From an agrarian point of view, cultivating is all about preparing and working the soil. Once the plants begin to grow, much work still needs to be done. Spiritually, cultivating has the same principle. There are things that must be done to cultivate our relationship with the Lord and strengthen our spiritual muscles. Some ground needs to be prepared for future things that the Lord is doing. Some ground needs to be worked, watered, and weeded because the crops are already planted and are growing. Some fields are likely ready for harvest.
Most of you know that the Lord has laid it on my heart to create a Scripture writing and prayer book focusing on one chapter per day in the New Testament. He has also laid it on my heart to create other digital projects. This is something that requires a lot of work because I have to learn a lot in order for this to happen.
To make the most out of my Word of the Year, I made a list of topics that I felt I should focus on for this to all happen. I spent some serious time and prayer and created this list:
- My relationship with the Lord— how can I grow closer to the Lord
- My blog— articles to work on
- Digital products to create
- Bible Journaling I want to do
- Music for worship services
- Relationships with my family
Once I had the basic topics, I began to brainstorm items for each category. This took a couple of weeks. Frankly, I am still adding things to the list. I began to divide my list into monthly tasks. I have things outlined for a few months. There are several things in the January column that will need to move to the February column.
How Can You Work Your Word?
Here are a few ideas to get you started.
- Select Bible verses— search for verses that contain your word. I try to come up with several to focus on throughout the year. I put them on Faithdex cards and put them on my desk.
- Verse map verses—I use the verse mapping template from The James Method. Provide link—-there are lots of different templates on Pinterest if you don’t have one already. Verse mapping allows you to look much more deeply into a particular verse. You want to be sure you are reading the verse in context and not making it mean something that it isn’t supposed to mean.
- Word study your word—make sure you know the English definitions. Look up synonyms, too. I would also look at the Greek or Hebrew meanings. Word studies are a new practice for me. I use the template from The James Method, but Pinterest has several to choose from. When you do a word study, you can explore the Greek or Hebrew a little more deeply. You can look up all references to your word and similar words throughout Scripture.
- Brainstorm a list of things you can do with your word. I brainstormed a list of things that could be cultivated. First and foremost, I selected my relationship with the Lord
Please comment and let me know if you have a Word of the Year.
Let me know what you think.