“Do you want to go to Africa?” my friend Debi asked when I bumped into her in the hallway at church.

“Yes, I do.”

And that was it. I had no details, no dates, and no purpose for going. Yet I had just committed to traveling to the other side of the world.

I’m not typically a “yes” person. I tend to say “no” a lot more. But for some reason, I knew Africa was calling me.

In the months before my friend asked, I had been praying God would open a new door that would take me out of my comfort zone. About to turn 50, my desire was to do something that added a new purpose to my life. Don’t get me wrong. I loved what I was doing, but sometimes life needs to be stirred up so we can see things from a different perspective.

I never dreamed God would ask me to go to Malawi, Africa.

And it all happened because a friend asked, and I said “yes.”

“Yes” is a powerful word because it draws us into activity. Most things we do begin with a “yes” or a “no.” We accept or deny.

• I gladly said “yes” when my husband asked me to marry him.
• I eagerly said “yes” when I accepted my first job.
• I cautiously said “yes” when my neighbor asked me to volunteer at her school.

Sometimes the activity is short-lived and has a beginning and end, like saying “yes” to having coffee with a friend. But sometimes a “yes” can dramatically change the course of your life.

There was one particular time when my “yes” changed everything, because it was the beginning of my Jesus story. I said “yes” to Jesus when I was nine years old. I prayed and asked him to become part of my life.

Saying “yes” to Jesus is the beginning of a wild and wonderful life. Although Jesus doesn’t use the exact words “wild and wonderful,” he does make a lot of promises about what a life with him might look like.

Maybe your life is feeling a little unwound, unknown, crazy, or even stagnant. It’s okay; Jesus wants to join you wherever you are. He is not afraid of your mess. He can handle your doubts and fears. More than anything, he wants to be part of all your endeavors and walk alongside you every day.

Jesus wants to do your wild and wonderful journey together.

All you have to do is say “yes.”

If you choose to say “yes,” there’s no guarantee everything will turn out exactly as you planned. And I can’t promise that you won’t experience difficult times along the way. However, saying “yes” to Jesus means he is with you every step of your journey. You won’t be alone as you travel.

And this is what makes life both wild and wonderful.

“Whatever God has promised gets stamped with the Yes of Jesus. In him, this is what we preach and pray, the great Amen, God’s Yes and our Yes together, gloriously evident. God affirms us, making us a sure thing in Christ, putting his Yes within us”
(2 Corinthians 1:20-21, The Message).

A few weeks ago my great-nieces and nephew visited my husband and I in Florida.

Each day offered new and grand adventures. Sea-shelling, sand castle building, wave hopping, and night crabbing were some of our activities. From sun-up to sun-down big decisions had to be made — would we walk the beach searching for one-of-a-kind seashells or would we build grand structures in the perfect white sand?

We ran everywhere — up the staircase in the house to put on swimsuits, over the beach-bridge to jump in the water, into the pool to play Marco Polo. Seldom did we walk. But when we did, it was because we were stopping to look at something the ocean brought in.

It’s pretty fun to see the beach through children’s eyes.

Every day brought undiscovered treasures and new adventures. It was such a happy sight to see excitement in the smallest things.

Yet, here’s the thing. The beach is here everyday. Day in and day out the tide comes in and goes out. The waves roll at their own pace providing natural beauty like non other. But from a child’s eyes, it is all new.

I love the beach. I see and appreciate its beauty. But I’m grateful because these little people help me see the beach differently. For example, to them, every seashell is a trophy. They remind me to keep a sense of urgency, not hurry, but urgency because we should never waste time by not being at the beach. And maybe best of all, the activities from spending a day in the sun and sand reward us with a good night’s sleep!

So, here’s your challenge for today. Find a child somewhere — grocery store, neighbor, church. Get down on your knees to their eye level. Try to see things from their perspective. The world will look differently from down there. I think you will see wonderful things from a fresh new perspective.

And perhaps you will realize time is never wasted when we enjoy things from a different perspective.

Meet two of my favorite people: Meg and Pat.

