2015 // flourish

A new year. A blank slate. A fresh start.

There's no real physical change from December 31 11:59pm to January 1 12:00am. It's just another day. It's the same phenomenon that happens every night when we go to bed and wake up the next morning.

But there's something about that end of the year rolling over minute. Those first 60 seconds of the new year. A breath of fresh air. A chance to let go of everything from the previous year and take hold of everything that God has in store for the new year.

I almost always set goals for the year. Sometimes I reach those goals. Sometimes I don't. Seeing as last year was the first year of this vast open calendar which is my life from year to year now that I am out of school, I didn't really set any goals. I wanted to go back to East Asia, and I did. I wanted to grow in my relationship with God, and I did. I'd say that was pretty successful.

This year I am taking a two-fold approach. A word for the year. & some specific, attainable, and necessary goals.

Part 1 // My word for 2015:flourish.

Let me start with my the definition of my word from Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

flour·ish
verb \ˈflər-ish, ˈflə-rish\

: to grow well : to be healthy
: to be very successful : to do very well

intransitive verb

:  to grow luxuriantly :  thrive

:  to achieve success :  prosper flourish

 noun

 :  a period of thriving
:  a luxuriant growth or profusion flourish

of white hair> flourish of color>

:  a sudden burst flourish of activity> 

Just the word itself just brings to mind a bouquet of flower buds that look so delicate and small but overnight burst open into an array of colors with so much life and vibrancy. When I started to think about the upcoming 365 days, I want to experience growth in my relationship with God. The difference is that I don't want to just grow, I want to flourish. I love the synonyms // thrive:prosper. I desire for my walk with the Lord to more than just be. I want it to thrive:prosper:flourish. To be so virbrant that Jesus is just bursting from inside of me.

Part 2 // Goals. Very reasonable goals that will help me to flourish in my relationship with God.

one. Beth Moore's Siesta Scripture Memorization Team. 2 verses per month. 24 verses total.

two. Half-Marathon. not just one but two of them. {I'm officially crazy}.

three. One year chronological Bible reading plan. Finish it in September.

four. Bible journaling. This is something I am so looking forward to. You can be assured you will see/read much more about this in the upcoming 365 days.

And that my friends is my two-fold plan for 2015. I have no set plans for this year. I am literally just going with the flow.

Wherever God leads, I will follow.

2015 is all for you, Lord.