2025 - Presence and Prayer

Words - They're kind of my thing. 
Spoken and written.
The joke in my family is that I have too many notebooks and pens. I keep telling them that when I go to be with Jesus that they are going to have to do something with the huge number of notebooks I've filled over the years.
Because of my love of words, I try to pick a word of the year to focus on. I start praying around September and I just wait until the Lord leads me to a word. Sometimes it is easy to find my word and sometimes it is hard.

Here are some of my past words.
    2015 - JOY
    2016 - JOY
    2017 - JOY - retired as word of the year - became my LIFE WORD
    2018 - Unrivaled
    2019 - Abundance
    2020 - Abide
    2021 - Set
    2022 - Pray without Ceasing
    2023 - Radiant
    2024 - Walk and Remember

What a journey the last few years have been. Each word has a verse that I picked to go with the word. It became my focus for the entire year, and I'm always amazed at how much I learn while doing this. 

Here are some of the things that I have Walked through and want to Remember from this past year.

Having aging parents and helping them navigate their last days. Thankfully both my parents and Carl's parents are believers so we have hope that no matter what happens we will be with them through eternity.

Walking through an ordeal that could only be explained as spiritual attack on something I love dearly. I saw a community of believers come together and pray for one another and support one another. I have never experienced such joy when God protected us and fought for us. We came out the other side of the battle having learned many lessons and grown closer to each other and to God. 

Two of my boys met and fell in love with amazing young women and are now planning weddings for 2025. One in May and the other in September. I've prayed for these women since my boys were born.

Carl retired after 30 years of military life. We got to attend two retirement ceremonies that honored him. I also got to see God do an amazing work in letting him find a job after just two interviews. 

There is so much more but I want to reveal my word of 2025!!

I was involved in the Christmas show at Spiritual Twist Productions this year. We preformed The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. It was such a fun show but the character I played was not a nice person. I was one of three church ladies who did all they could to get the pesky Herdman's out of the pageant. It was a lot to play that character and let go of it every night, so I did not bring the nastiness of my character home with me. I spent much time in prayer and scripture writing and studying my Bible. I was unable to one day and I expressed my lament to our executive director. She gently reminded me that I am always in the presence of our God. Yes, it's important to have a time of fellowship and devotion to God but He is with us all the time. I can meet with Him in a moment and always. 

PRESENCE - my word of 2025!

I have a quote in my prayer journal that I've been using for years. I wrote that quote years ago as attributed to Susanna Wesley but can't confirm that anymore. Not sure who said it, but it is something I've repeated to myself through the years. 

"May I be careful to maintain a constant habitual sense of thee in my mind, to live and act as in thy PRESENCE; to think often of thee. May I ever remember that I am in the PRESENCE of the great and holy God."

My verse of the year came about after seeing it multiple places. I heard it in music. I read it in three separate scripture writing plans I follow and in my She Reads Truth advent devotional. I figured God was trying to tell me something. 

Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices;
My flesh also will dwell securely.
10 For You will not forsake my soul to Sheol;
You will not give Your Holy One over to see corruption.
11 You will make known to me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.
Psalm 16:9-11

Again, this word is tied to my life word of JOY. God is so good! 
What JOY it is to start a new year. 
2025 - I can't wait to see what God is going to do this year. 

I'm not including any new year's resolutions as I know that I will not keep them. I've tried so many years but just end of disappointed. I'm going to try and write here as much as I can, but I don't have a good track record so I'm not putting any pressure on myself. 

I'm going to spend the year in the presence of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Not sure what that will look like this time next year, but God is faithful and will be with me through every second. 

Pictures taken 2024 for Mother's Day


Pictures taken in 2020 during COVID 










    

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