Happy 2024, Arrowheads!

I don’t know about y’all, but I’m so glad the door has shut on 2023. I’m praying that 2024 will be much brighter.

For 2024, I decided to change up the blog post images (yet again! 😛 ), so I hope you enjoy the cover image for this year’s first blog post. As I’ve done for the past few years now, the first blog post of 2024 is all about my word of the year.

2023’s Word of the Year Journey

I chose Contentment as my Word of the Year for 2023 because I wanted to strive to remain content in authorship during a year where I would not be releasing a new book. However, as I may have mentioned in a few posts from last year, my husband and I dealt with one crazy situation after another last year, which took that challenge to the extreme.

So did I actually live in contentment in 2023? I had times when I wasn’t content, yes, but despite everything we’ve been through in the past year, my anxiety levels are far lower than they have been in years past and I am more thankful to God for where I’m at.

That was accomplished through God alone, y’all. Josh and I have leaned on God hard in the past several months, questioning why certain things have happened, but He got us through them and will continue to keep us afloat. I now have a stronger peace of mind than ever that God is holding us in the palm of His hand, and even though I did not like much about 2023, I am thankful for the lessons He taught both me and my husband along the way. We’ve both grown in our faith and our marriage has grown stronger because of all we’ve faced together. I’m confident that the lessons we learned will better prepare us for what lies in the future.

2024’s Word of the Year Hopes

Over the past few months, the pastors at our church have given several messages that have mentioned how important it is to get alone and just sit and listen to God, something I don’t feel like I do enough of. So, my Word of the Year for 2024 will be Abide.

By abiding with God, I want to be able to recognize His voice more. I want to do more Bible reading, pray more consistently, and make sure that I turn to prayer as a first resort rather than worry. Yes, I just said that my anxiety levels are lower, but it still gets to me sometimes. My hope is that through a year of focusing on abiding with God, that He will teach me how to eradicate those toxic tendencies I have to overthink and ruminate on negative things rather than take my problems directly to Him first.

What Does Abide Mean?

I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.  If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.  These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.

John 15:1-11, KJV (emphasis mine)

Other words for abide are “obey”, “observe”, “follow”, and “respect”. In John chapter 15, Jesus explains to us how important it is to abide in Him and His word. Jesus defines abiding by these key notes:

• v4: We cannot bear fruit unless we abide in Him.
• v5: He is the vine, and we are His branches. If we abide in Him, we will bring forth fruit. We are completely dependent on Him, and we need to recognize that we can do nothing without Him.
• v6: If we do not abide in Him, we will be cut off like a withered branch.
• v7: If we abide in Him and His word, we can ask what we will and it will be done unto us. Of course, this means that our will must align with His will, as we’re abiding with Him and His word.
• v10: If we keep His commandments, we shall abide in Jesus’s love, as Jesus abides in God’s love.

Basically, I want to do a better job of following Jesus and learning how to react to things the way He would, because that’s what we’re called to do. I’ve watched God move mountains in my mental health this year, and I want Him to continue to work in me so I can be more like Jesus and be a shining light for Him.

Will I read my Bible every day? Probably not. But I will strive to be more intentional about the time I spend with God.

Will I react like a Christian to every difficult circumstance I face? I doubt it. We all fall short.

Will I never have an anxiety attack again? They’ve been fewer and farther between, but no one is immune to struggles.

None of us are perfect. I’ll always need to repent and ask Jesus to forgive me and continually work in me. Choosing Abide as my Word of the Year is not a magic life fix. Abiding is a daily commitment to dwell with Him in all circumstances.

Please pray for me as this journey starts. I’m excited to see what 2024 will hold. ❤

Talk to Me, Arrowheads

If you have a Word of the Year, please share it in the comments! How can I pray for you this year?

Aim high, stay strong, and always hit your mark.

-Allyson 😀