D.E.L.I.G.H.T

Today, the Lord gave me an acronym using the letters in my word for the year, and I felt led to share.

D - Dwell

The 'd' could have easily be for the word itself 'delight', but the Lord gave me the word 'dwell'. Dwell in the present. Don't focus on the past or be afraid of the future.

E - Enjoy

Enjoy every moment, even the hard ones. I recently found myself looking at a picture on my digital picture frame. It was a picture of me on a boat looking out at the East China Sea in Japan. I instantly felt envious of that Ashley. She got a full night's rest and is soaking up the view without a care in the world. I realized then that this Ashley would also be envious of me, who in the moment was bouncing a crying baby, was overstimulated, sleep deprived, and desperate for a moment for myself. That Ashley in the picture would have traded pretty much anything to have a child in her arms, even one crying and fighting sleep. She would have traded rest, alone time, and that beautiful view to even have a glimpse of the view I had in that moment.

L - Light

I once had God tell me, "Live with the light of life resting upon your face." I took that to mean this: live resting in the light of your salvation, letting the knowledge of that relax your facial features. Let your freedom bring a lightness to your spirit and delight you.

I - Influence

What Influences my thoughts, attitude, and reactions? What do I let reside in my mind and what do I kick to the curb?

G - Goodness

Stop focusing on the bad and retrain your brain to look for goodness everywhere. It's simple, search for what you actually want to find because you will find it.

H - Head to toe in the full armor of God

This is currently what the Lord has me diving deep into - the full armor of God and what it truly means to suit up in it.

T - Turn

Turn toward God and turn away from the world.

All of these things can greatly impact my delight. Focusing on yesterday or tomorrow can steal any enjoyment that can be found in the current moment. Not living in the knowledge of my salvation, but instead letting other things influence my life can tarnish my joy. Refusing to search for the good or to suit up in God's armor, and not directing my focus to God, can leave me empty handed because He is the founder of happiness.

I think the Lord gave me this acronym D.E.L.I.G.H.T. so that I can take a step in the right direction. The enemy always targets me in my word and this year he is working overtime to try to take away any joy that I might find. I hate to say this, but he has succeeded more than once. God wanted to remind me what He had in mind for me this year. He wants me to have delight in my life and to find delight in Him.