A Word for 2021

What a year. I’m ready for 2021, and I’m sure you are, too. Despite the prevailing cultural narrative, I don’t think 2020 was a bad year. I think it was a learning year. A growing year. A refining year. After all, we can’t have gold without first melting down and refining dross—a worthless, impure metal.

“In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”

— 1 Peter 1:6-7

Look throughout the Bible and you’ll find many years, decades even, of struggle for God’s people. Think of the great flood, the 40 years the Israelites spend in the wilderness, and the 400 years of God’s silence between Malachi’s prophecy and Jesus’ birth. Difficult years are nothing new. And difficulty isn’t always bad.

My word for the past year was joy. I obviously had no idea what was going to come in the next 12 months, but God did. God knew we would face a global pandemic. He knew our way of life would completely change and perhaps never be the same. 

On a personal level, God knew that I would use 2020 to (mostly) take a break from writing. He knew I would focus on my health and resting whenever possible. He knew I would have a falling out with one of my best friends and struggle to make friends here in Colorado. He knew we would have car issues and various anxieties. He also knew I would grow closer with my family by making more phone calls and spending more time with them this year than ever anticipated.

The Father knows everything about your life, too, and that should give us great comfort. 

“If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.”

— 1 John 3:20

 Throughout this year, I’ve felt God convicting me of my attitude. He’s been showing me the posture of my heart and, by taking away so many of the things I looked forward to for 2020, revealing my idols. Let me explain. Without mom groups, childcare, and a busy schedule of activities, can I believe that I’m more than just a mom? That my role as a household executive sans pay (😉) is a worthy one? Without freelance writing jobs or a high blog readership, can I trust that I’m still called to be a writer? That my words matter? 

I have wrestled with all of those thoughts this past year. When the things I looked to for contentment and fulfillment were stripped away, I felt somewhat lost. Perhaps you can relate. I think it’s okay to mourn what we lost in 2020, whatever that looks like for you. Let’s process that and then resolve to see the good in this wild season. How might God want to change your heart through all of this?

When we have Christ, there is always goodness to be found (Exodus 34:6). He came so that we might have life and have it in abundance.

Which brings me to my word for 2021.  

Abundance.

“...I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.”

— John 10:10

I want to shift my perspective to focus on the abundant life God has bestowed upon me. I have access to this abundant life through Jesus, regardless of the circumstances around me and within me. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). He is always good and always true.

Two years ago on this blog, I wrote:

What would it look like to live out of abundance, rather than focus on what we lack? 

What do you feel like you are lacking? Money? A job? Health? A spouse? Children? Friends? A home? You are not alone in feeling like you lack something. As humans, we are going to feel that on this earth. But the thing is, we all have everything we need in Christ. He provides our souls with abundant grace, love, forgiveness, strength, and justice. 

This year, I’m praying my heart is fixed on God’s abundant mercy (1 Peter 1:3) and that I would experience an abundance of joy, even when I’m tested by severe affliction (2 Corinthians 8:1-9).

I’m ready to step into the abundant life the Lord has for me. Are you with me?

---

Is It Right for You to Be Angry?

“Jonah was greatly displeased and became furious. He prayed to the LORD: ‘Please, LORD, isn’t this what I thought while I was still in my own country? That’s why I fled toward Tarshish in the first place. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger, abounding in faithful love, and one who relents from sending disaster. And now, LORD, take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.”

“But the LORD replied, ‘Is it right for you to be angry?’” (Jonah 4:1-4)

Most of us have heard the story of Jonah and the big fish. But not as many of us know how his story continues. Jonah has spent three days in the belly of the fish, finally delivered God’s message to Ninevah, and now he throws a fit that God is going to do exactly what he expected Him to do all along. He feels like traveling to Ninevah was a waste of his time. Not to mention, the Ninevites were evil, Jonah’s worst enemy. How could God save them? 

So Jonah sets up camp alone on a hill beside Ninevah. God provides a plant to give him shade. And when God appoints a worm to kill the plant the next day, Jonah is angry enough to die.

“Then God asked Jonah, ‘Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?’

