One Word 2013

I can't express how much my life has been impacted by having a One Word each year. It began in 2011 with FOCUS. Then the Lord showed me the importance of building RELATIONSHIPS. Last year, through thanksgiving, I learned to find JOY, unending joy in everything. I began asking God what my new word, my new focus was to be in 2013. I wrote down whispers from God and I prayed. I listened and one day, it was so clear.

My One Word for 2013 is GIVE. Much like last year, I find myself wondering, why give? I'm a pretty giving person, right? We are certainly a generous family. I am married to the most generous and thoughtful man who has a gift for giving...of his time, finances, talents, advise and amazing presents. I am constantly inspired by Scott and often find myself saying I would love to be more generous like him. I now realize that I have so much more to GIVE, in all areas of my life. 

Once again, I am so very excited for this journey. The Lord is already showing me what it means to truly live an outwardly focused life and to live a life fully surrendered (GIVING all control) to Him. I look forward to sharing more with you along the way. 

I Found Joy

At the beginning of 2012, I shared that my One Word for the year would be JOY (click here for that post.) Honestly, I didn't really understand why this was the particular word, thing that the Lord wanted me to focus on. I was a pretty joyful person. Little did I know how the Lord would completely change the way I look at things and forever transform me on my journey to finding JOY.

The biggest transformation came when I began a little list. Early in the year, my friend and mentor encouraged me and a group of friends to write out 100 things we were thankful for. There was something special about writing these things out. I also heard people talk about a book called One Thousand Gifts. The stirring from that list that I had started hadn't left me and I knew this book went into this idea more. I downloaded the book on my iPad and began reading it. I started a new list in my bible journal and decided to write down 5-10 things I was thankful for before getting into God's word and starting each day. I kept reading and writing. Then one day, something came to me. The things I had been writing down, the things I'm grateful for were God's special gifts to me. They weren't just things I was thankful for or favorite things, they were GIFTS! He was blessing me daily through people and experiences. That is why I loved these things, these moments so much and couldn't wait to write them down. In an instant, my eyes were opened to JOY and how to find it. My JOY and my FAITH grew with THANKSGIVING (1 Corinthians 2:7). My perspective changed and I started noticing more and more of God's special gifts just for me throughout my day. JOY like never before. JOY in EVERYTHING!

Things that were once frustrations were no longer viewed as frustrations. These things had now become moments of JOY:

• Messes around the house, I found JOY in. Instead of getting frustrated, I became so thankful that I have an amazing husband and two healthy little girls to pick up after. 
• Change of plans or things not going as I had planned, JOY! I am thankful that God's ways are so much better than my ways and we will make the most out of our new plans. 
• A bad run, JOY. Thank you, Jesus for a healthy body and the ability to get out and enjoy your creation.
• Something falling apart in our 100 year old house, JOY! How cool is it that we live in a 100 year old house? We have amazing neighbors, live in an awesome neighborhood and we have been good stewards with the money the Lord has blessed us with and He always provides so broken things can be fixed. 

Not only did my perspective change in this area, but I also started to notice little things that I had been taking for granted or really just missed before:

• The people...friends, mentors, groups, that God has placed in our lives. I can look back and see His hand and how He knew years ago how much these people would mean in our lives. JOY!
• My VAN! Oh I so did not want a minivan, but I can't tell you how much JOY our Routan brings to our family.
• God using our girls to speak right to my heart and encourage me. JOY!
• Scott's generosity and huge heart for giving. JOY!
• Getting to be home with our girls every single day and the calling to homeschool them. Wow! The way God has been paving the road for this all along is magnificent (this is a blog post all of it's own!) JOY!

"Always be full of JOY in the Lord. Again I say-rejoice!" Philippians 4:4. (Always: at all times, something that happens or is done continuously, receptively, on every occasion.) I am so thankful that God took me on this JOY Journey. I finished the year with 680 things on the list that I started in June. 2013 finds me starting all over at 1, finding JOY in EVERYTHING, ALWAYS. Will you join me?

Did you have a One Word/One Thing for 2012 or do you have one for 2013? I would love to hear it! My 2013 One Word post is coming next!

One Word 2012

Happy New Year! I'm hoping this is the first of many posts to come. I promise I'll get the Christmas background changed soon, too.

In 2010, I read a blog that really spoke to me about choosing One Word for the year. So I sought God to find my One Word. Soon after I read this blog, our LifeChurch.tv pastor, Craig Groeschel did a message called, One Thing. AMAZING message! By the end of that message it was clear that God wanted my One Word to be FOCUS. I put my FOCUS and attention on God and on the things that He was calling our family to and what a transforming year for us!

As I continued this FOCUS, I felt led to seek out a One Word for 2011. RELATIONSHIPS was the word I heard over and over. It was time for me to get a little out of my comfort zone and focus on loving people. You see, I was more of a behind the scenes, task-oriented, keep to myself person. I wasn't necessarily shy, it just wasn't super comfortable for me engage in conversation with strangers or lead a group. WOW! Did that change!?!?! I wish I had the words to describe how the Lord blessed me. My relationship with my Father blossomed. I found deeper intimacy with my husband and our girls as I focused more on truly being with them and not just "doing things" for them. When I started to get caught up in tasks around the house, the Holy Spirit would gently guide me into putting my family and friends first. I found that stuff could wait. I learned to just "be" with people. (This was so HUGE for me to be able to put people first before having things just so like I liked them!) Healthy, encouraging, and loving friendships flourished. God placed some amazing people in my life and my family's life that I am thankful for. We are building life-long friendships that continue to grow today. We are blessed to be a part of two wonderful homeschool co-ops where we get to meet weekly with other like-mined families to raise up kid's that love the Lord. I have so enjoyed getting to meet so many new friends and watch my girls develop sweet friendships as well as have some amazing big kids to look up to. God also showed me that He wanted to use me to speak into other's lives and to start leading a SOAR group. He also showed me that I could still use my gifts of organization but He would be faithful and give me the words to speak if I just stepped out in obedience to love and encourage others. Transforming!

