#OneWord for 2016: ANOINTED

I spent the last week of 2015 having fun with my family in Baguio. It was a great way to end a year wherein my One Word was ABUNDANCE. I felt God's abundant blessings during our family vacation in Baguio. It was also a well-deserved vacation for me for working hard the entire year. Most of all, it was a fitting celebration for the abundance of blessings our family received throughout the past year.

Come January 1, 2016, as usual, I spent some time to quiet down and to reflect on the blessings of the past year and ask God for direction for the new year. I asked God to lead me to my One Word this year and to the Bible verse that further clarifies His direction for me.

With the "little" quiet time I had at my disposal (I've always felt that my quiet times are too short eversince I became a mom of active toddlers/kids), God led me to the word ANOINTED.

First, I was reminded of an article written by one of my mentors, Bo Sanchez, about sticking to your anointing and being faithful to your purpose.

Second, I saw this photo from his Facebook Page and I even shared it on my own Facebook Page on the first day of the new year.

Photo source here.

Third, I was reminded of a tweet I posted in the past year.

I felt God telling me that ANOINTED is my One Word for the year 2016 but I had hesitations. I felt that the word is too loaded. I was afraid to own it... afraid that I would not be able to live up to the word.

I Googled Bible verses with the word ANOINTED and read through them to find out if there is a verse that would resonate with me. I found these two:

"He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come." 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 (NIV) 

Here are my insights on these verses:

• I belong to God and everything that I do belongs to Him. Therefore, everything that I do should reflect God's character or nature.
• His Spirit plants dreams in my heart. He is the source of all my dreams.
• I have hope, courage, boldness and faith to dream big dreams and to pursue them because it is God who guarantees my success and assures me that my dreams will come true. 

"But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie -- just as it has taught you, abide in him." John 2:27

Here are my thoughts on this verse:

• God the Holy Spirit is my ultimate guide and teacher. I should not let myself be overwhelmed with the many things "experts" say I should do to become successful in what I do or choose to do.
• I will use His leading as compass and to help me filter what I hear or read from "experts."

This second verse was also confirmed by the worship song Who You Are by Gateway Worship, which God led me to sing during my prayer time yesterday.

These Bible verses clearly reiterates God's message to me through Bo Sanchez' article where he shares that when we stick to our anointing, our success is guaranteed; because that's where God has gifted us and called us to shine His light and to be a powerful instrument of His love.

This message makes me tremble. You see, I did not get to finish the books I wanted to finish in the past year. There were many factors that contributed to this. Our maids leaving one after the other and me doing the house chores myself on top of caring, homeschooling two boys and breastfeeding a baby, for almost half a year were some of them. Thus, planning to finish and launch at least one book this year is daunting for me.

The first time God impressed this word in my heart, I thought that I need another big miracle to publish at least one of the book ideas that I have.

Then, God led me to the feeding of the 5,000 this morning when I read the Bible to my sons. As I shared the Word of God to my sons, I felt God ministering to my soul and telling me that Jesus is willing to accept whatever I can offer Him and He can transform it and use it to bless many people, even thousands!

It's as if God was telling me that He can easily give me the miracle that I need. All I need to do is to stick to my anointing and live out my purpose.

To further confirm God's Word to me, I read a very encouraging Facebook post of a friend and brother in our community.

This is aligned with the feeding of the 5,000 miracle that my sons and I read this morning. There were 12 baskets full left over even though they started with only 5 loaves and 2 fish! 

I'm praying for greater courage to believe that God can and will grant me the miracles I need again to achieve the dreams He has planted in my heart. 

Through my One Word this year, God reminds me that my successes this 2016 are guaranteed because He has already won the victories that He wants me to have. His wisdom and guiding hand will lead me to the right people and He is shifting things into my favor. All I need now is to confidently step out in faith as God's ANOINTED into my courage zone.

I love the additional confirmation God gave me this morning through one of the devotionals that I use in my prayer time:

"You need to check doors that have been closed to you in the past. Things have shifted... it may not have happened the first time, but that's okay. It's prepared you for this time. Don't give up. This is a new day... Pursue your dream again."

"When God breathes in your direction, people change their mind. Closed doors suddenly open. The nos turn into yeses. Not now turns into It's your time."

Have you discovered your One Word for 2016? Feel free to share your One Word this year and how you were led to it in the comments section.