2015 Focus Word: Diligence

Towards the end of 2013, I decided to pick a word to focus on instead of making New Years Resolutions. I chose to focus on the word prayer, because I felt like my prayer life had grown stagnant. When I picked that word, I had no idea how much I would need to pray in 2014. My best friend was in a horrible bicycling accident and died a week later. The next month, I found out I was pregnant with my first child. At exactly 23 weeks in the pregnancy, I went into labor and gave birth prematurely to my baby girl, Adelyn Jane. She only lived an hour. It seemed like every time I turned around, someone was going through a hard time. People lost their jobs, their family members, and their health. It was a hard year for many people, including me and G. A lot of bad happened, but lots of good happened too. People were healed from their sicknesses, babies were born, and I got pregnant again.

A couple of months ago, I started thinking about what my next focus word would be. Today, I picked the word diligence. Though I don't know what God is going to lead me through in 2015, I do know that if I am diligent in the areas that matter (trusting Jesus, praying consistently, studying the Word, and using my time wisely) then I will be able to stand strong in the good times and bad. If everything goes well, G and I will be living out parenthood before the year is done. That stage of life will bring new challenges, joys, heartaches, and adventures.

I opted out of resolutions last time because people who make resolutions are usually only resolute for a short time, but this year I would like to set a few goals that are consistent with my focus word. There are five areas that I would like to be more diligent in:

1. Prayer and Bible study.
2. Waking up early and sticking to a schedule.
3. My role as a wife and mother.
4. My responsibilities as a homemaker.
5. Going outside of my comfort-zone and growing in Christ.

By the end of this year, I'm hoping to improve a lot in these areas. I look forward to seeing what this year holds!

"Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who doesn't need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth." -2 Timothy 2:15