‘Yes, it’s right!’ he replied. ‘I’m angry enough to die!’ (Jonah 4:9)

Jonah cares more about a plant—that God created, and God took away—than a sinful city of 120,000 people. Ultimately, Jonah cares more about himself. And that’s the end of Jonah’s story. I don’t know what happens after this incident. 

What I do know is that I’m a lot like Jonah sometimes. I’ve been studying his story this fall using Priscilla Shirer’s bible study book, and God keeps reminding me that I’m right there in the mess with Jonah. 

My pulse quickens, my eyes get hot with tears, and I start to sweat. I feel like I’m going to explode. Anger can stem from the silliest little things to the biggest scary things to everything in between. Can you relate?

Maybe you’re angry your 1-year-old still won’t sleep through the night or that your child clogged the toilet (again). Maybe you’re angry about COVID and the election. Maybe you’re angry with a friend or family member. Maybe you’re angry that your boss (still) won’t give you that promotion. Maybe you’re angry about your health. Maybe you’re angry that your life doesn’t look the way you always expected it would. 

Whatever is causing your anger, please know that you are not alone. We all experience anger. We’re sinful humans, and we are bound to have negative feelings in this life. It’s in those moments that we need to turn to scripture. We need the truth of God to wash over us and remind us of who we are in Him.

I’ve been wanting to write this post for some time because I know there are so many others out there, particularly other moms, who feel the same way. We carry so much “mom guilt” about our anger. We consider this the greatest job in the world, and we feel awful that sometimes we take it for granted or lash out in anger. I want to write this because I think it’s time for us to be honest, repent, and then turn the page moving forward. 

While I might turn angry quickly, God does not. God is slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. (Here are four verses that proclaim this truth.) 

“...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passion and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.” (Galatians 5:22-26)

God warns us that outbursts of angry are a work of the flesh (Galatians 5:20). He calls us to love our neighbor as ourself (Galatians 5:14), to live at peace.

We can only do this through the grace of Christ. We need God’s patience to reign in our hearts. We need His example of compassion and great love when He went to the cross for us. So, too, we must crucify our own flesh with its passions and desires. 

This is not an easy task!

It’s an ever-evolving process. I have to keep trusting in God and surrendering my anger to Him. He is the living water, and He offers an overflowing well of joy and peace for me if I choose to receive it.

Below are some questions I’m pondering as I examine my own anger and whether it’s right for me to be angry. I hope they’re helpful for you as well. 

1. Is this a righteous anger or a self-righteous anger?

2. Does whatever makes me angry also make God angry?

3. Can I reframe and see the blessing in this?

4. Am I willing to let Him soften my heart if I’m still angry? Will I turn to God and trust Him?

A few books that might also be helpful to read are Emotions: Can You Trust Them? by Dr. James Dobson, For the Tough Times by Max Lucado, Forgiving What You Can’t Forget by Lysa TerKeurst, and True Feelings by Carolyn Mahaney.

Draw near to the Lord, and He will draw near to you (James 4:8). 

The King Forever Reigns

The 2020 election is being billed as the most important election of our lifetime. It’s supposedly an election that will change the course of our country, the course of history, and the course of our children’s futures.

Talk about a lot of pressure.

I’ve already voted, and, for me, the choice was an easy one. I voted for religious freedom and liberty. I voted for my son’s life in the years to come. And naturally, I want my candidate to win.

But I know that whoever wins this election, my King is still on the throne.

but to the Son:

Your throne, God,
is forever and ever,
and the scepter of your kingdom
is a scepter of justice.

(Hebrews 1:8, CSB)

Jesus is the ultimate King, and He is always at work with His plans for our ultimate good and His glory—even when it’s difficult for us to see that. In fact, we may not know what God is up to until we’re with Him in eternity. I’m so thankful that my life and my son’s life do not depend on the President of the United States. Our salvation comes from the Lord alone.

God reigns forever. He is the God of justice, and He has already defeated evil. Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father in the Kingdom. And one day, He will come again with the new Jerusalem!

