Purpose

Last week I wrote about the background to my choice of one word for 2016: Purpose although I didn't really spell it out and maybe at the end of the blog post you were wondering the connection between what you had read and my choice of word.

When I stood down from the Foundation Team at His Kingdom Come I felt a real peace about it but also a sense of loss.  The formation and running of HKC had been my focus and purpose for over 12 months.  And as I said in my post introducing my word: 'But giving up something that is successful without God saying what is next is bittersweet and I'm not good at just resting or not knowing what is coming next.'

I felt that I needed a purpose or a vision for what is coming next.  And I seriously thought about having Vision as my word.   'Where there is no vision, the people perish ..' Proverbs 29:18

But Purpose kept coming back into my mind.  I also prayed about it.

And various books and articles kept showing up which helped confirm the right choice.

I looked online for a dictionary definition of purpose
• : the reason why something is done or used : the aim or intention of something
• : the feeling of being determined to do or achieve something
• : the aim or goal of a person : what a person is trying to do, become, etc.

A friend posted a link on Facebook to a website which also led me to a book: Chazown - the book and the website

In May, Mary wrote some devotions for His Kingdom Come based on self-care and I intend to return to those and to look at the links Mary provided:

• Personality test resources: I (Mary) personally prefer the Myers-Briggs personality assessment. It is very in-depth and used by many churches and employers.   16 Personalities   or  Typefinder Personality test
• Spiritual gifts test resources:
• Saddleback Church, home of pastor Rick Warren has a great tool called SHAPE to help understand how you are wired.

I have signed up for One Little Word and downloaded the ebook from logos365 and will use the ideas from both to combine to make my own exploration of Purpose throughout 2016.

Listen to the words of this song.

I want to dig down into what makes me the person I am and to tell my story.  To get that going I signed up for a class from Jeanne Oliver: Reflections.

I much prefer to choose a word for the year - something that I want to see more of in my life.  Do you choose a word for the year?  If so, why not share it in the comments below.

Thanks for stopping by.
Bernice

My word for 2016

Over recent years I have chosen a word for the year that I focus on.  I shared about my word for 2015 last December.

The word for 2015 was Thirst.  And it really didn't grab me.  I did some journal pages for the first three months.

January

February

March

But to be honest, my heart wasn't in it and at the beginning of April I gave up on it altogether.

I have spent most of 2015 being really busy helping to run His Kingdom Come.   You can read about how I became to be involved with HKC at A Story & a Giveaway (the giveaway is now closed!) and I expected to be involved with it still through 2016.  In fact we started discussing Take Me Deeper - DNA back in April.

However towards the end of October I began to feel that it was time for me to move on.

Several times in my ministry career I have worked on things that God has asked me to do – setting up new ministries, organising conferences and even helping set up a new company – and then passing them on to others to run.   To be sure that I was hearing correctly about HKC, I asked a friend to pray for me without saying the reason why and she said ‘You are gifted and know sometimes things are for seasons.’    This confirmed for me that the season was ending for me with regard to the Foundation Team at His Kingdom Come.

But giving up something that is successful without God saying what is next is bittersweet and I'm not good at just resting or not knowing what is coming next.

So what is next for me?  And what is my word for 2016?

Regular readers will know that I am involved in a new weekly online Bible study from my church: Glimpses of Jesus in the Old Testament.   And that I have signed up for rather a lot of online classes.

And my word?

Purpose

I'll explain why in another post on Sunday.

Thanks for stopping by.
Bernice

Glimpses of Jesus

I am really excited that for 2016 I am working with Simon, a member of the leadership team at my church, on a year long weekly Bible Study.  It starts on Wednesday 6th January 2016 but you can find out more today on the special blog we have set up: Glimpses of Jesus in the Old Testament.

I have been hosting art challenge blogs and creative Bible studies for a while but this is my first foray into a year long, weekly Bible Study.

Each week there will be a short passage written by Simon which includes suggested further reading.  There will be a 'To think about' suggestion for people to think about or to journal about.  Whenever possible there will be a worship video and some creative responses from members of Jubilee Church.

Here's a sneak peek at some of the artwork.

Part of a poem written by Phil Clarke

Photo by Bernice Hopper

I hope you will join me in this exciting new adventure.

Thanks for stopping by.
Bernice