A JOURNEY TO MY ONE LITTLE WORD
Have you hopped on the One Little Word Bandwagon yet? If you have NO idea what I am talking about check out this quick video from Ali Edwards who created this movement https://aliedwards.com/projects/one-little-word
It is basically one of my favorite questions to ask my friends and one of my favorite things to ponder as each year comes to an end. My first word was Deliberate, then I moved onto Wholehearted, and last year was Shine. Each year I love to sit with my eyes full of wonder as I watch to see how God weaves this word and its meanings into my life. This is basically how I choose my word in the first place…I look at the meaning and I consider if it will weave through each area of my life, emotionally, spiritually, physically, energetically, professionally. I begin to dream what things will manifest with this word becoming a consideration with the decisions I make day in and day out.
Present Over Perfect by Shauna Niequist has been an AMAZING book that has helped me choose my word for 2018. The subtitle reads: “Leaving Behind Frantic for a Simpler, More Soulful Way of Living”. Doesn’t that just make your heart sing? Shauna Niequist has joined the list of my pretend besties (along with Brene Brown…who just happened to write the foreword of this book). She gets me, I could have written several chapters of this book. Some of the quotes that are highlighted and underlined and journaled and now blogged are:
*Stop. Right now. Remake your life from the inside out.
*Reorienting the very foundation (of your life). There is nothing superficial about this process.
*To stop, to breathe, to connect. That’s where life is, I’m finding. That’s where grace is. That’s where delight is.
*No one ever changes until the pain level gets high enough.
*There has to be another way. And I’m going to find it. I’m going to make the space to taste my life once again.
*I hope you live a life you are proud of. If you find that you are not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again. – F. Scott Fitzgerald
*What’s changing everything for me is a new understanding that we get to decide how we want to live.
These and many other quotable quotes helped me move from Apply (it’s time for me to actually DO the things I have learned) to Connect (my best friend called me out from behind my computer to actually BE with the people around me) to CREATE.
Create is my one little word for the year. I am ready to play an active role in my life, in the lives of my children. Create has life, love, attention, action and intention woven throughout it. It reminds me that I was created in God’s image and He is THE Creator (so I have that same ability within myself). I think of the verse in Psalms “Create in me a clean heart O God, a renew a right spirit within me.” I can throw “Create” in the front of almost everything I would like to accomplish. For example, “Create Connection” this way I can still honor the direction I wanted to go for this year with the people in my life. “Create Systems” to work smarter and not harder. “Create a Legacy” with my children in particular – I want them to remember me as a present (but not perfect) parent. “Create a Healthy Life” time to get my bootay back to the gym and choose foods and activity that my body will love and appreciate. I could go on and on. Do you see how the thread will weave through and foster healthy and wholehearted choices? I look forward to a year full of CREATION.
Your turn! Choose a word for 2018! Share it with me (and why) so we can connect.