One Word: Believe

A new year.

A new word.

A new start.

Truth be told, I loved my One Word for 2012 so much I really didn't want to pick a new word.  I have a love/hate relationship with change, and I kinda think I rocked True last year.  

Why fix it, if it ain't broken? 

What if the word I came up with for 2013 was a floozy kinda word? You know, just a word for the sake of a word.

What if the word I came up with ended up flopping, irrelevant and weak?

What if?  {insert swift blow to head from the Holy Spirit}  

What if I put myself aside, and let God come up with my word?  A novel idea, I know.

With that swift blow to the head, I waited. 

And waited.

Until, God gave me my word for the next year as I was walking in to Finley's bedroom.

Button Credit

I sat in the rocking chair in her room, thinking about this new word. Dokimozo-ing it. Trying to determine if it was really from God.

I tested it against other words. Beautiful. Hope. Happy.  

I just sat with it, swaying with empty arms.

I looked up it's meaning.

be·lieve

 [bih-leev] verb, be·lieved, be·liev·ing.

verb

1.  to have confidence in the truth

2.  to accept something as true

Oh. Dear. 

With this I knew.  

For one year God challenged me to discover my trueself, to be true to myself, to be true to others, and to identify all that is pure and true, leaving behind all that was not.

Now, in this new year, God is saying, You thought I was done? {insert chuckle} Now it is time for you to BELIEVE in all that is true.

Ugh!

I was comfortable.

Now God is pushing me back into the tension.

He is challenging me to shift my thinking from knowing what is true to believing what is true.

And, for a recovering cynic like myself, that is no small task.

He is asking me to open my hands ever more and to believe in what I have found to be true.

To believe that we will be provided for.

To believe that I am beautiful.

To believe that I am worth it.

To believe that the world is broken.

To believe in redemption.

To believe in the Hope.

One Word: Kid Edition

One word has been all the rage this new year.

After picking my one word, I have noticed a dramatic shift in my thinking and the way I approach situations.

Do I have a long way to go? Yes.

Am I more intentional? Yes.

In addition to the one word challenge, Steve took a class at church last fall {And, I just had my first session last night} in which he had to pick one word to describe how he was feeling at the end of each session.

As it turns out, it seems that one word has become a recurring theme, one I wanted to incorporate with the boys.

I think all too often, we are so busy that we are not even aware of how we are feeling, let alone able to describe it.

And, all too often, I am so busy with my own feelings, I don't stop to check in with how the boys are feeling.

So, I dug out two small canvases we had sitting in our craft cupboard and decided to coat them in chalkboard paint and create a space for the boys to have one word.

With the simple spray of my favorite crafting medium,  {A few coats over, on both sides}

I had myself a mini chalkboard ready to be primed with good ole' fashioned chalk.

And, after dinner, the boys wrote exactly how they were feeling. {I did give them example of feeling words}

With Gibson feeling hungry and Elliott feeling playful, I felt that overall, it was a good day.  And, even on a bad day I think it will be good to be able to talk about what we are feeling, instead of stuffing it.

We shall see.

I am linking to...

A Bowl Full of Lemons

Southern Lovely

One Word: True

                                                                                                                        *photo credit

One little word.

One big impact?

The challenge? To pick one word and focus on that one word for the next year.

Now, I am a wordy girl.  I like to be able to explain myself and keep my options open.  So, to pick one word was tough for me.  It didn't just come to me and I didn't have one in the back of my mind, so I waited.

And, finally, as I was loading the dishwasher God gave me the word he wanted me to focus on this year.

True.

I know, I thought the same thing.  Is true a word that is even eligible for the one word challenge?

Does it even apply?

Is it a adjective? a verb?

The longer I let the word true twirl around in my head, the more it made sense to me.

True. 

This is my word. How do I let this one word lead me in this new year?

I am now more than ever being called to find my true self.  How did God create me? What are my genuine and one of a kind gifts? How can I realize and bring honor to the masterpiece I was knitted to be? God shaped me and formed me and placed me right here for right now.  How can I be true to his plan?

As I seek my true self, I also want to be true to myself.  I long to be real and authentic, and I long to be true in sharing my story as a part of a bigger picture. 

I also long be true in my relationships.  To be steadfast, loyal and faithful to my family and to those I am in community with.

I want to live in all of the ways that are truely important.  This year I want to focus on what really matters.  I want to simplify, love well and devote my energy to all that is true.

And, finally I am being called to identify what is pure and true and what is not.  For so long, I have believed so many lies.  I believed {and still do in most cases...especially on a bad day} that I wasn't good enough, that I wasn't worthy, that I was not beautiful.  And, this year is the year to call out what is pure and true, identify all that is not and call it by name.

As I sent my word to Katie she immediately responded with, Philippians 4:8

                                       *verse credit

It was affirmation that this is my one word that can make a big difference in my life.

If you had to pick one word, what would it be?

I encourage you to give it some thought and possibly link up here:

{I would also love it if you left your word in my comments!}

The Lettered Cottage

One Word 365