My Word Of The Year - Breathe!

I'm ready to breathe. It's been that kind of year.

After I wash and dry my face at night, I've caught myself letting out the biggest sigh ever. Then I realize I probably haven't breathed deeply all day.

Or I'll hold my breath because I'm stressed or in a rush or so busy that I just forget to inhale. And exhale. And repeat.

Breathing has always been an issue for me, physically anyway. I've suffered from exercise-induced asthma all my life, and sometimes just walking is a challenge depending on the day. I remember not being able to walk all the laps around the school in elementary gym class, and sitting on the bleachers being glared at by other high school kids who had to run the track, but I couldn't. Breathing was more important, but it was hard to struggle and be different.

So when I got the email quiz for this year's Dayspring word of 2025, imagine what it did to my heart when it came up with Breathe! If you've never taken their quiz, go to www.dayspring.com. There's a link to answer some questions about your relationship with God, what your spiritual needs are, where you'd like to grow in your walk with Him. Then let me know what your word is - I'd love to pray with you about it!

There's nothing I like more than planning, organizing, and getting ready for new projects, so I'm all in for learning to breathe during the new year. Here's what I'm doing to start today:
* I'm reading a book every month that somehow relates to breath, whether it's a Bible study, a medical handbook about the lungs, or how to slow down and not rush through life. I have the first four with eight more on the way!
* There's a new study space set up at our dining room table with the words Just Breathe prominently displayed. Talk about a not-so-subtle reminder.
* To be honest, I don't know everything Scripture says about our breath, God's breath, everyone's breath, so I'm planning to do a word study through the Bible and make some new discoveries!
* I'll be doing daily breathing exercises to help my lung capacity. The older I get (cringe) and the colder it is (hello, January) the harder it is to get full, deep breaths. I want to learn everything I can about how to protect and grow my lungs.

My prayer is that you'll join me this year in digging deep, breathing deep, studying deep - whatever it is your soul needs to connect with God in an impactful way for the next 52 weeks, 365 days, 8,765 hours, 525,949 minutes. His word never returns void, and I can't wait to see how He'll grow us, mold us, and make us more like His Son in the year to come.

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