As 2022 came to a close, I had the privilege to review what a year its been. the year did not go as planned, to say the least. Each year my husband and I take some time to set goals for the next year. I clearly remember one goal that we set for ourselves in 2022, pursue growing our family. We were not sure how this would look, but we started off great with a new doctor, one that listened to me and helped me. Through her help, we discovered a lot about my fertility and miraculously because pregnant! We still don’t understand why we couldn’t keep the baby, but are healing from it. This past year I had a diagnosis of a condition that I have had for a long time, but never knew – Endometriosis. We have seen God work though all these situations, and although we did not end 2022 with a child in our arms, we feel closer to the goal of pursuing to grow our family.
Each new year is a great gift to take some time to reflect on the previous year and look forward to the next. I am excited for this year! I am excited to see what God has in store for us. We chose a word to help us focus on for 2023: Magnify.
Magnify. why this word? what are we magnifying? The Lord. I feel this year I would like to intentionally choose to magnify the Lord, focus on him and all the goodness that he is. I once heard a quote that I really like “what we pay attention to grows”. If I can focus on magnifying and worshiping God, hopefully my perspective can change to help me face difficulties better. I can magnify the Lord by reading his word, praying and sharing my story. I can testify how I see him working.
Songs always speak to me, and the word that we picked for this year comes directly from the Psalms 34 song (by Shane and Shane), I will include some of the lyrics below:
I sought the Lord And He answered me And delivered me From every fear Those who look on Him Are radiant They'll never be ashamed They'll never be ashamed This poor man cried And the Lord heard me And saved me from My enemies The Son of God Surrounds His saints He will deliver them He will deliver them Magnify the Lord with me Come exalt His name together Glorify the Lord with me Come exalt His name forever Oh taste and see That the Lord is good Oh blessed is he Who hides in Him
So, my challenge to you this year is – how will you magnify the Lord? join me in magnifying the Lord, come, lets exalt his name together!
What are your goals for 2023? Proverbs 21:5 “The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.” lets be intentional and set some goals!
Thanks Alicia! This blesses me, the challenge to magnify our Lord!
Love this. Thanks for the encouragement and challenge to magnify the Lord!
Such a good post. Such a great focus for your year. “Magnify the Lord with me, let us exalt his name together.”
Yes!! 💜