• About
    • About Me
    • Privacy Policy
  • Ministry
    • Video
    • St. Peter Institute
  • Contact

A Little Flower Grows

Catholic Lifestyle Blog

One Word for 2017: Surrender

January 3, 2017

(So I almost wrote 2016 as I typed the title of this post. Here’s to another year of trying to get used to writing a new date, just as we got used to writing last year’s.)

I’ve been pondering for the last week or so what my word for 2017 should be. I’ve been searching for a word that would carry me through the coming year in order to grow as God desires me to. As I wrote in my post about my word for 2016:

“This one little word will be my “theme” for 2016. It is a word that I will keep in the forefront of my mind + heart to direct me throughout the year. It will be my track for pursuing my goals + dreams this year. It will help guide me to grow as a person this year, emotionally, mentally, socially, and, most importantly spiritually. It is a word that I hope will help me draw closer to God this year.”

This one little word for 2016 was “focus,” and in hindsight, I see that there was no word more fitting for last year than that. “Focus” was a consistent and recurring theme throughout my whole year, and through it I grew in more ways than I could possibly have expected. My one little word for 2016 truly carried me through the entire year.

I also wrote, this time last year:

“So this year, I need to focus. I need to put first things first. I need to make more time for the most important things in life, and relish them. I need to recenter my life around God + prayer. I need to stop letting myself get so distracted.
For me personally, I feel that “focus” is a good place to start. If I form a solid foundation for myself by learning to focus, then I can go from there. If my mind + heart are focused and not distracted, my actions will follow accordingly.”

I can honestly say that all these things were achieved in my life last year. Not that I’m now perfect and always have perfect focus on the most important things in my life and never stray or get distracted. But after 2016, I have so much more focus on the things I should ~ like God, prayer, my studies ~ and I worry and try to control so much less. I’m more at peace, more centered, more present.

Now that I’m more focused, I want to take more action. Despite my growth in focus, I still find myself struggling to trust God completely and to truly desire His will over mine. I also find that I struggle to be truly selfless, both in my relationship with God and with the people in my life.

That said, I feel particularly called to work on denying myself, sacrificing, and trusting God in this coming year. And so my one word for 2017 is:  s u r r e n d e r .

This year, I’m going to strive to surrender my will to God’s more completely. To surrender my life to God more radically. To surrender my will for the sake of others. To forget myself in order to love God and others better.

I’m taking as my role model for this year of surrender my dear patron saint and friend, St. Therese of Lisieux. I want to imitate her Little Way ~ her simple, humble routine of making small sacrifices and of renouncing her will in everyday things for love of God and neighbor. In sacrificing my will in practical, tangible ways, even if they are small ways, I will be better able to sacrifice my will to God and trust in Him.

I’m also taking the following as a prayer or quote to go along with my word for the year:

Let go, my soul, and trust in Him.

I’m going to strive to let go, to surrender, so as to trust in Him more completely and to be truly desirous and accepting of His will instead of mine.

And so friends, that’s my mission for 2017: surrender.

What’s yours?

Sincerely,
~Stephanie
facebook // instagram // pinterest

Related

Categories: focus, new year, one word, resolutions, surrender

Related Posts

February Recap and March Goals
Jesus, I Trust in You
The Best Study Method to Boost Your Productivity
Previous:
2016 In Review
Next:
A Letter to My Freshman Self (and All College Freshmen)

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

About Me

Hi, I'm Stephanie!

Theologian’s wife, mama of one baby boy, lifelong Catholic. Michigan native, teacher by profession, avid tea drinker. Welcome to my little corner of the internet, where I share from my heart about wife life, mama life, and Catholic life. Pour a cup of tea and stay awhile!

