For 2015 I have selected two words. These words are found in Nehemiah 2:18 “…Let us arise and build. So they put their hands to the good work.”

It might seem strange that a woman like me (one who is trying to let go of all the doing and striving and wearing herself out to meet unrealistic expectations and battling that “not good enough” lies) would choose “Arise and Build” instead of something like “Rest”, “Grace”, “Deep Breaths”, or “Peace”. But I felt a tug in this direction and so I leaned in towards this idea.

I should not presume too much, but I think God is wanting me to focus more on the “Arise” part and trust Him with the “Build” part.

Arise is defined as “to begin to occur or to exist; to begin at a source; to get up from sleep or after lying down; to originate from a source; to come into being or to attention.”

Some definitions of “arise” in the Hebrew are: to rise, to stand, to endure, to be persist, to fulfill, to carry out, to establish.

To me, “arise” means to get up, to do what God has asked me to, to not put things off but to take the next step. Arise also means to wake up, to not live numb, but to see things from God’s perspective…to engage and feel, to be present, to make a difference, to stand up to the task at hand, to not play the victim.

Rise up and fulfill the role that He has given, within the territory that He has entrusted to you.