A Life You Don’t Want To Miss (Savor Revisited)
This year I set out to savor my days. To embrace and delight in each gift of a new sunrise.
Imperfect Progress
But it’s easy to get bogged down in the day-to-day (focusing on limitations, monotony, and tough circumstances) and begin to just get by. Going about the days with little passion and purpose.
This isn’t the way any of us are supposed to live. And this isn’t how I purposed to live my life this year.
In my January 2014 post where I shared more about my One Word, I wrote: “Days unfold. Beckoning, bidding us awake to live a life of glory. A life created with the very breath of God.”
“A life created with the very breath of God.“ Each of us, in existence because God chose us to be! His very breath made it so. And more compelling, we are made in His image!
“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27)
Surely that makes our lives something to behold. Something to embrace with awe and use for His glory.
Yet how many of us live as something to behold? How many of us live like God-breathed heirs to a King? How many of us are savoring our days and using them to honor that King?
Savor Forward
Admittedly, savoring each day has not come easy for me. I am not doing it perfectly. There are days I rather wish didn’t exist and others I mindlessly walk through, intent instead on the next one.
As I reflect back on my progress since declaring 2014 a year to savor, I find I resort to this passionless walk more when I’m stressed, overtired, or have isolated myself from others. So I came up with several specific action items to put in place:
- Get rest – in other words, go to bed!
- Fill up with God through His Word and prayer (every day!) as well as worship and song
- Stay connected – relationships enliven our soul
- Intentionally record items of gratitude, each and every day. (Sometimes this is really difficult, but it is critical for refocusing.)
We aren’t honoring our Creator if we live as if we already have one foot in the grave and are just waiting to fall in the rest of the way. We aren’t honoring Abba Father when we are content to wait out our earthly days with little more intention than a worker ant or bee, mindlessly gathering enough sustenance to just get by each day.
A Life to Live
No, as long as we have breath, we are to live with passion and purpose, to bring glory to our Lord! To embrace and savor the whole of being alive. To look for ways to bring glory to the Father.
As long as we have breath, we are to live with passion and purpose, to bring glory to our Lord! Click To Tweet
As Ken Davis poignantly points out in his inspiring video clip: “God isn’t through with you yet. This life is not a waiting room for death.”
A Life You Don’t Want To Miss (Savor Revisited) Click To Tweet
So join me: Get out there and savor this life!
To that purpose, I’ll leave you to absorb one of my favorite Psalms, which can’t help but inspire:
Praise awaits you, our God, in Zion;
to you our vows will be fulfilled.
You who answer prayer,
to you all people will come.
When we were overwhelmed by sins,
you forgave our transgressions.
Blessed are those you choose
and bring near to live in your courts!
We are filled with the good things of your house,
of your holy temple.
You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds,
God our Savior,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas,
who formed the mountains by your power,
having armed yourself with strength,
who stilled the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
and the turmoil of the nations.
The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders;
where morning dawns, where evening fades,
you call forth songs of joy.
You care for the land and water it;
you enrich it abundantly.
The streams of God are filled with water
to provide the people with grain,
for so you have ordained it.
You drench its furrows and level its ridges;
you soften it with showers and bless its crops.
You crown the year with your bounty,
and your carts overflow with abundance.
The grasslands of the wilderness overflow;
the hills are clothed with gladness.
The meadows are covered with flocks
and the valleys are mantled with grain;
they shout for joy and sing. (Psalm 65)
Reflections: How are you doing on living with passion and purpose in 2014? If you did chose One Word for this year, has it helped you stay focused?
Linking up again this year with Ann Voskamp’s 2014 Joy Dare. Find the linkup at A Holy Experience. Beginning where I left off in 2013. What a blessing! #2714–2734, read the entire list by clicking here.
- Joey engaging Rach with basketball–his love and patience for her is a treasure (so grateful this can be said of all my boys); Afternoon hike in a gorgeous preserve with hubby; First butterfly of the year
- Mom and Dad back from their winter home and close by again; Promise of being reunited with our loved ones for all eternity; Silhouette of geese in the morning light
- Windows open in the house; Four kittens to enjoy, all different colors; Being told nice things about my boy’s character
- Finally planting our fledgling weeping willow in its permanent spot; Rach “helping” me dig up parsnips–maybe I’ll make a gardener out of her yet; The moon in the daytime sky–something special about seeing it then
- Flies in the house (really–it means warmer weather!); Imparting truth and hope into the lives of others; Dan’s fast trip home for Rach’s Confirmation & Zach’s play
- Vivid lightening show; Hugs from nieces and nephews–grateful to be in their lives; Crazy antics of the youngest and oldest when they get together
- Rachel’s confirmation of her faith in the Lord and celebrating with many family and friends. Green grass (overnight); Rach’s “drive” to share love
I’m also linking up with Circles of Faith as we revisit our One Words for 2014.
By His Grace,
Julie
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Hello, I'm Julie, an imperfect wife and mother of four. Life in this broken world is not always easy. Yet, joy can be found in each day through the grace and mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I find it's easy for our day's blessings to get lost in its happenings. But God's "mercies never end" (Lamentations 3:22) and His "grace is sufficient" (2 Corinthians 12:9).
May the posts and pages on this site offer you a measure of peace and encouragement.
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Julie, I love the word you chose for the year! 🙂
Thank you, Lyli. “Savor” inspires feelings of beauty and richness and fullness. I’m trying to discover those in each day. Did you choose a One Word? If so, how are you doing with it?
Yes. Well, I sort of did. I was a bit rebellious and chose a 2-word theme for the year: “Hold Fast.”
Awesome One Phrase, Lyli! I don’t believe there is any hard and fast rule. Holding fast to the faith that God blessed me with and the promise of hope is exactly what I need to do as I look to savor this gift of each day.
So delighted to have you join us again Julie! So smart to come up with an action plan. Assessing where we are and where we hope to go is a great way to stay on top of our One Word, isn’t it?
Oh my, how I need that action plan, Elise–plastered on my forehead would be best. Delighted to be linking in.