One crisp winter weekend last month, Hubby and I took the kids hiking to a nearby state park.
I know it sounds idyllic, but if you’ve ever been out with two little boys, you get it.
“Hiking” means you’re on the alert.
You don’t want the happily toddling two-year-old to tumble off the edge of a mountain trail, so you’re constantly herding like a sheepdog.
Meanwhile, the kindergartner is exploring, which means your nature hike becomes a tour de force of rock, dirt and sticks mixed with rapid fire Q&A.
We soon made it to a clearing. A wide open field.
Our two young colts ran wild and free. They laughed while they chased, from the back of their tonsils, down to their pinky toes. They gathered together, branches and what-nots scattered here and there. Piled them up and called it a fort.
I had so much fun watching them, I reminded myself.
This is what it means to be loved —
To run out in the open,
Free to gather and build with whatever is found,
While someone stands happy over you, simply watching you melt away the hour.
Make It Your Own
I’m learning to try on the word “delightful” this year and make it my own from God. God’s calling me to run into new open places and I’m not sure how I feel about it. But, He’s turning my gaze from the journey that’s led me here. It’s been windy and treacherous at times. And I can’t help but look back.
He’s pointing me to the here and now. And He’s asking me to trust Him. To gather what’s been scattered, even if it seems very little to me.
God’s telling us He wants us to build our little forts of joy, friends. He wants us to laugh because it simply makes Him happy.
You know your one words for the New Year? Dare to make it your own.
Run Into The Open
I’ve been reading your one words for the new year. And I’m remembering what you’ve shared last Christmas. Faith is a very practical adventure for us, isn’t it?
For those who haven’t shared your One Word for 2012 yet, I want you to feel free to rest where you’re at. I know some of you have expressed you’re hesitant to pick a one word. That’s so okay. Maybe you feel pressured and it might feel like a bloggy trend. God knows the word He is writing in you. It’s the Word Himself and He’s alive in you.
If you’re looking to start some new things this year — or you’re continuing being just who you are where you’re at — maybe you’re like me, looking back, hesitant to just run into the open.
Let’s take one step at a time together. But, let’s take that one step, as daughters of a Father who finds us delightful. If we dare to believe, I’m trusting He’ll surprise us and say, “Yes! I find you delightful. I really do.”
It seems too good to be true, but we need to test it out for ourselves. It’s not that we’re testing Him.
We’re simply putting our hearts into His hands.
His word says we are delightful. I’m praying we’ll surprise ourselves and take the dare…
To try something new — or simply rest where we’re at — being the Beloved.
“He stood me up on a wide-open field;
I stood there saved—surprised to be loved!” 2 Samuel 22:20
~~~~~
How is God encouraging you to run out into the open — new — this year?
Share your thoughts on the word “delight”.
Pull up chair. We’re not alone. You inspire me to share. Click to share a comment. I’m all ears.
~~~~~
** Don’t miss! ** 
If you are new to Faith Barista, I’d like welcome you here.Click to subscribe by email and get each post in this series served up hot and fresh directly in your mailbox.
~~~~~
*** NOW, IT’S YOUR TURN — FAITH BARISTA JAM! ***
*Today’s 1/12/12 Topic*
Share your thoughts on the One Word: DelightIt’s not too late to share One Word God is putting on your heart with the community here. (Click here to add your One Word for 2012.)
*Next Thursday’s 1/19/12 Topic: * Share your thoughts on the One Word: Joy
(Interesting note: Out of the 81 One Words for 2011 shared, only **THREE** were the same! There’s so much richness in the One Words God’s put on your hearts! Next week’s writing prompt is one of the three that were selected by more than one person.)
Approach it any way you feel inspired! Only required ingredient: keep it real.
Please place the “Faith Jam” Badge in your post and help build the Keep Fresh Fresh Community. Thanks!Grab the HTML Code For January’s Special Faith Jam Badge
It’s a jam session. As time allows, say hi & drop a comment when visiting the community faith blends!
44 Comments
I think God is calling me to apply for a management position in my workplace, which is a public library. I am working towards my master’s degree in library science, so I would be qualified.
It is daunting, to say the least. The people in my department are in the process of being healed during this time as we’ve had an abusive tempermental boss for the last nine months.
I want to bring God’s love into the lives of my co-workers. I have to be careful, as we are a public library… My prayer is that whatever happens, God will teach me how to live for HIm in that place.
