A Word + 3 Scriptures for 2013

Happy New Year! Every single time January 1 comes around, it feels wonderful. It's a clean slate, a fresh start, a chance to have a whole new year filled with memories, moments and the ones we love. I love that I always feel an extra bit of hope whenever I wake up to the New Year, and this year is definitely no different!

I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday celebrations. As I type this out, I know that tonight I'll be getting dressed up and heading out on the town with some of my friends to dance the night away. It's going to be a night to celebrate and remember and I absolutely cannot wait!

But the point of this post is to set the tone for my 2013.

Words have always been an important part of who I am, mostly because I like to write and I love to talk. It occurred to me, as it must have occurred to many others, that I should choose my word for 2013. After much deliberation, I've finally picked the perfect one.

My word for 2013 is adventure.

Why? I want to treat each and every single moment like it's an adventure. I want to remember that life can be extraordinary and special, even when it appears to be routine on the surface. And I want to inspire myself to go further, to do more and to chase after more of my dreams!

But, apart from picking a word, I also found verses from God's Word to accompany me this year. I want to use these verses as building blocks and guidelines for the journey that lies ahead of me.

1 Corinthians 1:7-9, MSG: Just think - you don't need a thing, you've got it all! All God's gifts are right in front of you as you wait expectantly for our Master Jesus to arrive on the scene for the Finale. And not only that, but God himself is right alongside to keep you steady and on track until things are all wrapped up by Jesus. God, who got you started in this spiritual adventure, shares with us the life of his Son and our Master Jesus. He will never give up on you. Never forget that.

Romans 8:15-17: This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It's adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike "What's next, Papa?" God's Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children. And we know we are going to get what's coming to us - an unbelievable inheritance! We go through exactly what Christ goes through. If we go through the hard times with him, then we're certainly going to go through the good times with him!

1 Peter 1:18-21: Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God. It cost God plenty to get you out of that dead-end, empty-headed life you grew up in. He paid with Christ's sacred blood, you know. He died like an unblemished, sacrificial lamb. And this was no afterthought. Even though it has only lately - at the end of the ages - become public knowledge, God always knew he was going to do this for you. It's because of this sacrificed Messiah, whom God then raised from the dead and glorified, that you trust God, that you know you have a future in God.