One Word: Selfless

If there's one quality I admire most about my husband it is his selfless personality.  He's always been the type of guy who would give you the shirt off his back, the last piece of pie, or whatever he has that you might want or need.  No surprise he eagerly joined the volunteer fire department at 18 and has served in multiple capacities for the past 30 some odd years.

Though many might look at someone on the side of the road and think to themselves they should stop, he's one who almost always will.  If he hears of someone in need, he's there to lend a hand, giving up his day off or working through hours he should be sleeping before his night shift.  Often in his side business, he has gone on a job knowing the client couldn't afford to pay and didn't expect it.

Selfishness is a characteristic I've always struggled with.  While I enjoying serving and helping others, I am also cautious and stingy with my time, sometimes to a fault.  Though family should come first, I often calculate how help can be carved around whatever I have to spare, instead of just plunging in messy regardless of the time I have.  An introvert, I enjoy "me time" as well and look forward to unplugging and relaxing in the comfort of my home.

Perhaps it is my birth order, or growing up with sisters who took my things without asking.  Or because I'm stubborn and possess all the qualities of a Capricorn.  And maybe it is just an area that God hasn't fully polished yet, but one I feel him tugging on for me to focus this year.

Service.  Selflessness.  He is more, I am less.  Having a servant's heart.  These words and phrases have floated through my mind the past several days, as I've prayerfully considered the One Word for 2017.  I've wavered back and forth and landed on the one that encompasses all.

One can serve without fully giving, or even having the right attitude.  But truly being selfless means putting your own needs aside.  It means serving without calculation.

selfless

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adjective  self·less \ˈsel-fləs\

concerned more with the needs and wishes of others than with one's own; unselfish.

self-sacrificing, self-denying; considerate, compassionate, kind, noble, generous,  

ungrudging, charitable, benevolent, openhanded

While it is a word I often use to describe my husband, it is also a symbol of Jesus himself.  If my desire in my one word for the year is to become better, to improve myself, what other model should I seek?

3 In whatever you do, don’t let selfishness or pride be your guide. Be humble, and honor others more than yourselves. 4 Don’t be interested only in your own life, but care about the lives of others too.  Philippians 2:3-4

I know it won't be easy, old habits die hard.  It's only day 2 and I've already missed opportunities to serve others before myself.  But I did finish off New Year's Day in service, out my comfort zone and the warm comforts of my bed.

Our church joined hundreds of others across Kentucky by having the word of God read aloud beginning midnight NYE until the entire Bible is read.  I signed up for the late shift last night and was the last to read.  Just a few chapters to an empty parking lot but my prayer is that in an apartment or home surrounding this effort, someone will hear just the needed words in God's perfect timing.
Settling in for the night, I pondered upon the blessings of the day, in gratitude and hopes for such simple, beautiful days to fill all of 2017.

Beginning and ending in worship and prayer.  Lunch out with mom and my guys.  Visits and sweet baby snuggles.  Putting away Christmas with as much spirit as we set it out. Reflections on the past 365 days and lessons learned.  Anticipation for the ones ahead.  And dinner at home, full of tradition for the new year.

I'm ready for a year of serving others, selflessly.  And learning much along the way.

Prayers for a blessed 2017 for each of you!  If you choose a #oneword for the year, I'd love to hear it about it below.

One Word 2016

Happy New Year!

I hope the first few days of 2016 have treated you well.  For me, it is back to reality tomorrow, as the holiday break has ended and alarm clocks return.

In all actuality, I didn't really sleep in at all this vacation.  Having a hubby who arrives home in the morning kind of changes your body clock.  Most days I found myself up to spend time with him, drinking coffee before he retired to bed.

As usual the break didn't seem long enough.  Eleven days may look like a lengthy vacation but when you add in the hustle and bustle of Christmas those days breeze by.  But I'm thankful for the break and I did squeeze some rest and relaxation in, as well as quality time with family.

With the new year approaching it gave me time to reflect, learn from mistakes made, and look ahead to the future.  The past several years, I've given up on resolutions (that would be quickly forgotten and failed) and moved toward choosing a word for the year.

Some years God has planted it, some I've just picked a word, but this year I prayerfully considered it. Searching for devotions to start the year, I found a short four day devo focused exactly on finding your one word for the year.  I entered it hopeful God would speak to me and He did, quickly.  I'm always humbled, goose-bump covered, and feel so very blessed when He does.

At first I felt the word was forget, as passages and photos started to appear with that theme.  While I get the message He was sending me (and it certainly incorporates into the chosen word), it also seemed a tad negative to approach the year promising to forget.  Memory loss is a problem in our family, though we often joke about it, and I didn't want that word hanging over my head!

