{"id":2094,"date":"2016-01-18T18:52:26","date_gmt":"2016-01-18T18:52:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/curwensvillealliance.org\/laurel\/?p=2094"},"modified":"2016-01-18T18:52:26","modified_gmt":"2016-01-18T18:52:26","slug":"the-right-hat-for-a-new-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.curwensvillealliance.org\/laurel\/?p=2094","title":{"rendered":"The Right Hat for a New Year"},"content":{"rendered":"

One woman can wear way too many hats sometimes. And in the week-in-week-out of life sometimes your goals can be reduced to learning how to\u00a0juggle\u00a0better…just finding balance…maybe\u00a0squeezing out time for yourself amid the barrage of constant needs. Surely this is not what we were made for? Or could it be that\u00a0this strangling urgency that drives us\u00a0is a noose of our own making? And yet Jesus is whispering, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)<\/em>\u00a0It can leave a woman wondering about her purpose in life, and how to find space to pursue the most important things. \u00a0Maybe at some point, what we need is a complete makeover. Not just renovation, but a tearing down and refocusing on what is True. A calling\u00a0to something stronger, quieter.<\/p>\n

Deep down, I do know this–\u00a0that I am more than wife\/mother\/daughter\/sister, more than the things I can and cannot do. At\u00a0the end of the day, I will still be what\u00a0I was in the beginning: made by God’s hands and God’s heart, adopted into His family, and loved completely. So I take an old picture frame and make PEACE to hang on my wall, a visual reminder of what God is saying to me, these last couple months: “Be still, and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Often\u00a0finding our true purpose\u00a0isn’t something we can grow into gradually. We pursue the things we value most, and we\u00a0are\u00a0good at building strongholds to protect our\u00a0own interests. Sometimes\u00a0the\u00a0chance to live new and strong only\u00a0comes after peeling away layer after layer\u00a0of myself, and my ideas, like a messy and painful intervention. But the pruning is\u00a0all part of the process.\u00a0As the author of the book of Hebrews pointed out about\u00a0God’s perspective on the things of this world:\u00a0not only are they\u00a0temporary, but they need to be\u00a0battered and broken down “so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.” (Hebrews 12:27)<\/em> If I want the eternal that God is building for me, then I have to be willing to let go of the things\u00a0I hold onto, no matter how it grieves.<\/p>\n

Here at the beginning of the year, there is something fresh and new stirring–\u00a0a Breath in the middle of us. And women\u00a0sit around a dining room table late at night over cups of tea, choosing their one word for the coming year– strong beautiful words that peel the layers of hats right off, and get beneath everything\u00a0we Do, to find who we Are\u00a0before the Lover of our souls. And we talk about our purpose in life, and the voices that pull us in\u00a0different directions, and we are all hungry for the same thing: to know God more deeply, and understand His ways, to be able to hear His voice above the clamor, to let go of our own trying-hard and rest in His care and provision. When we start living intentionally, “seeking first the Kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33),\u00a0<\/em>we are finally able to find our true purpose in life, to throw open the doors to God’s plans for us.<\/p>\n

It’s a good way to start the year– not with goals and resolutions, but with heart-searching. Jeremiah the prophet wrote down the promises God\u00a0spoke to\u00a0His people: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13) <\/em>This we can count on. Because\u00a0this is what He made us for.<\/p>\n

~~~~~~~<\/p>\n

“I cry out to God Most High, to God who will fulfill his purpose for me.” Psalm 57:2<\/em><\/p>\n

~~~~~~~<\/p>\n

“Oh, I’ve heard a thousand stories of what they think You’re like,<\/em>
\n But I’ve heard the tender whisper of love in the dead of night;<\/em>
\n And You tell me that you’re pleased,<\/em>
\nAnd that I’m never alone.<\/em>
\n You’re a Good, Good Father–<\/em>
\n It’s who You are, it’s who You are, it’s who You are.<\/em>
\n And I’m loved by You–<\/em>
\n It’s who I am, it’s who I am, it’s who I am.”<\/em>
\n(Good Good Father,\u00a0Anthony Brown and\u00a0Pat Barrett)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One woman can wear way too many hats sometimes. And in the week-in-week-out of life sometimes your goals can be reduced to learning how to\u00a0juggle\u00a0better…just finding balance…maybe\u00a0squeezing out time for yourself amid the barrage of constant needs. Surely this is … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-who-god-made-you-to-be"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9XvNH-xM","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curwensvillealliance.org\/laurel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2094","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curwensvillealliance.org\/laurel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curwensvillealliance.org\/laurel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curwensvillealliance.org\/laurel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curwensvillealliance.org\/laurel\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2094"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.curwensvillealliance.org\/laurel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2094\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2104,"href":"https:\/\/www.curwensvillealliance.org\/laurel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2094\/revisions\/2104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curwensvillealliance.org\/laurel\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curwensvillealliance.org\/laurel\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2094"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curwensvillealliance.org\/laurel\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}