Prayers for God’s will to be done would be much appreciated 🙂
Thanks & God Bless, dear Sisters in Christ!
Oh, it sounds like a faith dare, Jeanie. The Lord is with you… Jesus, please guide my sister, as she seeks to hear from you in this matter. Give Jeanie the wisdom she is looking to you for. In your name, Amen.
This year I am making the 18 hour journey across the ocean to the land I have wanted to set foot in since I was nine. Africa. This will be an honor….a privilege….. a gift that I have felt unworthy to receive. After all, it’s something I’ve dreamed about and longed for for so long. I tend to believe those kind of dreams are withheld from me until I measure up. Earn my keep. That sort of thing.
But God is unfolding the dream before me. And it’s so much more than a simple trip that He is handing me. So much more. My delight is His delight….which makes Him a very generous God, indeed.
Julie! My heart just cheered for you! Drink this dream in deep… and I see from the title of your last post, sleep is yours now. Praise God for how He is carrying you and have been, friend!
Things are a little muddy as I work to figure out his plan for me. One of my problems is the fact that I need to learn better to say no more often because I get caught up in things I don’t think he meant for me to get caught up in and then I think too much about how me quitting would affect another, and I wonder why I didn’t say no in the first place. So not sure how God is encouraging me to run out into the open yet in that direction, but this year He is encouraging me in a direction that He’s cleared away all obsticles for; that, I can take encouragement from and DELIGHT in. :o)
Tell me about it, Nikole! That is part of my journey to delight too! People have expectations, don’t they? 🙂 I’ll be thinking of you as I unravel from mine as well. 🙂
What a refreshing visit this first time has been. I felt like I was right with you on that hike and that God was also there with us showing how it is to truly be free and to be loved. Such a beautiful vision. Thank you. Will be back.
Hi Christina! Thanks for taking the time to stop by and sip a virtual cup of joe together. 😉 Blessings to you on the journey God has you on, friend!
I smiled through this entire post, because we are on the same train of thought. You talk about running out into an open field, and I just wrote about “I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free.” Psalm 119:32. Isn’t it amazing how that relates to what you are saying about letting go and finding delight? God is so good.
Wow, Courtney! That is so neat! I love it when that happens. Can’t wait to read your post, friend! I thought of you and your boys too writing this post! 🙂 thanks for that verse, too btw!
Thank you so much for sharing with us! My “word” for this year is Freedom! And I’m so excited about this journey I’m on with Jesus! I am experiencing freedom in different areas for the first time, and love love loving it! Freedom to be a ‘Jesus pleaser’. ….not a ‘people pleaser’. Freedom from alcohol. Freedom to love myself because Jesus made me, and He delights in me! I love that word delight! Galatians 5:1…..”it is for Freedom that Christ has set you free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by the yoke of slavery’.
Tami, my heart was just bursting with excitement reading your “freedom” list, one after another! Yay! Hold onto that faith and no matter what happens, don’t let go of God’s promise that He is freedom in you. May you find faith friends to lean on as you make your way free!
Last year my word was FAITHFUL & boy oh boy did God EVER show Himself Faithful on my behalf. I should have been dead so many times YET I am alive (even if my clothes have smelled like smoke at times) lol
Not only has he proven Himself Faithful & true but now that I know what faithfulness looks like & have experienced it myself, I realize that by Him being faithful, now I Desire so much to be more faithful! Wow. Isn’t that wonderful? How when we behold the Lord we are transformed more into his image. He took my breath away last year because I lived through several hard times (most of them my own hands made them) but EVEN then, He was right in there with me. Never left me once! Saved me and delivered me with a Mighty Hand and today I stand because He stood in the gap for me. And He does that for you too. He is for You!
This year as I continue on my journey this year, God has whispered to me the word: HOPE-not just hope that things get better but an active EXPECTANCY that with God there is Hope, & the hope He gives does not disappoint and it is the Anchor of Our souls. He wants me to experience that this year like never before.
I pray you have a wonderful adventure with God like never before! A new fresh move of God for you & me this year and a deeper understanding and knowledge of WHO he is and His unfailing everlasting love unto us and go deeper with Him. A new attribute of His that will find you looking into His face in awe of who he is. He wants to reveal Himself to us so much!
We are blessed!
Adaykis! Wow – such a chorus of joy! It’s so wonderful to hear you sing out your words… and the ones God’s given you. May God continue to water those seeds of joy in you, friend! What a journey.
