Let’s Build Together.

Hey friends! I’ve missed yall. I hope that you all have had the most wonderful Christmas and holiday season. Additionally, I hope you all have had the best start to 2024 and had a happy new year.

The New Year always comes with so many things. Thoughts, resolutions, changes, dreams, hopes, and adventures. There are so many feelings and thoughts that come with a new year. Normally, I get very very excited for the new year. I get a rush of inspiration and I dream big dreams of what the year will hold. This year was a little different. I’m not sure if you’ve had the chance to read my blog post “Feeling Stuck”, but that will give you a little glimpse into why I hadn’t been feeling as inspired or excited for the new year as I normally would.

Recently, I’ve been going through a lot of spiritual warfare. The devil telling me “I can’t do it” or “nothing will change” or “your future doesn’t look like that”. These are real. And sadly, they started getting to me. Honestly, 2024 looked like a mountain. It looked, well… like an obstacle. I realized my thoughts were not pouring into the life I wanted. I didn’t want to be thinking like this. Heck, it’s so unlike me. Normally, I am an optimistic, glass half full person. It made me realize that your thoughts truly do control the direction you go in. Another piece of truth is that it is easier said than done to turn your thoughts around. But it is possible and it’s a process. I realized that I wanted to create a life of love. Loving thoughts, loving actions. Which brought me my word for the year. In my most recent blog, I talk about the tradition my dad brought to our family in 2019 about choosing a word for the year. A word we would strive for, lean on, and embody as we approach each extravagant day we have been given.

I mentioned in my previous blog that I hadn’t quite landed on my word for the year. In fact, I didn’t actually get my word until 9:30pm on January 1st, 2024 when I was texting one of my very best friends. I had originally thought that “favor” would be my word. The mentality I had around “favor” was, “if I approached every situation, every obstacle, every conversation, every experience like there was favor on and over my life, how great would I live?” Favor, I learned, comes from faith. I have favor over my life because I have Jesus. It was His gift. I don’t have to earn it and I can’t lose it. With His love, comes His favor. I loved this word and I really thought it would be my word for 2024. However, I kept feeling like the word “favor” was a puzzle piece that was either already in the puzzle or a piece that didn’t quite fit. I began brainstorming but everything I came up with felt forced. I had been praying about the word I would need for 2024 and I wanted it to come from the Lord. So I texted one of my best friends asking her what she wants to bring into 2024 and things she wants to leave out. We got to chatting and I opened up and explained that I was feeling kind of weird and not as excited as I normally get. I was telling her where my head has been at and what I’ve been feeling. Feeling lost, hopeless, sad, scared, tired, stuck, grateful, weak, and confused just to name a few (LOL). These feelings are real and these seasons are real. I told her that I wasn’t going to allow the devil to attack me anymore and that we serve a God who has done miracles before and will do them again. I know God will move in ways I wont even be able to believe this year. So as I’m texting her, explaining how expectant I am for God to show up and do miracles in my life, I told her that we would build our dream life together this year. That’s when I got it.

Build.

Building our dream life. Building thoughts that lead to truth and wisdom. Building others up. Building knowledge. Building ourselves up. Building brick by brick the foundation of a Godly loving life. Building character that is honorable. Building good habits both mentally and physically. Building habits that push me toward my goals. Building trust. Building friendship. This is a year of building. Growing. Moving. Pushing forward. Learning that life is a process. Learning that small habits create big results. Learning to build on the solid foundation of Jesus. Learning how to build character that will make me a good wife one day. A good mother one day. A good co-worker. A good friend. Building. Building has to start somewhere, is a process, and takes time.

2024 is my year of building. Building the life I dream of. Building in my faith. Building in love. Building a life that honors the Lord and encourages others.

Building the life I’ve always dreamed of… a life of love, passion, grace, forgiveness, patients, kindness, joy, peace, freedom, gladness, and thankfulness. I challenge you this year to believe that the Lord WILL show up. The Lords strength will prevail. And that He came to this world to give you life and give you it to the full. My prayer for your 2024 is that you would trust the Lord has plans to give you hope and a future. That he will protect you and guide you. That He will give you strength when you have nothing left. That you would be reminded when you’re faced with an obstacle that he will go before you and guide you. That he has helped you through every obstacle until now and he will continue. That victory is all He knows. I pray your 2024 would be full of abundant joy and love.

I can’t wait to hear your words for the year. Let’s build together.

Xoxo,

Mo.