2018 One Little Word

Happy Tuesday! I know I mentioned last week that I was going to share my One Little Word then, but as I said yesterday I ended up sick with a cold. So...it got moved to today!

I've chosen a word now since 2012. Some years the word has stayed with me all year and other years it's faded into the background as the year progressed. One year I signed up for Ali Edward's class but then never actually made the album. This year I decided I'd like the reminders each month so I signed back up for her class. I'd like to work on an album but I'm still not sure if I'll do that or just use her prompts to inwardly reflect.

Here's a list of my previous words:

2012 - MOVE

2013 - TRANSFORM

2014 - DETERMINED

2015 - ABIDE

2016 - NEW

2017 - ARISE

Usually in December I start thinking on what my new word will be. Something that I feel called to. Many times it begins by making a list of potential words. Looking them up in the dictionary and thesaurus and slowly weeding them out or coming across new ones. As I started thinking on it in the last week of 2017 I knew one word was really coming to me for my spiritual life. But I also felt another one pulling to me for my every day physical life. Sooo...since it's my life...here are my 2018 TWO Little Words:

I want to simplify my physical life. I've come to realize the more chaos in my life the more chaotic I feel. It's like coming home to a messy house and it just completely drains me. I'm always reaching for something new but in reality I feel that I just need to strip it all down to the basics. I'm not sure what that means exactly but I feel it's something that I can work to adhere to in many aspects of my daily life. I want to explore and see where all it leads me.

My second word has been a word that has been popping up very often for the last few months of 2017. It's something mentioned a lot at church. It comes from this Scripture in the Bible: "I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:14. I want to keep pressing toward that goal that my Lord has set for my life.

The more I think on these words, the more I see how they can be tied together in my life and work hand-in-hand. I want to keep them ever present and work toward a better life.

- Jessica

olw

i've loved the idea of choosing a word each year to represent my hopes and dreams. i started in 2012 when i first heard about ali edwards' class. that year i took her class but didn't really follow through on the participation aspect though. the next two years i chose words, but didn't take her class. i figured if i hadn't followed through the first year then why take the class again. but one thing i've come to realize is that i need reminders in my life. so this year, i signed back up for her class and i'm looking forward to it.

another thing i've realized is that as i progress along this pathway, my words seem to speak louder to me each year. i've felt God nudging these words into my life and once i grabbed them they constantly find their way into my life in either a daily or weekly way.

2012 - MOVE

that year i wanted to move more. to move physically and lose weight and to move out of my comfort zone. i dropped the ball on that one.

2013 - TRANSFORM

i was looking to kind of latch on to any traction i'd made with move in 2012 and work on transforming my life. but once again my word seemed to vanish from my thoughts as the year progressed.

2014 - DETERMINED

this past year was when i really felt strongly about God giving me a word. He also placed a song on my heart that helped to keep the word close to me. i was determined to follow through on some goals in my life and i definitely made some progress. i felt i'd lived up to my word.

2015 - ABIDE

this word came to me a couple weeks ago and i've felt it more strongly than i've felt any of my other words. i've felt God whispering it to my heart. He wants me to abide in Him. to abide in the moments and season of my life. to stop daydreaming and preoccupying myself when i'm in a moment i'd rather not be in. i need to stop and abide and gain what i can from that moment. it's only been a few days into the year but each day when i want to wish the day away and hope for another moment He gently whispers...abide.

- jess

2014 happy new year!

happy new year!!!

i'm thankful for another year of life and good health.  i know most people say they can't believe another year is gone, but i'm honestly glad to wrap up 2013...it was a rough year.  the first half seemed to fly by then the last half was the rough part...

i'm not taking ali edwards' class this year, only because i have so much else on my plate, but i still would like to choose a word for 2014.  i know we are already into a couple days of the year, but i'm not worried that i haven't chose a word yet.  i'll choose when i'm ready and it will all work out how it is supposed to :-)

in the mean time... here is the current list of words i'm contemplating. i kind of have it narrowed down to three different ones in my mind, but who knows, another word could come sweeping by and land on my shoulders to stay this year!

• mindful
• embrace
• intention
• commit
• integrity
• renew
• revive
• cultivate
• prevail
• dream
• regenerate
• follow-through
• refresh
• focus
• centered

i'll do a blog update when my word has made it's home with me...

- jess

one little word update

how did january already fly by so fast?  it's crazy that we are already into our 2nd month of the year.  time really is precious and swifty goes away...

one of the things i am trying to focus on this year with my word -->transform<-- is going beyond listing things to change in my life and actually having the follow through to accomplish those things.  in order to do some of those things i needed to redeem some time back.  one way i chose to do that was for the month of january i did not watch tv or movies.

it definitely was not easy.  there were plenty of days i was tired after a long day of work and just wanted to come home and watch tv until i fell asleep.  but for the most part i enjoyed coming home and doing things like...scrapbooking...or reorganizing a space...or cooking up things for lunch the next day...or digging into some bible reading.  tv can be such a drainer of time before you even realize it and i am thankful i've realized that and made the decision to take a fast from it.

i will say i did break this fast to go to the movies w/ friends a couple of times.  but that was okay with me.  those times were valuable to my friendships and good experiences.  also, in the middle of the month i had a bad head cold that left me home from work one day and the only thing i felt like doing was laying in bed and watch tv...so i did for that day...but the next day i was back to work and back to my tv fast.

i am hoping to take something away from this experience that i carry with me each day and not just let it fall away.  i want to feel free to come home and not feel pressured to turn the tv on as soon as i walk through the door so i can watch shows on my dvr.  there are so many things i want to work on this year and i hope that i follow through...

through this experience i am looking more deeply into my every day life and trying to find the things that really are not meaningful and take too much time away.  as i find those things i am going to be taking month long fasts from them as well to bring my life back into a better balance...so be sure to come back to see what those things are and the results of those fasts.

- jess

2013 olw

have you heard all the buzz about choosing a word, one little word for the year?  i first heard about it toward the end of 2011.  last year i chose the word MOVE and i signed up for ali edward's class.  i had great plans, but alas as with most things in my life it never reached any potential.

this year is going to be different.
why?
because of the word itself.
it's a word that sparks change.
it means to change completely.
this year my word is...

i'll be sharing more about this word a little later.
it will be a reoccurring post here on my blog.
but for today i just wanted to share my word.

this year i am choosing not to take ali's class again.
it's a great class and i recommend you take it, especially if this is your first year to chose a word.
but for me...
for this year...
i'm going to take what i learned last year and combine it with some ideas i have for it.

did you chose a word for 2013?

- jess