at each week as it came rather than thinking about a full year of weekly projects and trying to plan it out.

To make things more manageable I am combining my Logos 365 word projects in my Take Me Deeper art journal.

Are you participating in one of the many word-of-the-year projects? If so, share your word with me in the comment section below. :)