Meg is a junior in high school and is my awesome friend, neighbor, and inspiration. I love spending time with her because she’s fun and super cool. Over the past few years, Meg and I have done all sorts of things together. We’ve gone to movies, had coffee, attended church, and even volunteered together. Some might say I am Meg’s mentor, but I would laugh at that comment because, to be totally truthful, I think Meg is my mentor. Meg reminds me to laugh often and enjoy life more.

Pat is a few years older than me. But one would never know it based on our activity level; Pat out-does me at every turn. Like Meg, Pat is super fun and I laugh a lot when I am around her. She’s also an encourager. And we never part or hang up the phone without her reminding me that she loves me.

 

I’d like to think that sometimes these two gals benefit from the time they spend with me. It’s not measurable, so I’ll never know. But here’s the thing: I know it’s important to spend time with women of all ages and personalities. I’ve found they will always bring out the best in me and help me grow. 

No doubt my life is richer, wiser, and way more fun because of these two women. I pray you will seek out people who aren’t just like you. If you do, you’ll soon find yourself reading books you would have never read, doing activities you never imagined, and discussing topics you previously knew nothing about. 

These are the things that make life rich. 

Last month I introduced my word for the year: IMAGINE. So far, it has been a great word. I am looking “to Him” to do immeasurably more than I can imagine. It’s been fun, refreshing, and a little bit freeing to dream and then let God take over.

This month, I thought it would be fun to ask a few of my friends their word for the year and have them share some of their thoughts with you.

Linda: ADAPT
Last year my word was accept and I decided if I was going to accept, I needed to adapt. Then on New Year’s Day weekend the sermon was about adapting, so I felt like it was my word!

Terri: UNWAVERING
I felt like I needed a word to help me focus on having a steadier faith, regardless of my circumstances. I want my faith to grow in such a way that it takes me off the roller coaster ride and leaves me with no doubt that God is in control, even when the scary downhill plunges (or even small bumps) of life come my way. I prayed about and wrote down many words before I came across this one and immediately knew it was the one for me. I also found some scripture verses to go with it that I keep visible and read every day. My prayer is that throughout this year, God will teach me to trust more and waver less.

Morgan: STEADFAST
I was at a conference in January and was in the middle of worship with these words on my lips: “I will build my life upon your love, it is a firm foundation. I will put my trust in you alone, and I will not be shaken.” In that moment, I had a feeling that my year was going to be full of moments forcing me to put those words to the test. Since the conference, my whole future has been flipped upside down as I have stepped out completely into the dark and unknown this past month. A couple years ago I changed my career path to play it safe and do something a little more comfortable and secure instead. I changed from pursuing broadcast journalism, with hopes to be a news anchor one day, to public relations, with hopes to have a stable income, normal hours, and a normal, safe life. Well, plot twist! I was offered an internship with a news station my final college semester. Knowing that I committed to remaining STEADFAST no matter what was to come my way this year, I pretty much had no choice but to get uncomfortable and welcome the risk if I really wanted to live up to my word.

Brenda: BELIEVE
I feel like God revealed to me (mostly through prayer and reflection) that I need to trust Him more and BELIEVE that His promises are true, that His plans for me and my loved ones are good (and so much better than mine), and that He is working all things for good for us that are called according to His purposes. The posture of walking in belief is a liberating one for me and counter to the posture of self-effort, striving, control and fear.

Teta: TRIM
My word for the year is “trim.” I spent too much money this fall. It didn’t make me feel good; it made me feel guilty and excessive. I have too much of everything in my house; too many clothes, too many things. This year, I want to trim my spending, get rid of debt, and trim the “things” in every room in my house. I even want to trim my eating so I can trim my body.

Mary Jane: TRUST
I’ve had this word for quite some time. I have felt that God has told me that I need to trust Him in the big and small things in life. I feel as though this is one of the essential elements needed in our faith walk to help us grow and develop a relationship with Christ.

