Redefining Your Year

By: Whitney Jones

Around this time each year, everyone begins thinking about a fresh start. We want to focus on things to change about our lives, and often the New Year provides a perfect time to do it.

But what if instead of focusing on change, we changed our focus.

It’s amazing how much can change when we choose to view our lives through a different lens.

This year our family is choosing to define our year through the lens of a theme verse from the Bible.

A theme verse is a Bible verse that your family prays about and decides together. This verse will guide your family through the challenging times and allow you to be thankful for the good times of this year. It will allow your family to keep your focus on what really matters for this new year ahead.

Why not start the year off with a theme verse for your family.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.” –Hebrews 12:1

We established this to be our family verse for 2016 because it seems like we have a marathon of a year ahead of us. And we will not be able to finish this marathon of 2016 if we don’t have our focus on Jesus at the finish line.

Like I said, 2016 is going to be like running a marathon for our family. It’s going to be difficult at times, a daily challenge and rewarding in the end. We are welcoming a baby in February and our 12 year old will be going into middle school in the fall. Having a baby brings enough craziness into one’s life. Having a teenager brings a whole new level of craziness to one’s life. Wondering if your teenager will even like the new baby and how she will adjust to the baby is another story.

Our family is very excited about this next milestone that we will journey through. However, we could not run this marathon of 2016 if our eyes are not fixed on our loving Father to get us through.

So what will be your family’s theme verse for 2016? You might be thinking…I have no idea. How do I choose? Here are a few tips to get to get you started:

Think about the year ahead:

-         What is your family most excited about this year?

-         What are some challenges your family might face this year?

-         What does your family stand for?

-         If your family could ask God to do anything this year, it would be…

Look back at your answers and choose a topic you want to focus on this year. Ask God which one is His specific topic for your family. Pray and seek God’s direction on which verse is right for your family. Choose a theme verse and commit it to memory. Maybe put the verse up in your house to be a reminder each day to keep your focus. Make it a fresh start by choosing a theme verse for your family.