Radiant in 2023!

In my little world, a new year calls for a new word.

Over the years, I’ve claimed the words Tomorrow, Build, Voice, Simplify, God’s Word, Strength, Nurture, and more. My words serve as a focus and a theme for my years and every year they are a blessing.

Taking the time to be intentional with a plan for the year is so helpful to me. It keeps me thinking about what it is I truly desire of myself and of my life. It keeps me acting instead of reacting. Regularly taking inventory of how I am doing and what I need, in regards to my annual hopes, is also key.

Some years, I feel like I choose a word to be my theme and focus, and other years, it feels like they choose me. As I was looking forward to 2023, I knew what areas of life I really wanted to prioritize, but didn’t have a word that brought them all together.

Thankfully, God knew just what I needed and gave it to me at just the perfect time.

My word for 2023 is Radiant and it comes from this Bible verse:

“Those who look to him are radiant, their faces are never covered in shame.” Psalm 34:5

The definitions for radiant (that I am using to guide me) are:

1. sending our light, glowing or shining brightly

2. clearly emanating great joy, love or health

I have three main things that I really want to work on this year and I love how “Radiant” shines a light on all of them…

First, I want to continue to look to Jesus. I’ve had some personal struggles in the last year and yet, very little stress, as I continued to look to Jesus and to trust that it is all a part of His plan - for my own good and his glory. It’s the most peace I’ve ever felt through trial. I just keep talking to Him, reading and studying His Word and relying on His promises. In 2023, I want more of this. Not the trials, maybe, but the trust and the faith and the time with Jesus. I want to look to Him and in doing so, to be radiant.

Second, I want to grow my businesses, particularly grace and light papers. I want God’s Word to be sent into more homes and for more little hands to color His promises. I also want this to be a steady stream of income for me and my family. This little baby business feels precious and also full of promise. Growing this business to send out 1,000 coloring posters each month is my “stretch dream” for the year and the part that feels the scariest to share and also to undertake.

Third, I want to work on my physical health. I need to take care of some minor medical issues that I’ve been putting off and I want to feel good in my body again. I want to do the work I need to do to feel confident, healthy, and radiant!

I am in a season of life where I feel safe, content, and ready to be and give a bit more and I am curious about what my life will look like if I really lean into this word and this work. All that feels like a pretty great starting point for 2023 and a radiant year!

Margaret, my six-and-a-half-year-old, made me this bracelet to keep my word close and visible and I LOVE it!

my holy battle cry

Encouraged by a Bible Study I recently completed (Revelation Extravagant Hope by Margaret Feinberg), I wrote out a Holy Battle Cry.

These words are a reminder of who I am whose I am. They remind me, daily, that the battle has been won and that I am victorious through Jesus’ death on the cross.

MY HOLY BATTLE CRY:

Jesus loves me. John 14:21

He made me. Job 33:4

He chose me. John 15:16

He set me apart. John 17:19

I am baptized into Christ. Galatians 3:27

My hope is in him. Psalm 39:7

As his beloved child,

I have his armor to protect me from the schemes of the devil. Ephesians 6:11

I have a spirit not of timidity, but of power, love and self discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7

In him, I am strong and courageous. Joshua 1:9

Goodness and mercy will follow me and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Psalm 23:6

the joyful collection

In the weeks before COVID-19 was present on my personal radar, I started a painting collection and I gave it the title JOYFUL.

The title came into my consciousness seemingly through a whisper. It was a persistent and unshakable whisper - one that wouldn’t let me contemplate alternate titles for this collection. It simply was to be JOYFUL. And although I didn’t understand why this word was important in this moment, I followed that voice.

As I planned, sketched and brushed each work into being, I spent time considering the meaning of the word joy and the ways each piece would represent that word. Joy is not flimsy or shallow. It is not contingent on situation or circumstance. Instead, it is a deeply rooted, strong and calm kind of cheer. I wanted each piece to feel strong and rooted. I wanted each work to bring a sense of cheer.

In my life, my faith is pivotal to my joy. Without Jesus, all happiness would be situational. (And, to be honest, just thinking about a life where happiness is based on my circumstances makes me feel anxious and panicky. How often could I feel happy at all?) Without faith, there is no rock of hope, stronghold of peace or balloon of joy.

One of the beautiful things about painting is the time it requires. Time to plan and pencil in. Time to mix colors and build foundation layers. Time for broad strokes and simply getting the color on the panel. Time for tiny details and touch ups.

My soul always longs for quiet and contemplation. And here it is. It’s one of the reasons painting is such a good fit for me. This time is my solace and my catharsis. As some people go to therapy, I go to my paintbrushes.

As I put in the hours to paint this collection, I contemplated joy, but I also contemplated strength. My guiding word for 2020 is STRONG. And it is often on my mind. I could feel that these words were connected - although one feels so buoyant and the other so grounded. And then, I found this verse:

The joy of the LORD is your strength.

-Nehemiah 8:10

Joy, strength, Jesus. It all came together.

And I thought this tidy little trio was the footing for this collection. I thought’d I’d had my big “aha moment” and found the reason that the word “joyful” had been continually placed on my heart.

I didn’t plan for there to be more. I didn’t anticipate the way our world would go so topsy-turvy as this new coronavirus swept over the world. I didn’t expect to be asked to LIVE OUT this connection between joy, strength and Jesus.

But here we are. Each of us living in ways that are outside of anything we have known before. None of us knowing how long this will last or in what ways our world will forever be changed. There is suffering and worry. There is uncertainty. And there is distance.

All of these things take a toll.

And I’ve felt it. Which is a change for me. Sure, I have my hiccups and my days that are easier or harder. But, I tend to live on a pretty flat line. Not a lot rattles me.

In all honesty, I think that “feeling it” is good for me. It helps me to be more empathetic and it helps me to feel more compassion.

This may not be what we wish for in the world - and yet, kindness and togetherness have united us and it is a beautiful thing. I see God’s word being leaned on more heavily and shared more often and I pray that there are people being brought to him and his salvation through the challenges and tragedies of this time.

And, overall, I have faith that He is in control. He did not bring on this suffering, but he can and will use it for the good of his people and for the good of his kingdom. And that is pure joy.

Joy - even in practice. Joy in the LORD.

The collection is made up of 18 pieces.

Three large wood panels, two small wood panels and four mini panels. Plus, eight pieces on pages torn from The Oxford Companion to English Literature.