Up, up and away. And a new word...

As it is now the beginning of 2014, I wanted to write a little post about how my word for 2013 turned out, how God worked in 2013, and what my word for this year is.

Some of you may remember that my word for last year was 'Up'.  You can read about that here.

I grew up: I lived by myself for several months, learned the ins and outs of the working world, had 3 jobs over the summer, then moved to university, learning more about who God has made me along the way.

I moved up: I moved up North to Durham for university and honestly feel like it's one of the best decisions God has ever prompted me to make. I have had the most amazing first term and am beyond excited to see what God has in store for me in the next 3 years up there.

I looked up: God has been so gracious in continually revealing more of himself to me even when I've not been very good at making the effort to discover more. The more I learn the more I love, which seems obvious seeing as God is love, but I've been so surprised by the capacity God has given me to love others and be passionate, all the while moving up closer to Him.

So what is my word for this year? Good question.

After sifting through a million and twenty ideas, I decided on a word that encapsulates what I want to do, who I want to be, and what I know of God.

For me this means...
Free from old chains.
Free from fear.
Free from unhealthy expectations.
Free from doubt.
Free from worldly restrictions.
Free from selfishness.
Free to make the changes God requests.
Free to follow God where he calls.
Free to be myself.
Supernatural freedom.

For others this means...
They will know God's love for free.
They can receive from me for free.
They can receive God's riches for free.
They can be themselves for free.
They will learn to be free.

And all of this is inspired by this verse:

Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is FREEDOM.

~2 Corinthians 3:17

I hope that makes sense. I don't always.
Bring on 2014.