Happy New Year 2016... aka My Annual Prophetic Post

If you have been hanging around my little corner of the interwebs here, then todays' post will come as no surprise!

It's the very beginning of a very brand new year! 

Whether we are blanketed in white or not, this day always makes me think of freshly fallen snow... pristine, untouched and still un-tread-upon... no thing or no one yet traipsing right on through it.

That Purity doesn't tend to last long, does it?

Before too long, our year can look like this... a well traveled path.  But before the trail is blazed and we just follow along... let's set aside a moment or two and ask the Lord for direction!

No matter what 2015 held, here we stand with a clean slate... a brand new start, a new page. Here we stand with hope and excitement and possibilities anew brimming over and spilling out, if we will but let them!

New Years Day, for me, always starts out early when the sun is just rising and the house is still groggy from all the holiday fun.  I pour a cup of coffee, grab my journal and the Bible, pull a blanket up over my lap and purpose, again, to close my eyes.  I breathe in deep and slow... I reflect back, for I have learned not to rush right into the new without first fully giving honor to the old.  I take my time.

And then... I lean in and listen...


I ask the Lord for a word or phrase that will speak prophetically over this brand New Year.  I also ask Him to lead me to a book in the Bible that He wants highlighted through out the year.  Usually, they go hand in hand. He's pretty smart like that!

Last year the Phrase that I heard in my spirit was:
"New Discoveries" and the Book in the Bible was Ecclesiastes!  

You can read that original post HERE and ponder for yourself how it showed up in your own life, as well as around the world... 

For me? Well... 2015 was filled with new discoveries. In almost every realm of our life, we discovered new things - new truths, new opportunities, new solutions, remedies, and ways to walk in grace and love... we learned new tricks and tools.  

We agreed with what the Lord spoke when He whispered this last New Years Day:

"Open up to trying new things, to new ways of doing things! Do not stay so stuck in your ways! For as this year unfolds, my Spirit will reveal all truth and bring answers and aid. Through you who are willing, I will release the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven!"

So we decided to not stay stuck in our ways but to learn to say yes... to take risks... to be up for new adventures and the biggest New Discovery that unfolded for us was when, seemingly out of the blue, we were asked to come alongside another couple to start a new church.  Many of our 'new discoveries' are so closely related to saying that one big yes!

Reading through Ecclesiastes several times in 2015 reminded me that in every season, and whatever the issue at hand -whether it be a local, national, or global issue... seeking wisdom would only get me so far... seeking GOD is always the answer.

***

Once again, I went to bed on New Years' Eve praying for a prophetic word or phrase for all of us... one we can look for and anticipate... And once again, God woke me up early, speaking ever so clearly.  

As the sun rose and the light spread pink and then glowed amber over the snow covered mountains that spill into this Valley, this is what I heard Him whisper...

This is what I heard for 2016:

--The Phrase:

"Hope In God...

for Hope does not disappoint!"

I heard before I was ever really clearly awake. I awoke seemingly mid-post here, writing paragraphs in my head with my eyes still closed. "Help me remember." I prayed, with no plans of yet getting up.  

Soon after that prayer, I stirred again hearing in my spirit these lyrics: 

"My hope is in You, God 

I am steadfast,

I will not be moved

I'm anchored,

never shaken

All my hope

is in You..."

So I stumble-prayed my way out to the kitchen, pushed that magical Keurig button and asked for yet another confirmation... I didn't want to see anyone elses' Word, but asked for a quote or a Scripture as I waited for my cup to brew.

For no reason at all -there was an 'extra' facebook tab open on my computer. I clicked it and saw this quote:

"Any thought you have that doesn't inspire hope

is under the influence of a lie."    ~Bill Johnson

Next, I prayed and asked for the Book in the Bible that would have significance this year and again, ever so clearly, I heard this:

--The Book:  1 Timothy

Remember how I tend to question God... even tend to suggest something else (like Romans.) because, y'all know how I like to help Him out a bit? Yeah... well... turns out He meant it when He said 1 Timothy.

Any doubt I had was wiped away when I opened it up and started to read...

"Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus according to the commandment of God our Savior, and of Christ Jesus, who is our hope, To Timothy..." 1 Tim 1:1

and again...

"because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers..." 1 Tim 4:10

and again...

" Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy..." 1 Tim 6:17

As is my practice, I turned to Websters for a broader definition of Hope.

Here are a few things that stood out to me:

HOPE:

:  to cherish a desire with anticipation 

:  to desire with expectation of obtainment

:  to expect with confidence :  trust

Hope is a feeling that something good will happen or be true. It's an expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen... a feeling of trust.  

Hope is more than wishing... it can start out vague but biblical hope is grounded in the Word and it becomes an Anthem Song... it becomes our Declarations and how we live our lives out loud... Hope is closely related to faith and love and oh my goodness, how we need all three!

Hope is good.

So, let's welcome 2016 together, firmly placing our hope in God for He assures us in His Word that Hope does not disappoint... 

And couldn't we all use a New Year that is full and overflowing with a Hope that does not disappoint?

I know I can! How about you?

Happy New Year!
Let us continue to:



To read about my OneWord for 2016, click HERE and join the movement away from Resolutions, and into a changed life!