Happy New Year..... Word

New Year and A New Goal

By Sarah Peickert (Greensboro, North Carolina)

I love the New Year with all the hope it brings. Setting new goals for my

relationship with God, my life, my family, church and more...is how I

started each year. Yet, after a few years of making goals for everything, I realized

that usually sometime in January and February I would begin to lose joy and

faith that I could keep up the goals I set. In my mind I explained my failure

away. I would tell myself that I didn’t have the best conditions to start my

goal.

The Spirit helped me to see that with kids, a husband, two jobs and a busy

life, like us all, having a page full of goals was a recipe for disaster. One goal

was all I could handle. It would need to be a simple phrase or word. I would

study it out, put a few scriptures with it, meditate on it, and for 365 days

work on change. I made a bracelet as a daily reminder to stay on task.

Since 2003 I have been putting this “one-goal goal” into practice. It has

been inspiring and fulfilling to see how God has helped change to happen.

I’m not stressed or bummed about my goal(s), but faithful. One word + 365

days = Totally Doable.

Our ministry here in Greensboro, North Carolina, has practiced the “one-goal

goal” for the last seven years. In fellowship throughout the year you can see

others wearing their bracelet word. You know what to pray about for them

and it is a great way to have deep conversations. You can hear how God has

helped them overcome and given them insights and victories. Some of the

words and phrases I have used over the years are:

Believe the Best, Remember, See God, Perspective, Listen, Lose, Courage,

and Gratitude. This year my word is Deeper.

In January 2019, we took this idea—and the bracelet-making—to a local

community group and it has become a wonderful outreach that they love.

They have asked us to come back in 2020 too.

So if you find yourself feeling overwhelmed with all of the goals you want to

focus on in the New Year, try stopping and choosing just one and see what

God will do!

1 Comments

Jun 24, 2021, 6:51:43 AM

Eileen Peterson - Lyme disease and coinfections tasks my body and mind in so many ways making it difficult to focus and to remember goals. This resonates deeply and puts a doable format before me. I look forward to putting it into practice. Thank you so much for your encouragement.

Happy New Year..... Word

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