Happy New Year! I blinked, and we went from January 2014 to January 2015… at least it feels that way! Time really does fly; it’s a phenomenon I’ll never get over no matter how many years I see.

New Year’s Eve is one of my favorite times of the year because it’s full of so many pensive moments. December, filled with its end-of-the-year festivities, already lends itself to being a month where one can be quite introspective. But NYE seems to be the day where all that introspection comes to a head. I’m able to think back on the year’s events, and really appreciate all the ways that I experienced God’s goodness throughout the year. And wow, 2014 was a wonderful year full of spiritual growth for me. I experienced first hand what it truly means to put 100% of trust in Christ for each moment of the day, no matter how big or small the moment, and what it means to live an adventurous, abundant daily life filled with Christ’s leading. Those are concepts that, though I learn about them periodically, I seem to have the opportunity to delve deeper in with each year that passes by.

Now, we’re one full month into the year, and already it’s turning out to be a fantastic one – but of course, it has to be, because this is my golden year! (I really mean that, too, because it’s the year I turn 22 on February 22nd! But I’m getting ahead of myself…) A few days into the year, I happened across a four-day devotional on my phone’s Bible app called the One-Word Theme. My family and I already have a similar tradition: each NYE, we talk about where we’ve heard God leading us for the new year – spiritually, mentally, emotionally, the works. But I’ve never had those end-of-the-year/beginning-of-the-year reflections condensed into just one word. So I began praying and keeping my ears peeled for what my “one-word theme” for 2015 might be. I wanted to be careful in listening during my quiet times because, just as the devotional writers admitted, it’s easy to choose a good word for ourselves the first few years of adopting this habit, rather than listening for a God-word. So after a full month of the year, I’ve heard my one-word theme for 2015: intentional.

Intentional.

I first heard this word back in my undergrad days when I was attending Agape (the CRU ministry) fellowships, and the leaders encouraged us to be intentional in our relationships and friendships, so that we’d have a meaningful impact as we showed others what it meant to live a Christ-like life. As I’ve thought on this word over the past couple of weeks, it’s easy to see how I can be intentional in my relationships and friendships with others. But being intentional extends further than to simply relationships. I don’t only need to practice being intentional with others; I also need to practice being intentional toward myself. Now that I’m in a period of life where I’m at a graduate student level, much of my time is spent with yours truly, and it’s imperative to use that time wisely. I can be intentional in myriad ways: from how I divide my study time among my subjects, to how I choose to entertain myself, and even down to what I choose to eat! In my own understanding, being intentional means acting with a purpose. It means choosing to do or say specific things that will allow both myself and my relationships with others to grow deeper than our current states.

So on that note, cheers to a 2015 filled with profound, intentional influence!

I couldn’t sign off from January without a song, so Forever it is! I hope it blesses you as much as it has blessed me as we finish this month and enter February. The joys of Easter are a blessing the whole year round (it’s my favorite time of the year aside from my birthday)!