One Word: INTENTIONAL

Although INTENTIONAL is not my one word for 2023, it is a word by which I try to live my life each day.  It is a word which many of us would do well to consider as we enter a new year.

Being intentional means more than merely setting goals.  It also means working with focus, determination, and commitment to accomplish those goals, and to do and be what we desire.  For those with weight-loss goals, it means making healthier dietary choices and sticking to an exercise regiment.  For those who desire to build a nest egg, it means spending less and saving more.  For someone like me, it entails making a to-do list then actively working to accomplish the tasks listed on it so that my work hours and leisure time are both productive and enjoyable.

Being intentional also implies that the thing you intend to do is something that truly matters to you or would make a difference in the life of someone else.  One of the things I want to be intentional about in 2023 is spending time not only with those I love but also with those who are lonely or sorrowful.  This might not necessarily mean I will physically visit -- though I do as often as I can -- but also that I keep in touch by phone and letter or email.  Life is too short not to share God's love with others who really need to know how much He loves them.

What is it that you would be intentional about this year?  I can think of nothing better than to be intentional about growing in your relationship with the Lord by committing yourself to a daily quiet time of prayer and Bible study -- not for the purpose of knowing Him more, but to love Him more and experience His love for you.  God desires to have an personal, intimate relationship with you and He made that possible by sending Jesus to die for your sins so that you might have access to God by faith in Him.

2023 can be a year of true adventure and abundance if we will prioritize our love relationship with Jesus.  We know that the enemy will continue to wage war against us and our families, country, and the world, but Jesus promises us a fulfilling and abundant life in Him.  

Jesus said, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.  I came that they may have life and have it abundantly" (John 10:10, ESV).  

As a Christ-follower and lover, I can attest to the fact that even when life is hard, His love and grace are sufficient to carry us through.  Why not be intentional about the one thing that will yield the greatest blessings you could ever imagine?  Let this be the year you fall in love with Jesus and His Word.

Copyright © 2023 by Dee Dee Wike. All rights reserved. www.deedeewike.com

One Word: WORSHIP

WORSHIP is my one word for 2023.  

Worship is not something I am convinced I fully understand, nor what God intended it to be.  My prayer is that by the end of 2023 I will know what it means to worship God in spirit and in truth. 

Just as our understanding of God is limited, so is our concept of worship.  For many of us, worship involves preference, such as music style (contemporary, traditional, blended), body posture (hands raised or not), and location where we worship (in church, at the beach, in the quiet solitude of our hearts).  For some worship must include music and for others, worship doesn't involve music at all.  

Is there a wrong way or right way to worship?  Who is worship really for -- God or us?  If we are honest, we have made worship about us and our preferences, and we have allowed worship to divide our churches and our hearts.

Matt Redman so beautifully captures the essence of this struggle in his song, "The Heart of Worship." 

When the music fades
All is stripped away
And I simply come

Longin' just to bring
Something that's of worth
That will bless Your heart

I'll bring You more than a song
For a song in itself
Is not what You have required

You search much deeper within
Through the ways things appear
You're looking into my heart

I'm comin' back to the heart of worship
And it's all about You
It's all about You, Jesus

I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it
When it's all about You
It's all about You, Jesus

We learn to worship in various ways and through the experiences along our journey.  We go through seasons where worship is everything we think it should be, only to find ourselves in seasons where worship seems lacking.  For me, that has certainly been the case as I have moved from a particular worship environment to its polar opposite in terms of musical style and content.  I still struggle with this at times until I remember that it's not about me.  Worship is about Jesus.

"God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth."-- John 4:24, NIV

Lord, as I embark on this journey of discovery in 2023, I pray for a deeper understanding of worship and a more intimate relationship with the object of my worship -- Jesus.  Thank you for Your Word, the Spirit of Truth, and the privilege to even speak the name of Jesus.  How I love you, Lord.  Let my life praise You.

Copyright © 2023 by Dee Dee Wike. All rights reserved. www.deedeewike.com