One of my favorite things that I decided to carry on with me from my youth group was the idea of choosing a word at the beginning of the new year to represent that year as a whole.

My word for 2017 was "courage," and boy did last year require a whole load of that.

For 2018, I've decided on not one, but two words: "Live" and "Consistency."

Last year, I felt as if I was rushing everything. I rushed the last semester of high school to "get out." I rushed the summer because I was excited about college and volleyball.

Then, I rushed the first semester of college because I was unhappy and wanted to "get out" again. This year is where I need to learn how to live in the moment.

Not only was I rushing certain things, but I was living "cautiously." I was in a constant state of "what if."

This year, I plan on eliminating that and finally pursuing the things I want to achieve.

The word "consistency" pertains mostly to my faith. I was on a rollercoaster with my faith last year; I was either on an all-time "Jesus-high" where I would read my Bible every chance I got, went to every church event possible and prayed every second my mind roamed away or I was at an all-time low, where I would be lucky to simply read the daily Bible verse that pops up on my phone.

I made excuses to get out of doing my devotionals or reading the Bible in general.

This is the year that I show consistency in my love for God. I mean, He sent His ONLY son to be CRUCIFIED for sins that he didn't even commit. That's how much He loves us.

I now hope to not just carry these words into and through 2018, but through 2019, 2020, 2021 and so on.

I realize that being consistent is a difficult task, not just for me, but for everyone. I challenge all those reading this to practice consistency with me this year. You won't regret it.