Let’s Connect

Shop SHEIN for the latest in Fall and Winter Fashions

Recent Posts

  • 8 Essential Baking Supplies Every Beginner Needs
  • Top 9 Powerful Novenas for Catholics
  • Top 6 Highlights of the San Francisco Bay Area
  • A Redesign and a Relaunch
  • What I’ve Learned about Love and Surrender

Topics

Blog Archive

Selfie Shade Match - trèStiQue

Follow Me on Insta

stephaniebpeter

Catholic wife + mama of one
Blogger at A Little Flower Grows
Ministry: @saintpeterinstitute
Wife life, mama life, Catholic life👇🏻

Stephanie Peter
Yesterday’s Memorial Day cake, baked by yours tr Yesterday’s Memorial Day cake, baked by yours truly 🇺🇸 Speaking of baking, did you catch last week’s blog post about my top 8 essential baking supplies?! Hop on over to read my list - from one beginner baker to another - of baking supplies that every beginner needs! Link in bio👩🏻‍🍳
——
I hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend! 🙏🏻
New post on the blog today about my top 9 favorite New post on the blog today about my top 9 favorite, powerful novenas 🙏🏻 “Personally, I love novenas. As someone who appreciates schedules, I think it’s something about the nine-day structure that draws me to novenas. Plus I have found them to be extremely powerful and efficacious in my life for many an intention - not the least of which is the finding of my now spouse...” 💕 Continue reading #ontheblog ➡️ link in bio!
In 2016, I had the opportunity to spend time in Po In 2016, I had the opportunity to spend time in Poland for World Youth Day in Krakow, including visiting John Paul II’s hometown of Wadowice. What a blessed time it was - I’m still reaping the graces of that pilgrimage four years later. ——
I have soo much love for JP2. He was the pope of my childhood - the first papa from as far back as I can remember. I have so much appreciation for his Theology of the Body that first blew my mind in high school and that I was privileged to study more deeply in college. I love so many of his other writings too, and gosh I just love him in general.
——
Happy heavenly birthday to an amazing man, pope, and saint. St. John Paul II, pray for us! 💕
Happy Sunday, ft. flowers my hubby bought me + a f Happy Sunday, ft. flowers my hubby bought me + a few of my many candles 🕯💐
Happy Mother’s Day to my mom! And to my grandma Happy Mother’s Day to my mom! And to my grandma and mother-in-law! Three mother figures that I am so blessed to call mine 💗 Thank you for all you do for us and for being the best. We love you all! 🥰
#ontheblog today - top 6 highlights of the San Fra #ontheblog today - top 6 highlights of the San Francisco Bay Area! As many of you know, the hubs & I spent our first 7 months of marriage living in NorCal. So I rounded up our favorite spots that we visited in the area (complete with pictures) 🌁 Link in bio!
Starting a blog has been on my mind for a couple m Starting a blog has been on my mind for a couple months now. I used to blog several years ago and enjoyed it a lot, but fell out of the habit during my senior year of college.
——
But recently, I felt God putting it in my heart and nudging me to get back into blogging again, and specifically, to make my new blog a Catholic lifestyle blog.
——
I’m so glad that I finally launched it and I’m excited to be on this new journey! I hope you’ll follow along with me 💕 (In case you missed my first post, go to the link in my bio!)
Hey Insta friends, I have some news for you that I Hey Insta friends, I have some news for you that I’m SUPER excited to share with you!
——
1. My husband and I have launched our online ministry, the St. Peter Institute for Scripture & Evangelization! We’re primarily producing videos, articles, and a podcast on all things faith, marriage & the family, Biblical apologetics, and Catholicism. Check out our Insta @saintpeterinstitute
——
2. I’ve officially launched a blog! I blogged until my senior year of college 3+ years ago, and I decided it was time to get back into it. It’s a faith-centered Catholic lifestyle blog called “A Little Flower Grows”, where I’ll share about my faith and ministry, my interests, and life in general. Check out my first post, just published yesterday - the link is in my bio 💁🏻‍♀️
——
I’m so excited for both of these things to be taking off! They’ve been on our minds for a while now and we’ve finally had the time to launch them. I hope you’ll follow along with us! 💗
Load More... Follow on Instagram
Theme by SkyandStars.co
Back Top

Copyright © 2023