2012 Word of the Year

Today Layla, over at The Lettered Cottage, is hosting a Word of the Year Link Party.  I've never chosen a word of the year, but I've read that it's the new way of making a New Year's Resolution.  Perhaps keeping to one word will be easier for me.  Here's the word I've chosen:

It may seem a strange word to some of you.  Why didn't I just choose love, passion, or something like that?  Well, let me explain, for there are several ways in which I want to improve the condition of my heart this year.  

1. Examine my heart.  Recently, I've found that there are many areas of my heart that are left 'untouched' each day; mostly areas that have to do with sin.  It's so easy to shove the wrong intentions, selfishness, anger, and impatience under the rug and just brush it off.  At least this is what I have discovered I've been doing lately.  So, I'm going to purpose this year to daily, even moment-by-moment, examine my heart.  I long for my heart to reflect the heart of Christ, and the first step for me in doing this is to keep my heart in check, examining it for all elements that don't reflect Christ. 

Psalm 139:23-24 says, "Search me, O God, and know my heart!  Try me and know my thoughts!  And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."

2. Pour out my heart.  No, I'm not talking about gabbing on the phone with girlfriends about all my troubles or updating my facebook status with daily woes.  Pouring out my heart is a practice I want to keep as I communicate with the Lord.  After examining my heart, I long to pour out confessions to the Lord, seeking His forgiveness, asking Him to purify me to make me more like Him.  In the Psalms, King David sets such an awesome example of this practice of 'pouring' before the Lord.  He constantly brought his failures, his requests, his praises, and his questions before the Lord.  I long for that intimacy that David had with his Savior, and I know this can only happen as I pour my heart out before the Lord.  

I was reading back through my journal over the past few months and noticed that my prayers are often guarded.  Rarely do I truly share the true feelings of my heart, even with the Lord.  But, that is what He wants from me!  He already knows every thought that I have, but He does long for me to come to Him and pour it before Him. 

Psalm 62:8 says, "Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us."

3. Purify my heart.  This isn't something that can be done on my own, but thankfully through the power of the Holy Spirit, I can be cleansed!  I long to have a pure heart before the Lord, one that is constantly driven by truth, controlled by the Spirit, and reflecting the character of Christ.

Psalm 24:3-4 says, "Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?  And who shall stand in His holy place?  He who has clean hands and a pure heart..."

In summary, the following verses are really my prayer for this year:

Psalm 73: 25-26 "Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.  My flesh and my HEART may fail, but God is the strength of my HEART and my portion forever."

Daily my heart needs strengthening, and the only place that this can truly happen is if God is doing it.  Oh, that I might have a daily renewing of heart-strength in my Savior!

How about you?  Have you chosen a word for 2012?  If so, link it up to the link below, or at least go over and read some of the other great words that were chosen.