My 2024 Life Proclamations

I was given the assignment a couple of months ago to write down my life manifesto or my life proclamations, but at the time, I had no idea what to write, so I didn't write anything. On Monday night, I was mostly unable to sleep. I slept for about an hour, then I was awake. All night long. I sat down to write instead, and this is what I came up with. Also, our town is incredibly peaceful at 2:00 in the morning.

• I want to do more than exist. I want to feel everything, even when it hurts. I want to dance and laugh with the people I love and cry when I experience loss. Ecclesiastes 3:4 tells us that "there is a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance" (CSB). I want my life to be fully experienced, instead of only partly experienced because I'm afraid of what people will say if I experience things differently.

• I want to worship God and be so incredibly grateful for this life that He's given me that God Himself gets tired of hearing my gratitude. 1 Chronicles 16:34, "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His faithful love endures forever." Instead of worrying about all of the little things, I want to be confident that God has a plan, even if I don't see it yet.

• I want, no, I need to pursue the dreams that God has laid on my heart. The longer I sit still, the more stagnant I become and less able to be who I am supposed to be. Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord; they are plans for peace, not disaster, to give you a future filled with hope."

• I want to love my family fiercely and take care of them to the best of my abilities. I used to be frustrated with the Proverbs 31 woman because it seemed so completely unattainable, but to be a woman of God is to be strong, intelligent, hardworking, wise, loving, and so much more. These are nearly impossible standards to meet on my own, but if I am faithful to God, they become more attainable.

• I want to love myself enough to take care of myself. I want to respect myself enough to stop shrinking down to accommodate small-minded people. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says, "Don't you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought at a price. So glorify God with your body."

While this list all starts with "I want," I refuse to feel bad about this. There is nothing wrong with wanting more for myself, particularly when the goal is to be improved to be the woman God wants me to be.

Consider This: What would your life proclamations look like? I'm reading a book right now called "Adorning the Dark" by Andrew Peterson and it is SO good. If you want to find a book that gives you direction on anything, I strongly recommend it.