Paula: THRIVE

This year my goals are to embrace life even further and truly THRIVE! Expanding and blossoming in my “second spring” spiritually, personally, physically as well as professionally is what thriving means to me. So often our culture defines women in their fifties and beyond as “over the hill,” “post menopausal,” and so on. That’s an old stereotype that I’m kicking to the curb! I feel our 50s are a time of blossoming and coming into our own in a very exciting and freeing way. I feel myself hungry for growth and personal development. Exploring creative gifts and serving others from a place unique to the way God created me gets me fired up. To thrive means I will not shrink away from challenges or fears. I will not focus on what is not mine to control. I will live more wholeheartedly which means I will be more vulnerable, more forgiving and more loving with others and myself. Any limitations I perceive are just thoughts; they are not reality. I get to choose how to show up in this amazing world and in my life daily. I choose to THRIVE!

Missy: INTENTIONAL
It took me awhile to choose just one word because quite honestly I’m so overwhelmed with my life right now. Intentional seems to be the perfect word for me because I feel easily distracted with lots on my mind and also feel pulled and needed in so many directions. I’m striving to be intentional in all I say and do–to be “all in,” wholly in the moment–when I’m with someone or doing something.

Audrey: ADVENTURE
I knew this year was going to be packed with new things and new goals. Last year was truly “dynamic” and filled with lots of exciting change. Therefore, this year is going to be spent capitalizing on all that change. Adventure seemed to be destiny. I’ve already had several travel adventures that were on the life bucket list for my husband and myself, as well as several more planned. But other than travel, we will be soon celebrating our first year wedding anniversary, learning Spanish, and making some big steps professionally. I know this year will be full of adventures–big, small, exciting, and even perhaps not so exciting– planned and unexpected. And I can’t wait for all of them!

Stacie: ABIDE
Abide just seems to fit perfectly for what I need and where I am right now. I feel I need to ABIDE with the Lord this year, stay close to Him and lean on Him more fully. I was reading about what abiding in Christ truly means and one author put it this way: “Abiding in Christ means allowing His Word to fill our minds, direct our wills and transform our affections.” My verse for the year is “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit itself, except it abide in the vine, no more can ye, except ye abide in me.” (John 15:4) This is what I’m striving for this year.

Pat: PATIENCE
My word is still patience. No new surprise. When get some I will let you know. (Susan’s note: I’m tickled by Pat’s response. As my mentor and one of the most “far along” women I know, she says she lacks patience.)

I love the hearts of the women who’ve shared here, and I hope these words and thoughts inspire you! If you haven’t claimed a word for the year, it’s never too late.

For the past six years, instead of making a list of new year resolutions–that I would most likely fail to keep–I have claimed a word for the year. My awesome niece introduced me to this idea and it has been an important tool to help me focus on things that are important, especially for that year. For example, after both of my parents passed away, I chose the word “smile,” because at that time of my life it had been a long time since I felt like smiling. The following year, the word “embrace” found me. I say that it found me because in searching for my second-year-word, I had looked high and low for the perfect word. During a conversation with a friend, I told her, “I want a word that embraces all the things I want to achieve this year.” The moment the word “embrace” came out of my mouth, I knew it was my word for that year.

Some years, the word has come easily to me. Other years, I have struggled to find the right fit for the perfect word.

This year is an example of a time when I have struggled to discover my word. I know that IMAGINE is a perfect word. It’s the word behind More Than You Imagine Ministries–the ministry where I challenge women to live a wild and wonderful life with Jesus. So, when I “test-drove” it on a couple of friends (who are all too familiar with me and the word imagine), they were less than enthusiastic. I think they thought it was an unoriginal word for me. But sometimes, I think it’s important to go back to the basics. And for me, this year, that’s exactly what I want to do: remember all the reasons why I’m involved in ministry in the first place.

I feel it’s time to re-engage! So this year, I’m IMAGINING:

I’m IMAGINING a great God who wants to do greater things in my life than even I can dream about.

I’m IMAGINING how my little world (women in my circle) and my big world (women I don’t even know) might be different if I shared more Jesus with them.

I’m IMAGINING how things I think are impossible can really happen this year.

It’s exciting when a word becomes YOUR word. I hope that you will discover a word this year. Or maybe a word may discover you. Either way, it’s a refreshing and fun way to help you to keep your focus on your main things.

…and if you do claim a word for the year, I would love to hear from you!