Reflecting on a Decade

Yesterday, New Year’s Eve, was my favorite day of the year. It was a moment to reflect on all God did in the last twelve months and the great anticipation of what’s to come. It’s even more significant at the turn of a new decade.

Over the last ten years, I experienced such exponential closeness with Father God than ever before. It was truly a season of discovery for my spiritual journey that began in a small office, dreaming of what the future might hold and hoping in a God who was good enough to see me reach it. In the first few years of the decade, I lost myself in the deep, unrelenting grip of anxiety, had a real encounter with the living God who healed me from that disorder in a miraculous way, and began The In-Place Missionary (now loveroars.com) to share the Gospel and resurrection power of Jesus that healed me with the world.

Throughout the rest of the decade, I sold a house, bought a new one, lost loved ones, got promoted, changed careers and changed careers again. I grew closer in relationship with

Abby as a pup

my husband and gained a furry family member, a dachshund named “Abby”. I joined the group of writers with GOD TV and decided to pursue a life-long dream to create wearable designs and home decor (coming soon!). God also allowed me to co-lead worship at my church, and I’ve gained friendships through that house of worship that are as close and deep as family.

I’m certain there are more milestone events from the decade I’m not remembering, but when I look back, I can see an overflow of blessings. Of course, punctuated moments of sadness occurred, but I also see the hand of God guiding each step of the path I walked, giving each footfall meaning and purpose. I’m so thankful for all of it. Glory to the Father.

Debuting one of my new designs!

I pray this post will remind you to reflect on the last decade and remember all the blessings filling your days, weeks, months, and years and give thanks to the One who gives you each beautiful morning. Let’s look forward together to all that God is about to do in this new year and new decade, and may the blessings in your life be abundant and overflow.

Love,
Heather

God’s Word for Your New Year

Happy New Year, friend!

As you think about the year ahead, have you asked God for a word to represent something He will actively do in your life during the

 coming year? This is a question I’ve asked Father God over the last few years, and the answers I received have been profound and life-changing.

The thought of asking God for a word for yourself may seem strange. I completely understand if you feel that way. The first time the idea was posed to me, I wasn’t sure what to think. It felt gimmicky. However, the idea apparently piqued my interest enough to try because I found myself asking God for a word one cold January night.

I wondered that night how long I’d have to pray to receive an answer. The funny thing is, I didn’t even get the question fully out of my mouth before I suddenly received an answer. The word was “warrior.” It wasn’t a word I audibly heard. Instead, it was a quick thought that flew through my mind so fast I almost missed it. It’s a bit hard to explain how to “hear” something that you can’t audibly hear with physical ears, but my spirit seemed to know “warrior” was my word. However, I wanted to make sure I really heard from God and wasn’t answering my own questions.

The next night, I found a quiet space in my house and sat down with my Bible. I thanked Father God for the word “warrior” and told Him that I desperately wanted to confirm it was the word He had actually spoken. Next, I asked the Holy Spirit to guide my hands and lead me to the passage that would somehow help confirm my word. To ensure I wouldn’t know where He might lead, I closed my eyes and opened the pages of my Bible. When I opened my eyes again, I couldn’t believe what I saw! Before me were the open pages of the Book of Psalms, and David was crying out for the Lord’s victory over his enemies who were pursuing him to kill him:

“My future is in your hands. Rescue me from those who hunt me down relentlessly. Let your favor shine on your servant. In your unfailing love, rescue me. Don’t let me be disgraced, O Lord, for I call out to you for help. Let the wicked be disgraced; let them lie silent in the grave. Silence their lying lips — those lying and arrogant lips that accuse the godly.” – Psalm 31:15-18

It seemed to be no coincidence that I was reading about David. He was certainly a warrior. Was this the word that God was speaking over me? It seemed the answer I received was the first of several confirmations.

During the weeks that followed, I experienced many trials at the hands of cruel personalities. In years past, I probably would have given in to the circumstance and allowed myself to become the victim. But something rose up inside of me like a lion. I was determined not to give up, and I decided to fight the situation in the only way I knew: I prayed. I read Scripture. I spent many lunches during my workweeks with my door closed and my face on the floor asking God to intercede. I read several verses from Psalms out loud as declarations about the Lord’s victory over the circumstance.

Months passed. God did intercede. The trial ended. The cruel personalities never harmed me or my loved ones with any lasting wounds. I was delivered from that dark place. God used that year to teach me how to fight and how to pray. He taught me what it means to be a “warrior.”

Last year, I received the word “temporary rest”, and it was a welcome change from the chaos of the last several years. It was the first year in a very long time that I experienced

emotional and spiritual healing through new godly friendships and the removal of the environment that had caused me so much pain. I am so grateful.

This year, my word is “new”, and I can’t wait to see what God has in store. It was clear before 2018 even began that the word for this year represents so many wonderful God moments that they can’t fit into one year! For example, recently, I’ve been learning new duties at my job; and as a result, I’m gaining new skills. The Lord has given me even more godly friendships that I’m sure will only grow closer as the year develops. I led worship at my church for the first time ever. Also, if you’ve followed this blog for a while you may have noticed the previous name “The In Place Missionary” has changed to “Love Roars.” Yes, that’s new too. I have wanted to buy that domain for over a year, and it finally happened!

I hope you will spend a quiet moment with the Lord and ask Him for a word for your year, and I hope the word you receive will provide you a sense of expectancy to see God move in very real ways in your life.

Your Sister in Christ,
Heather