The year 2014, Rest, was a challenging year! It was my heart’s desire to get to a point of total trust in the Lord’s grace and love, resting in His provision, and it was exactly what the Lord provided. I’m in total awe off the journey I’m with the Lord, since I started Naming the Years.
In 2012 it was the Year of Eucharisteo. Through heartbreaking and joyful events the Lord taught me about thankfulness and walking in thankfulness.
2013 was Grace… Wow, the Lord overshadowed me with His grace in situations I couldn’t possibly have imagined.
Then in 2014 I longed to take the next step after experiencing the fruit of thankfulness and tasting the unconditional grace of God - I wanted to rest in Him. I thought with my knowledge of giving thanks in every situation and remembering how the Lord extended His grace, I would be able to enter true rest.
And so it happened within 6 weeks after I committed myself to “Rest”. Heidi-Mari and I was on our way to the USA middle July and I had to trust the Lord with all the logistics of making it happen.
I had to rest in Him for finances; for taking care of my family, some small boys staying behind; our family business while I’m away for 19 days; Heidi-Mari and my health while in the USA; and most of all my daughter’s performance at the Archery World Championships and All Star Archery Championships.
I had to rest in Him for finances; for taking care of my family, some small boys staying behind; our family business while I’m away for 19 days; Heidi-Mari and my health while in the USA; and most of all my daughter’s performance at the Archery World Championships and All Star Archery Championships.
During the exact time we were invited to the USA, CJ had to prepare and write his GED exam.
We thought he had a couple of months to prepare, but due to circumstances he had to write within 5 weeks. I wish I could say I passed the test of resting in the Lord…. I didn’t. It was once again the Lord’s grace that amazingly let CJ pass His GED exam in the high 90th percentile.
We thought he had a couple of months to prepare, but due to circumstances he had to write within 5 weeks. I wish I could say I passed the test of resting in the Lord…. I didn’t. It was once again the Lord’s grace that amazingly let CJ pass His GED exam in the high 90th percentile.
By now Lord had set the stage for quite an amazing learning curve… He had my full attention and I was living in the constant consciousness that the Lord is teaching me about rest. While preparing for the USA, numerous miracles happened, but also a lot of heartache were experienced. The Lord provided amazingly in certain areas, while things went wrong big time in other. I failed some serious tests of faith. So much so, that when I came back from the USA, end of July, I was filled with questions I never asked before.
Why would some of my prayers be answered beyond what I could ask for or imagine, and others not at all? I was working so hard in praying and doing all the right things. Pressing froward to trust the Lord and constantly reminding myself to rest. But understanding true rest was still eluding me.
It was only in September, when I was at my wits end, that I was ready for God’s answer. Christo received a book from a trusted friend and we were introduced to Andrew Womack ministries. Within weeks I read numerous of his books. I seldom finish a book, but this message was different. I finished every single one I picked up. It changed my life dramatically and the truth set me free! I received the truth about His grace, the truth of His love for me, the truth of His power in me through Faith! I thought I have to earn the rest, but I came to understand the rest was already accomplished at Calvary and I only have to receive it.
It is all about me receiving it! God already gave it to me, but I wasn’t ‘there’ to receive it. I had to renew my mind big time, and am still doing so daily! The results are amazing! And I can through God’s grace proclaim, I came to know true rest in the Lord! I’m at the verge of trusting the Lord for big things!
And so by the 11th month of 2014, a peace settled in my heart. The Name of my Year, REST, was an awesome learning experience and I’m in expectation for how the Lord is going to take it from here.
So I started to pray about the Name of 2015… I knew it would expand on the previous names, so I started seeking the Lord to reveal it to me. It was early one morning, while reading Psalm 37, my absolute favourite Psalm in the Bible, that the word jumped out from the pages… For days I was playing with the word in my mind… weighing it as it grew on me…
This year will be the Year of Delight!
It is my heart’s desire to delight myself in the Lord. I want to get rid of everything that entangles me in the world and my flesh, my thoughts and my shortsighted plans. I want to delight myself in the Lord and walk more in the Spirit. But I also want to delight myself in my husband and my children, in homeschooling my children and playing with numbers when taking care of our business finances.
I want to take thankfulness, experiencing His grace and receiving His rest, as experienced the past three years, to a next level - I have an awesome God, who loves me more than I can imagine. Who paid a price and accomplished everything I will ever need and I want to delight myself in that knowledge.
In this year of 2015 I’m going to delight myself in the One who is Love, Grace and Rest. Through Faith in His love, grace and rest, I’m going to please my God and get a little closer to His purpose for my life - bringing Him joy!
With love
Linnie
Ps. What is the name of your year? Please share in the comments below.
