One Word

Three years ago our youngest son, Timothy, began attending North Central University, our Assemblies of God Bible College in the Twin Cities, where he is now a senior. Next Saturday we will travel south to Chaska for his first lacrosse game of the 2019 season. The Rams had their inaugural season when he was a sophomore, two years ago. For many of the young men on that new team it was a brand new venture, including a new coach who was brought from the east coast to lead the team and to help shape the lives of the 20 young men who desired to be included in this new endeavor. Yet, life has a way changing and shifting so fast. Last year, when I introduced the church to “One Word”, the inaugural coach left the team and a one year replacement was brought in who knew very little about the game of lacrosse. This all took place within 2 weeks of the start of the 2nd season opener. Tim had chosen a hyphenated one word (which is just fine) “Follow-through”. I can’t imagine what it felt like for the team to deal with such drastic changes. Tim’s word became very important in so many different facets. As one of the captains of the team he had to help keep the team together and not lose hope in spite of great upheaval. Often the responsibility of helping teach players, with little experience in the game, was now part of his co-captain position. Follow-through had great meaning right from the onset and maybe some of you can relate because of your own experiences last year. Now that a full-time coach has been hired the team looks forward to this new season; a new season of lacrosse and a new season for God to do something great in each of their lives.

All of us at Hawthorne Assembly have the same opportunity for this new year. I realize we are already half way through February, but let’s pick a new word, or continue with our word from last year. My “One Word” last year was “Urgency”, and I would often find myself thinking about how well I was fulfilling the focus of this word. Urgency for me was mainly focused in the area of sharing my faith with others who crossed my path, especially people who I knew nothing about their faith journey. Urgency will always be a part of my life until Jesus returns or he brings me home. 2019 brings a new “One Word” for me and I have struggled with picking the word which describes my desire. A few weeks back I mentioned a theme phrase I’m going to use more often, here it is, “Solve the problem!” Too many people can point out the problems in our world, our workplaces, our churches, our homes, our families, our marriages, etc. Brothers and Sisters it is time for us to stop so much observing and start serving. Praise God if you are already living the life of a servant. Honestly it is the normal Christian life. Here are two verses for us to consider, “Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.” Philippians 2:4-5. Here is an excerpt from last year’s article, “The ultimate purpose of having “One Word” is to help us engage our three-part being (body, soul, and spirit) on a regular basis. No different than taking time each day for proper rest, nutrition, exercise, and relationship building. God said it best in Philippians 4:8, we must be intentional in our thought life, because that is what shapes us.”

I have chosen the word, “Fulfill” which means to me, be part of the solution. What’s your word?