But based on his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

(1 Peter 3:13)

So on election day, and on every other day, I will wait for the Lord. I will ask God for His peace that surpasses all understanding, for strength and courage, and for ultimate joy in Him.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Lord.

Peace in a Pandemic

I published a version of this post in January 2019. I needed to re-read these words today—I hope they’re an encouragement for you, too.

Peace.

Peace with my body and health.

Peace in my marriage.

Peace within family and friendships.

Peace financially.

Peace with our jobs.

Peace at home.

Peace in my heart.

Peace with God.

This peace is the opposite of fear, worry, and anxiety. It’s the opposite of turmoil and war. Peace takes work. It takes trust in the Lord and faith in His plan.

The word “peace” occurs more than 400 times in the Bible. Yes, 400.

Try finding “fear” or “anxiety” that many times. Hint: You won’t. And when you do see “fear,” it’s likely referring to the fear of God, a holy reverence and awe of Him, not a feeling of danger.

My pastor once delivered a sermon where he referenced Ephesians 2, and it has really stuck with me. He said Jesus Himself is our peace—and that God actually created peace. Meditating on that helps bring me peace. Our God is not a God of worry and anxiety but of peace.

“For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.”

— Ephesians 2:14-17

God sent his son, Jesus, to defeat sin and Satan. He destroyed the dividing wall of hostility between us and God, and He offers new, eternal life to everyone—simply asking we confess that we need Him and that we believe in Him. The cross that Jesus died for us on reconciles us to God and puts to death the hostility. It can no longer overtake us or rule us. It’s done for good.

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

— Isaiah 9:6

But Jesus is not.

He rose again and is now seated at the throne in heaven. He came and preached peace to all the ends of the earth. Peace is His mission. Peace is His message, and this is the peace that I want to guide my life.

For so many of us, 2020 has been the opposite of peace. It’s been a year full of worry, anxiety, doubt, and fear. You might be afraid of COVID or getting sick this season. I can relate. My anxiety has shifted off of my body and food—praise God!—as He has brought significant healing into that area of my life. But when I’m not spending as much time in the Word, in prayer, or in community, the anxiety can crop back up in new ways. I’ve worried about my family’s health. I’ve faced anxiety around my parenting, marriage, home, and finances. Even around my passion for writing.

I’ve had a panic attack once before, and I don’t want to face that again. I want to take time away from the fear-inducing things of this world and focus on the peace of Christ.

I pray this peace will rule in my heart as I have been “called to live in peace. And always be thankful.” (Colossians 3:15) Gratitude truly does change my perspective. When I focus on my blessings, my fear quickly dissipates. When I remember all The Lord has done for me, how He’s given me a new identity and a firm foundation in Him alone, then the stressors of this world become small. Then all I want is to live for Him and to be more like Him.

I love the story of Jesus calming the storm in Luke 8:22-25:

“One day he and his disciples got into a boat, and he told them, ‘Let’s cross over to the other side of the lake.’ So they set out, and as they were sailing he fell asleep. Then a fierce windstorm came down on the lake; they were being swamped and were in danger. They came and woke him up, saying, ‘Master, Master, we’re going to die!’

Then he got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waves. So they ceased, and there was a calm. He said to them, ‘Where is your faith?’

They were fearful and amazed, asking one another, ‘Who then is this? He commands even the winds and the waves, and they obey him!’”

As I read this passage, I noticed the note I had written in the margin a long time ago: Often we go through storms to experience more of God and more of His glory. He uses the storms to strengthen our faith and trust in Him. But He’s always present in the storm and all-powerful over it.

I imagine God has been waiting for me to come to this point, saying to me, Where is your faith? (Luke 8:25) I have created you for such a time as this. (Esther 4:14) Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. (Jeremiah 1:5) I know the plans I have for you, and I will give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11) Now trust in me with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5) Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with My righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10)

God is saying those words to you, too, my friend. Listen to His truth and trust in His peace.

---

If you want to talk more about Jesus Christ and faith, shoot me a message. I love meeting new people, whether virtually or in person, and gabbing about life. 

And if you'd like to know more of my story, you can read my testimony here.

Truly, He makes beautiful things.