hebrews 6:19-20

Jumpin' back in the saddle with scripture memory this year! Why I neglected this for so long is a sorry excuse, I'm sure, because this is such a vital way to hide God's word in my heart.

Since my word for the year is focus, I'm going to focus my time toward something I'm already studying, Hebrews. So often I get caught up in the excitement of studying multiple things at once. As good as my intentions are, I eventually burn out at some point and neglect any sort of study whatsoever. Focusing on Hebrews in my scripture memory will allow me to retain even more of what my community has been studying over these last months. I will also be reviewing my previous verses so I can recall those to mind again without hesitation.

The vivid imagery of Jesus as an anchor for my soul is something I can't get out of my head lately, so that's where I'll start:

"We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek."(Hebrews 6:19-20 ESV)

 

focus

I've never chosen a word for the year like many I know. I just got stuck in the thinking about it stage and never go around to the doing it part. This year it was pretty cool how this word kept popping up in my thoughts and prayers.  And, also, ironic that this is that word I believe God put before me: 

focus

Here's the merriam-webster definition of focus:

: a subject that is being discussed or studied : the subject on which people's attention is focused

: a main purpose or interest

: a point at which rays of light, heat, or sound meet or from which they move apart or appear to move apart; especially : the point at which an image is formed by a mirror, a lens, etc.

I tend to be spread every which way most of the time. I can't decide where I should be looking, where I should be spending my time, where I can get the biggest bang for my buck. I need focus.

I'm a BIG day dreamer, and big wisher, hoper, feeler. But that puts me in all sort of places that never seem to end, all muddled up and never "form into something clear" (which is essentially a definition of focus). And then I tend to try to do a bunch of fun things but have no real purpose or goal behind them. Good intentions without good planning ends up with little to show for my efforts.

I also love thinking of it from an artist's persepective. Photographers need to understand focus very well to decide on how to shoot a subject. Parts of a frame are composed very strategically to give the viewer something they can focus their eyes on. 

I can see the world so differently depending on where my gaze is focused.

Not only that, but my main focus needs to be Jesus, as it so often is not.

Focus on Jesus.

Focus on what he's called me to do right now.

Focus on things that matter: relationships, community, passions, health

Because these things are lasting and worth my time.

"Where does my focus need to be right now?"

This is what I'll be asking a lot this year.

Did you pick a word or set goals for 2015?

I'd love to hear them! Share them in a comment below.