Last year, I was challenged by a friend to think of one word that I wanted to define my 2014. I wrote a post about it, and set out to become a more thoughtful person – thinking about others around me and their needs. Caring for them, reaching out, being there. Reflecting on 2014, I think I did a fairly good job of that – especially in light of all that happened this past year in the life of our family. I certainly have room for growth, and want to always be striving to be more thoughtful of others.
A couple weeks ago, a different friend said she had selected her word for 2015, and I thought “wow I need to do that, too.” I pondered for only a moment, and a word popped into my head. I pushed it aside, thinking how I often rush to conclusions too swiftly. Then, I realized that it might be precisely that reason why God popped this word into my mind. I stopped what I was doing, and sat down and just said a simple prayer: “God show me if this is what you would have me to focus my year on.” Nothing fancy. God knows me. Inside and out. I can talk to him like I’d talk to a friend. (It’s pretty cool how that works.) Again, I thought this was the right word. Then, I said: “well, ok so if this is the word, what does it mean and where can I find it?” So I looked it up on dictionary.com, and then I searched for the word on my YouVersion Bible app.
Last year, my word was more about me reaching out to others. This year, it’s about me slowing down in the midst of hustle and bustle and reaching out to God. Getting His guidance in my life. I know that not everyone who reads my blog has the same type of faith that I do. I fully realize and appreciate that many readers are of a different religion, or no religion at all. Which is your upbringing/personal choice. I hope that you won’t stop reading here simply because this is a faith-based post. Keep reading – find out why I selected this word. And remember that you can select a word for your year whether or not it has ANYTHING to do with faith at all. Setting personal goals for yourself is ALWAYS a good thing – no matter your reasoning or source of purpose.
So what’s my word? It’s deliberate.
This isn’t a word found a whole lot in the Bible. And most of the time it’s used, it’s in a negative light. In fact, dictionary.com gives the example deliberate lie in their definition – just as it’s used in the Bible many times. But the verse that stuck out to me is in Acts 2.
“Listen carefully to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man thoroughly accredited by God to you—the miracles and wonders and signs that God did through him are common knowledge—this Jesus, following the deliberate and well-thought-out plan of God, was betrayed by men who took the law into their own hands, and was handed over to you. And you pinned him to a cross and killed him. But God untied the death ropes and raised him up. Death was no match for him. David said it all:
I saw God before me for all time.
Nothing can shake me; he’s right by my side.
I’m glad from the inside out, ecstatic;
I’ve pitched my tent in the land of hope.
I know you’ll never dump me in Hades;
I’ll never even smell the stench of death.
You’ve got my feet on the life-path,
with your face shining sun-joy all around.”
-Acts 2:22-28 The Message
The Bible often talks of how we are to follow in our Father’s footsteps and strive to be more like Him. So this passage has great meaning to me – God had a very deliberate and well-thought-out plan on how He would save ME from my sin and my failing. He has set my feet on this path, and He’s got my life planned as well.
So what does all this have to do with me and my word this year? Well, it’s simple. I’ve been striving to think of others, but I now need to turn my focus to being deliberate. To carefully weigh and consider, to study, to be intentional in my actions – both in my family life, my work life, and also in my spiritual life. It’s time for this girl who rushes to conclusions and hops on bandwagons to sit back and learn from my husband – who takes thoughtful consideration of all sides before making a decision. It’s time to be deliberate. It’s time to put options on the scales and see how they balance out. It’s time to slow down, pray more, and make wise choices. And in this year of being (I’m human – I know I will fail multiple times over) attempting to be deliberate, I will strive to continue to be thoughtful of others, now encompassing my own needs in that thoughtfulness as well.
As a mom it’s so easy to get caught up in the needs of my children, and in all the things I want for them. It’s time to step back and make thoughtful, deliberate, intentional choices in our activities, in our spending, and in our day to day lives. I need to think: Will this cost money? Where will that money come from? Is it a necessity? Will it provide benefit to the kids? Will it provide benefit to me? Will it provide benefit to Cody? Is this something that will build us up and bring us together? And maybe most importantly – how will this activity affect my personal energy and thus my attitude toward my family?
This year as you begin to think and plan and organize, what word do you want to focus on? How will you allow that word (spiritual or not) to influence your daily life? And, if you’d like a printable similar to these, please contact me! I’d love to create a poster for you that you can print out and post where it will remind you daily where your focus should be. Email me anytime at butterbeesandbumbleflies@gmail.com. As you can see from the samples below, you can have it say pretty much anything – definition, a prayer, a Bible verse, etc. You select the wording and layout.
Here are two others that I’ve made for friends:
Butterbees and Bumbleflies 
This is a wonderful idea. New years resolutions typically end up pushed to the side and forgotten but an overall goal such as “be more deliberate” would have a wide range of applications. I will be thinking and praying about a word for 2015! Thanks!
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Awesome, Aly! Glad I could be an inspiration! I plan to share this idea with our MOPS group this week. 🙂
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