I have noticed many on social media declaring their “word” for 2018. It’s that time of year when we are putting away the old and looking forward to the new. What does God have in store for this new year? What opportunities will there be to serve him? So, I have pondered over the last few days, trying to decide what word best suits my hopes for 2018. The word that keeps coming back to me is…BALANCE.

I hope that I am able to balance all that God has so graciously given me. I want to do a better job of balancing my role as mama and wife with my role as business owner and ministry leader. I want to balance my time better so that I can do more of what he has called me to do…write and speak of Jesus, and encourage others through the words he gives me. I want to balance my “to do“ list with my “want to do” list. I want to balance my laughter with my tears. (My tears tipped the scales in 2017) I want to balance my friendships and weed out those that cause me struggles. I want to balance the opinion I have of myself so that is is more in line with the opinion my Savior has of me.I will remind myself that confidence isn’t arrogance. I want to give my courage a little more balance against my fears and go for the things Jesus is holding out his hand and offering to me.

Yes…BALANCE is my word. How will I achieve it? Through lots of prayer, through believing that I am more than a conqueror, through knowing I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength, through knowing He calls me Friend, through looking in the mirror and seeing one who is more precious than rubies, and through knowing I was created for such a time as this. Look out 2018….here I come‼!