2016 will be over in less than 4 hours!! I am not sure know how you feel about New Years resolutions, but I used to be pretty serious about making lists and lists of them (& not exactly following them) until last year, when I shortened my list from the usual twenty to thirty lines of promises to just one. It’s been a whole year of following this resolution quietly, and I can finally reveal to you what it was.
So here it is, my grand reveal, after promising to share it with you sometime this year my New Years resolution this past year was to simply “close my eyes and say yes”
This was initially tough for me because I’ve always liked to jump ahead of myself to see what consequences my decisions would incur. I’d often expect the worst and back out of pursuing what I wanted. So, you must understand, to have that guard taken down made me feel overwhelmingly vulnerable. The reason I didn’t simply say “say yes” but instead added that I needed to “close my eyes ” while I said yes was so that I won’t be shaken by all the impossibilities I saw. And boy were there many! Eventually the impossibilities became a motivation for me. In fact, I started saying yes just to spite the impossible and things would always work out unbelievably well. I got this from a very important bible verse:
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”
Out of all our 5 senses, our sight is one of those that is able to predict danger before it comes near us. It can be a little too late for our sense of touch who has to be burned to know it touched fire to predict danger. But our eyes will always see the fire before to give us an opportunity to act. Giving that up to take leaps of faith feels foolish, but I wouldn’t have my “dream” job this year if I didn’t take this leap!! I would have the opportunity to work on so many amazing projects & collaborations, or pushed this hard to get what I want if I didn’t just close my eyes and say yes. It taught me to be fearless!! One of the projects I worked on I can honestly say I never believed I could do on my own. When I had it outlined to me I wanted to come right out and quit. I was already contracted to work on the project, so it was a matter of closing my eyes and believing “YES” I could do it. I prayed about it, took a breath, and started with the smallest steps. Overcoming one hurdle after the other and realizing strengths I never knew I had was life changing. It was no easy feat, I, sadly, missed my close friends wedding because I had no time to fly out for her wedding. However, in the end I made it beyond my wildest dreams I accomplished so much on that project that when it got to a time for the company I was working with to severe 98% of it contractors to start over I was the only surviving client!! And something tells me that impossible project which I ended up excelling at was my test. Closing my eyes and saying yes also helped me identify a lot of my weaknesses which I realized included a nasty fear of failure which I finally squared with in this post. Now I understand that the benefits of taking leaps far outweighs the anticipation of failures.
So if you haven’t made a New Years resolution for 2017 yet, I invite you to try this one. I dare you to trust God to meet you where you need Him. I dare you to leap with your eyes closed! To make your only business showing up to put in a little effort everyday and allowing God to play your agent. Be bold to ask for what you want. May 2017 be a Yes year to all the things you’ve always wanted to accomplish!
It can be tough letting your careful guard down,trust me I know, but You will never know the amazing things awaiting you on the other side of just saying Yes! Having faith to keep pushing every time, you will discover that you have a bottomless well of strength and power, and just maybe you might spend the year after 2017 pushing the envelopes of your strengths and power! 😉
I thank God with all my heart for blessing me, pushing me, teaching me, protecting and guiding me and all my loved ones all through 2016. I am so grateful for all the amazing accomplishments God blessed me to achieve!! I haven’t grown in any year as much as I did this year!!
It is my prayer that 2017 will be filled with an anointing for greatness that overflows beyond the ends of the earth, Surrounding and intervening peace that which passeth all forms of understanding, power and creativity that magnify the awesome Glory of God, Purpose that changes nations, love that is beautiful, deep and as flourishing as a fountain, Replenishments of all that has been lost, incomprehensible favor, triumphs in the works of God’s hands, elevations to heights above that didn’t exist before, prosperity as rich as the skies when the sunrises beautifully above it, great health, protection, limitless grace, mercy & goodness. The sun will no more be your light by day,
nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you,
for the Lord will be your everlasting light,
and your God will be your glory.
MY 2017 in Christ’s Holy Name
“Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.
2 See, darkness covers the earth
and thick darkness is over the peoples,
but the Lord rises upon you
and his glory appears over you.
3 Nations will come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
4 “Lift up your eyes and look about you:
All assemble and come to you;
your sons come from afar,
and your daughters are carried on the hip.
5 Then you will look and be radiant,
your heart will throb and swell with joy;
the wealth on the seas will be brought to you,
to you the riches of the nations will come.
6 Herds of camels will cover your land,
young camels of Midian and Ephah.
And all from Sheba will come,
bearing gold and incense
and proclaiming the praise of the Lord.
7 All Kedar’s flocks will be gathered to you,
the rams of Nebaioth will serve you;
they will be accepted as offerings on my altar,
and I will adorn my glorious temple.
8 “Who are these that fly along like clouds,
like doves to their nests?
9 Surely the islands look to me;
in the lead are the ships of Tarshish,[a]
bringing your children from afar,
with their silver and gold,
to the honor of the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel,
for he has endowed you with splendor.
10 “Foreigners will rebuild your walls,
and their kings will serve you.
Though in anger I struck you,
in favor I will show you compassion.
11 Your gates will always stand open,
they will never be shut, day or night,
so that people may bring you the wealth of the nations—
their kings led in triumphal procession.
12 For the nation or kingdom that will not serve you will perish;
it will be utterly ruined.
13 “The glory of Lebanon will come to you,
the juniper, the fir and the cypress together,
to adorn my sanctuary;
and I will glorify the place for my feet.
14 The children of your oppressors will come bowing before you;
all who despise you will bow down at your feet
and will call you the City of the Lord,
Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
15 “Although you have been forsaken and hated,
with no one traveling through,
I will make you the everlasting pride
and the joy of all generations.
16 You will drink the milk of nations
and be nursed at royal breasts.
Then you will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior,
your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
17 Instead of bronze I will bring you gold,
and silver in place of iron.
Instead of wood I will bring you bronze,
and iron in place of stones.
I will make peace your governor
and well-being your ruler.
18 No longer will violence be heard in your land,
nor ruin or destruction within your borders,
but you will call your walls Salvation
and your gates Praise.
19 The sun will no more be your light by day,
nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you,
for the Lord will be your everlasting light,
and your God will be your glory.
20 Your sun will never set again,
and your moon will wane no more;
the Lord will be your everlasting light,
and your days of sorrow will end.
21 Then all your people will be righteous
and they will possess the land forever.
They are the shoot I have planted,
the work of my hands,
for the display of my splendor.
22 The least of you will become a thousand,
the smallest a mighty nation.
I am the Lord;
in its time I will do this swiftly.”