I love this post.. it’s simply delightful. 😉
Seriously, it has a new freedom and lightness to it. I think the Lord is up to something in you this year, friend. Something freeing and yes delightful.
I’ve been a bit absent from blog land for a while and for various reasons. But, am finally getting back on track. Hoping to start jamming again on Thursdays next week.
Be blessed,
Debbie
PS ~ My One Word for 2012 is Peace.
Thank you, Debbie. There’s always a seat for you… and it’s wonderful to hear your “voice” again. Be blessed friend. You are loved. You are delightful.
The other linky was closed so, I hope it is okay, that I slipped my OneWord post in here today….
I think this word the Lord has given you is so beautiful….inspired me too!
Thanks, Lindsey! I just fixed that on the Linky. 🙂 Can’t wait to hop over and sip your One Word, girl!
I’ve been struggling with that “one word”. As much as I push it from my mind because it does not seem like me at all, the word that keeps coming back into my mind is….Intrepid.
I don’t feel intrepid…fearless… More often quite the opposite.
But more than that, the thought that booms in afterwards is: “what is He going to ask me to do that is going to make me intrepid??!!” That’s usually enough to make me want to crawl back to bed. LOL!! But I know what’s going to happen. He’s going to be like the mother eagle who marches the baby eagle out of the nest and pushes it off and says “Fly!” And the baby eagle soars.
Christine, you took your first step as intrepid– sharing your one word here with us! May you continue to draw encouragement from “Mother Eagle” — God is smiling on you.
My word that God laid on my heart is follow. I thought really Lord? I thought I was doing that. But it became a bit clearer today. He answered a prayer that I had been praying over for many months. His answer was no. I didn’t like it at all. Told God that as well. then His quiet voice hit my heart. Are you willing to follow even when I say no or just when you things are your way? Ouch that really convicted me. So I am grateful for answered prayer and I chose to follow kicking and screaming today but I am sure God has a plan even if I don’t get it yet and He will wrap me in His arms as I am sad about His answer.
Hi Tammy! You are a feisty one.. 😉 .. one the Lord delights in and smiles upon. Your heart is so full of passion, it will be quite a year for both of us, I see! Thanks for taking the time to sip and share this morning, friend! May God bless you right where you are!
[…] Faith Barista Jam Today over at Bonnie’s place we are discussing this one […]
My one word is GRACE, both to receive and give to others, especially my Alzheimama. I am ever-learning to be content in ALL circumstances, a real challenge in caring for my mom who is like a two-year old making adult-size messes. The responsibility for kindness, compassion, gentleness, and patience rests on me, not her, and without my eyes and ears tuned to the Lord, I fail miserably. By the way, I love your hiking tale. We used to take our kids hiking all the time. We had so much fun! We used to play “Unite”, based on the old version of Left Behind. Every time a helicopter flew overhead we’d all scramble to hide from view, pretending it was Unite after us. We’d play Survival, where I taught them basic survival skills and the like. We even practiced some of these skills in our backyard. My daughter could tell you stories of eating dandelion greens salads for lunch and building shelters. It was a ball.
I LOVE that idea, Diane! My boys are gonna have so much fun… and so will we. There are LOTS of helicopters flying around. Thanks for that!
Safe. this is my word. After an abusive childhood and running to a difficult marriage, it is hard for me to feel safe. I am learning to trust my Heart in His Hands. I am Safe.
Bonnie,
You are always so real in your posts. I think that is why I enjoy your blog so much!
I enjoy reading everyone’s posts on Thursday. I always come away with much to think about…and always feeling closer to the Lord.
After 46 of knowing Him, He still amazes me daily! Isn’t that like our God…:) When I saw your word “delightful” a few weeks ago, I had to smile. A few months back I read the words “delight”, “delightful”, and “delighted” in so more devotionals, books and things online that I lost count… I knew God was speaking to me…but couldn’t quite understand it all. The verse, how He ‘delights’ in us, has finally brought true meaning to me seeing and reading those words a few months ago.
I love it when God confirms something to us…and I say this almost every week! 🙂
Blessings,
Susan G.
