Be "Ful" for Fourteen

As 2013 comes to an end, I look back at the year at both the blessings and disappointments. The older you get the more you realize that the only constant in life is change. Graduation, marriages, children, jobs, moving, losing touch with friends or losing loved ones all become the changes that occur each and every day. We have all experienced highs and lows this past year. If there is one thing I learned this past year it is this: Every person we meet, every experience whether good or bad and every road that we travel down are all part of a journey that has been designed specifically for us. There will be people in your life that disappoint you, there will will be tough times that you may not understand and you will end up places you never thought possible. On the brighter side of that, there will also be unexpected "life lifters" I call them, there will be many joys such a becoming an aunt and you will begin to realize exactly what it is that makes you happy.

I was fortunate enough to get to meet and hear the famous author Jon Gordon speak this past year. His optimistic and positive outlook on life are contagious in the books he writes. When he spoke, he talked about having a word that you write down and look at every day for a year that has meaning for your life. Last year my word was "Spark." I wanted to be a spark to people that I came in contact with throughout my journey. As 2014 is drawing near, I have picked the suffix "FUL." Feel free to pick this word as well.

I chose this word quite frankly because it has multiple meanings: I encourage all of you to be "Ful" of something this upcoming year. The definition of full is a state of the greatest amount of strength. It also means that we have no empty space. So as 2014 rapidly approaches let's be "ful."
BE:
Beauti"ful" - be a person of good quality
Cheer"ful" - be noticeably happy and optimistic
Delight"ful" - be charming
Faith"ful" - be loyal, constant and steadfast
Grate"ful" - be appreciative
Help"ful" - be ready to help others
Insight"ful" - be understanding
Joy"ful" - be a great pleasure to be around
Meaning"ful" - be receptive to what is significant in your life
Merci"ful" - be compassionate and forgiving
Respect"ful" - be obedient in and attentive
Success"ful" - be a person who aims high and wants to be the best person you can be
Thank"ful" - be pleased with the family, talents and life in which you have been blessed
Youth"ful" - be young and be with those that bring out the best in you
Zest"ful" - be a person with energy and enthusiasm for life

I hope you all will be encouraged to be "Ful" in 2014. Understand that God's love for us should make us feel full. There should be no emptiness. If you feel lonely, sad or disappointed, pick one of these words to reflect about the journey that God has chosen for you. For every good and perfect gift comes from Him. The greatest gift is that He sent His son to experience and walk this world that we live in so that He could feel pain, betrayal, loneliness and also love. And lastly, be Boast"ful" in knowing that we know who God is and that he exercises kindness, justice and righteousness here on Earth.

Go be "FUL" in 2014!!