Encouragement for your New Year!

If you were to ask me what a good gift is, I’d say the best gift is being thought of. For someone to go out of their way to say they were thinking about you, that they didn’t want anything from you, but were looking for the opportunity to add to you. So, because I know that words last longer than gifts, I want to bless you with the greatest gift, in my opinion, words of encouragement for your birthday. This is such a beautiful time. You’re walking into a new year in your life, and I’m not sure whether you’re embracing it or feeling nervous, but I’ll be sure to cover all bases to help you stay on track to becoming the woman you’ve always wanted to be.

What Defines a Woman?

What defines a woman? It is her strength, resilience, and ability to push. She pushes past every obstacle thrown at her, and she stands. The woman who exhibits the most strength is the one who truly believes she has worth, that neither things nor people add to or take from her value. That the roles she holds as a mother, wife, daughter, friend, or working woman do not define whether she’s worthy or not. A woman shows strength when she doesn’t allow the lies in her mind to control her future, but she silences them by taking authority over the way she thinks. She doesn’t wait for people to fill her up; she begins to fill herself up by speaking life to herself and her situation. She doesn’t dwell in the past and hold on to unforgiveness because she knows those things keep her bound, and she doesn’t have time to be tied down because freedom is calling her. When this woman looks in the mirror, she loves what she sees, even if she knows she has some work to do. She looks at herself and cherishes every imperfection because, if she can see them, it means she still has more life to live, more time to improve. This woman reframes her thinking and doesn’t see herself as failing; she embraces that she doesn’t know it all and is still learning, and gives herself space to improve. She thinks about every hard thing she has accomplished that she never thought she would, sees a determined woman, and realizes that what she has and who she is are enough.

Encouragement

So today, on your birthday, I want you to embrace the woman you have become. Move forward with purpose, knowing that you can do anything you put your mind to. This year, make the decision to walk in freedom from the inside out. That means you forgive and let go of anything you don’t want to carry into YOUR new year. This is the year you reach your goals, and as you begin to press in, the Lord will begin to answer your secret cries. I want you to know that you are more than enough. It’s not about the things you have or the people you surround yourself with. You are special and worthy in your own right! So believe that!

So here’s my gift to you: encouragement that you can hold on to and revisit when you just need a reminder that you’re already great!

Happy Birthday, I pray you enjoy many more!

Originally written 4/7/2026 for a friend of mine.