(See the young lady walking in the light, on the path, among the tall trees? That’s me, when I was 23 years old, in Cathedral Grove, BC)

2014 was the year of Crazy Change for me.

Turns out that most of the change needed to come from within.

I still see the scripture from last year popping up all over the place – Romans 12:1-2 – so I know God’s not done with the changes. I realize that getting to the simple means going through change. And the simpler I want, the crazier the changes need to be.

But the calendar tells me it’s a new year, and it’s time for new beginnings. And it’s OK to step into what is next, into what is coming for 2015.

I’ve been excited about the word for this year, I’ve been feeling it grow in me for quite a while.

Simple.

I’ve prayed and asked about the verse that goes with it, and if there are any songs and sayings to add in the mix. This is just the way I work – you give me words and you give me life. Give me one word to focus on and that word will start to spread and spill over into everything.

For me “simple” means getting back to basics, taking it from the top, re-grounding, minimalism even. This is how it looks so far in my life…

Have you ever picked a life verse? Or a marriage verse?

My life verse is Matthew 7:7 (and I just realized this lines up amazingly with the fact that my favourite number is 7).

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

There is ONE song that I just had to figure out on the piano without any music sheets to help me. This goes back to when I was a little girl – this one song I had to know how to play ANYWHERE, had to carry it with me wherever I would go, had to know it by heart.  It goes perfectly with my life verse.

Seek Ye First

Do you sense a theme here? I have been so excited to catch on to what God has been working in my heart for most of my life – this focus on Him, this turning to Him, seeking after Him, trusting Him with all the rest.

And there’s another song that has been on repeat in my soul for decades – but mostly it’s this one line from the song…

All I Ever Have to Be is What You Made Me

Just like the picture I shared at the beginning of this post, my desire is to be a woman who is walking in the light, on the path God lays out for me, taking in the beauty of life that surrounds me.

I am now 17 years older than the young lady in the photo, I have been a wife for 15 years and a mother for 13 years. The path has gone in directions I never dreamed, the scenery looks so different some days than I thought it would. But the Light has always guided me true, bringing me to places of such blessing, even when the forest around me seemed thick and heavy with darkness. The beauty of life has been far greater than anything I could have imagined – simply because He has been there always, in everything.

And this year of simple starts with Him… with asking, seeking, knocking on His door…

What would You bring to this year Lord?