[…] does delight mean to you? Link to this post! Filed Under: Life Stuff Tagged With: Christian, […]
Ah, what a delight-filled post, Bonnie! I love your word “delight,” and I especially love the image of God that you paint, of Him watching us run free and play and laugh–how beautiful to remember that that’s what He wishes for us! And I love the passage from Samuel you’ve included which reads “I stood there saved–surprised to be loved!”–how that describes what we all need! What a joy to think that that’s how God would like us to feel! And I especially appreciate your reminder that when we trust God and take Him at His word–including the words He’s placed in our hearts–that it’s not testing Him but rather putting our hearts into His hands–sometimes I get the two confused and think it’s testing Him, so thank you so much for the reminder that trust is always what He wants from us, wants our trusting hearts! I hope this new year brings the freedom to focus on our new words and that we can truly live into them, to take that Faith Dare to delight in God and allow ourselves to experience His delight for and in us! My words this year are Trust and Courage, and Delight definitely helps with both! Blessings!
[…] once again to Faith Barista Thursday Jam. Share this:TwitterFacebookEmailPrintLike this:LikeBe the first to like this post. from → […]
Enjoyed posting about delightful, Bonnie. Thanks for the prompt. Let’s together grasp the concept that we are delightful in His eyes.
Oh Bonnie,
Your post spoke deep to my heart today and shared love and delight to me. Thank you friend!
Just loved that you stopped to enjoy the delight your children were enjoying. So often as moms we are too busy to do this. It was easy for me to tie in my word and your word along with your verse.
BTW, your verse reference says Samuel, but it is actually Psalm 18:19. 🙂 Thought you’d like to know! 🙂
Aw, so happy my Berean sis has my back! Thanks, Loni! I corrected it to 2 Samuel 22:20 — David’s Psalm of Deliverance appears both in 2 Samuel and Psalm. 🙂 Can’t wait to read your One Word post!
Ohhhh, it’s suppose to be Psalm 18:19! 🙂 LOL! Good night!
Ohhh, it’s too late! LOL! I get it now! I reread your post . . . I NEED to go to bed! LOL!
Selecting a word for myself for the year…it’s like a challenge a few weeks ago to select a verse and give it to someone so they may pray it over us this year. I prayed and mulled and was trying to ‘figure out’ what verse felt right for the year. As if somehow this pursuit would allow me to sum up all the lessons the Lord has before me for the next 12 months right at this moment. Silly me 🙂 SO. I realize that’s not how I should look at it, yet…it’s what I started to think in selecting just one word! Where we are now, is seeing the Lord’s continued faithfulness to us, in every situation and circumstance. I will continue to look for Him in that way throughout the year. Trying to ‘delight’ in Him and what He’s doing every step of my journey this year ;0 Contentment, joy and happiness in all circumstances. Challenge, wow 🙂
Thanks Bonnie for sharing the wonder of children at play and showing us the comparison of God watching us. My daughters are grown up now but I remember the Joy of watching them play and let loose. They once spent an entire afternoon “catching” a discarded fish in the parking lot where we had taken the boat for a fishing trip. It was hilarious to watch how elated they got each time they hooked the poor creature.
I did pick my one word and it just came to me while I was allowing it to just ruminate in the back of my thoughts. My word this year is “Seeker” as I am on a quest to know God on a new and deeper level than ever before.
I truly love the thought of God being delighted with me. It touches that vulnerable part of my heart and brings tears to my eyes. Thank you for picking that word today.
Blessings to you as you continue on your blog journey.
Be Well,
Lina
Bonnie,
Although I can’t say it’s my definitive one word for the year, the Lord has continually been inviting me to “simplicity.” Living simply is very freeing, and living simply, I believe, will enable me to “run out into the open” with Him.
Peace and blessings in the New Year!
I’m not sure who sings the song, but it is the first thing I thought of after reading this. It goes “dancing with my Father God in fields of grace.” That is what I am experiencing now. Received His grace, and it is causing me to have water-walking Faith. The freedom of the spacious place of grace is truly where I have found great joy!
I’m a little late in writing my post and linking up but I didn’t want to miss this one. I can just picture you with your boys hiking. And believe me, I understand watching the little one closely as he ventures upward. But such wonderful family experiences they are having. I’m so glad you chose “delight” for your word for 2012. And I enjoyed writing my thoughts on that very word. As I wrote I found myself smiling. Thank you for that.
My word is ‘adventure’.
Blessings and love,
Debbie
I thought it would take a lot of time and focused prayer to come up with my one word. But God spoke to my heart clearly and said “Trust”. “Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In ALL your ways acknowlege Him and He WILL direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5,6 (emphasis mine).
Excellent article you posted here. I always love to read article like this and you did this great for us. Your blog really beautiful and fantastic info.