It's 2012, and God has given me a new word. He has also given me some scriptures to focus on as well. A little addition this year. But first, my One Word for 2012, JOY. For those of you that know me, you are probably wondering why JOY. I'm a pretty positive, happy, encouraging person. This is true, but I feel that the Lord is leading me to find JOY in EVERYTHING. Philippians 4:4 (NLT) says "Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again-rejoice!" ALWAYS. As grateful and as happy as I am, I'm not ALWAYS joyful...daily tasks, trying to get places on time when we're running late, potty training, folding laundry, making dinner, sitting in traffic, during a not-so-great run, when things don't go the way I want, and so on. My desire is to become JOYFUL, ALWAYS, in EVERYTHING. No matter what my circumstances may be. I believe finding JOY is the first step in following the Holy Spirit's leading in EVERY part of my life (Galatians 5:25.)
For more on JOY, read Galatians 5, John 15:9-11

As I mentioned, the Lord has given me, what I feel are key scriptures in addition to my One Word this year. They are:

"Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need." Matthew 6:33
"Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need." Luke 12:31
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take." Proverbs 3:5-6

To seek: to go in search of; to try to find or discover by searching or questioning; to go to.

SEEK GOD! The Lord is telling me to continue to SEEK HIM and to encourage others to SEEK HIM.  And I will. My family will. SEEKING HIM through His word and in prayer has totally changed us over the past couple of years. We are running after Him like never before, reading His word individually and together, praying throughout the day and I've started journaling. We are SEEKING HIM FIRST in EVERYTHING. I urge you to do the same. Open up your bible. Talk to God. When you SEEK HIM first, everything falls into place. He will show you what to do.

I can't wait to see where God leads me and my family this year. Do you have a One Word or key scripture? I'd love for you to share!

One Word 2011

2010 was such an amazing year for me and for our family. I read a blog from my friend, Mandy where she talked about her One Word that she had chosen for the year. And then, our senior pastor did a message called One Thing that rocked my world. I knew after reading the blog and hearing that message that God clearly wanted me to FOCUS. That became my One Word for 2010. Wow! What an impact it made.

I focused on God, getting to know Him more intimately. I focused on His Word, reading and gathering revelation for myself like never before. I focused on His voice, what He was telling me to do, where He was leading us. I focused on my marriage, honoring and submitting to my husband. (Ephesians 5:22) I also focused on our girls, loving them, guiding their hearts and homeschooling them. I also focused on getting myself back into better shape and being a healthy example for my family. I began running in June and have learned so much on that journey and have found a new love/hobby. Sure, there were times when I lost my focus. But the Holy Spirit would gently nudge me and help me refocus.

We learned to hear God's voice and act in obedience. He opened and closed doors, and put some amazing people into our lives. We have been so blessed by so many new friends that speak into our lives and also ones that we are able to mentor. It was a beautiful year of growth and of God really working in and through us. I don't want it to end! It's just a beginning.

That brings me to my One Word for this year. As I reflected and prayed, I clearly heard God again giving me my word, my one thing to really focus on this year. RELATIONSHIPS.

I am a very task-oriented person. I show my "love" by doing things for others. I am also very orderly. I like things neat and tidy. This isn't a bad thing, but I can get caught up doing tasks and become distracted from just being and enjoying the company of or quality time with family and friends. I am also a very routine-oriented person. Again, not necessarily a bad thing, but again I can get caught up with schedules and to-do's. I feel God is telling me it's time to become a people person...love God, love people!

RELATIONSHIPS:

• I will continue to grow a true love relationship with God. I want to know Him better and I want His love to shine through me so that others may know His Love.
• I will put God first in all things: time-day, week, month, year, finances...
• I will spend QUALITY time with Scott, Abigail & Ashby. I will not only show my love by doing things for them, but I will truly enjoy each moment with them. I do not want to take my amazing marriage for granted. I want my husband to know he is my #2 and how much I honor, respect and love him. I want my girls to know that they are more important than tasks that I may need or want to do. I want to be a godly example for them, to show them how to love as God loves us. 
• I will be intentional in all relationships
• I will avoid "task" distractions. (I'll have to learn that it's ok to leave a bed unmade sometimes)
• I will spend more time with my family and friends. I will grow the relationships that God has blessed our lives with.
• Continue to be open to God speaking through mentors (life changing!) I will also be open to if/when God wants to use me as a mentor in others lives. (not my comfort zone!)
• I will listen and let God prompt my steps and interrupt my plans. Immediate obedience.
• I love my running buddies! I can't wait to run more races with them this year! RAWR!!!

I will also continue to focus on the spiritual and physical health for myself and my family. We are God's temple and we will work towards healthier eating habits and increasing our physical activity. Being healthy will give us energy to build the relationships God wants us to build.

I am so excited about my One Word. Can't wait to see where God takes us this year.

Do you have a One Word/One Thing? I would love for you to share.