In the end, the word that came to be is focused on letting go of the past and seeing what is ahead.  For me specifically, releasing past hurts and wrongs, stop dwelling on what could have been and what should've been done differently and setting my mind on the future.  For what God has in store.

My word had been chosen.  

The first day of my newly found yearly devotion would find this scripture, I still get goosebumps thinking back to all the ways God confirmed this be my focus for 2016.

The devotional I picked for my phone was random and among hundreds to choose from.  When I selected it, my One Word had already been chosen.  God is so good.

It's a great year for FORWARD to be my one word, as it is a mega milestone year.  I turn 40 in five days.  My baby turns 16 on the 19th.  He could tell you about how many seconds that is, if you ask.  And hubby turns the big 5-0 in September.  Austin, not wanting to be left out says hello, as it will be our 23 wedding anniversary, which is his special number.

I'm anticipating a year of blessings.  

I look forward to the good that God has promised.  And all that I will learn along the way.

Do you choose One Word for the year?  I'd love to hear about it!

One Word...SOAR

Have you ever worked on a jigsaw puzzle and found satisfaction as that last piece snaps into place? Or found yourself knee-deep in parts assembling a piece of furniture, when hours later it eventually looks somewhat like the picture on the box?  Perhaps you've planned an event that took weeks of tedious tasks and projects to result in one amazing night.

There's something pleasing when everything comes together.  Apart, it often makes no sense.

Sometimes such is life.  At times, you may not even realize the volume or impact until looking back.

Such has been my week, as I prayerfully pondered my "One Word for 2015."
A few years I began this practice, thanks to the world of blogging.  

My first word was Submit.  And through that next year I would learn the impact of Obedience, a life lesson that would take me all the way back to my wedding day when I ignorantly (and stubbornly) left out the word obey in my vows.

Last year, facing so many uncertainties with my future, after job loss, I chose Assured.  And, in so many ways, trusting Him, God provided Rest through life's storms.

Rolling those over in my mind a new word began to form.

S.O.A.R.

Submit. Obey. Assurance. Rest.

Funny how God shows you He has a plan in ALL things, huh?  In the midst of your year, the struggles, highs and lows, you often wonder what is on the other side.  Will it be worth it in the end?  Is there a purpose? 

Sometimes I question Him out loud and say, "What do you want me to see? do? learn? know?!"

In my impatience, I want answers and results NOW, not later.  Time again God shows me when I let go and just trust, He'll see me through.  And always, there are life lessons to be learned, wisdom gained and strength renewed.  

With the new year, a new daily Bible plan has begun.  One day this week found me upon a collection of some of my favorite scriptures, in Philippians 4.  Though I've read them many times, it didn't "come together" until that viewing.  The impact of how those individual scriptures have arrived for me over the years, on His timing, were now all combined.  A beautiful tapestry that showed my past and how far I've come.

Several scriptures reminded me of those I clung to after our wreck.  As I literally learned to walk again, Phil 4:13 became my battle cry.  Every time I had to drag myself out of the hospital bed, onto a walker, and down the hall, I meditated and repeated this verse.

The beginning of Philippians seemed so similar to another favorite, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.  This was one of the first scriptures I recall actually writing out and clipping to my sun visor.  I was so grateful to be driving again, so much that I was filled with joy.  I kept it there to remind me there was always a reason to Rejoice!

Phil 4:6 became a soul soother in the days, weeks and months that followed Austin's death.  My human nature could not help but worry for Noah.  At that time, we didn't know why he passed and I was so fearful for every cough or sneeze that escaped our youngest.  For the first time in my life, storms scared me.  The flu terrified me.  Terrorists threatened me.  Anything that brought the possibility of losing my now only child.  

But the peace from 4:7 came, always, when needed most.  Peace in planning the funeral and standing through those days, in the darkness and depth of grief.  Peace I couldn't understand would wrap around us and carry us through.

As I've grown in my walk with God, 4:8-9 became easier.  I no longer counted on my own strength, but of His.  I learned what a gift it was to have others pray for me (4:10) and how prayers were said even when I didn't know or ask.  How those prayers have provided healing for us these past several years!

The lessons began in our wreck to be grateful and were most certainly grounded in losing our son.  After losing a job of 16 years, Phil 4:11-12 found new meaning again.  In all circumstances, for which we've experienced so many, we have learned the secret to contentment.  It's not what you have -or don't have that matters in the end.

Which brought me right back to the beginning.  That familiar scripture that is etched on a pillow, which hangs from my front door.  That holds my checkbook.  That hangs around the neck of our towering teen.  No matter what we may face in this life, we know we can endure with the strength of Christ!

And not just endure... but SOAR.  

I've decided this is my mantra for 2015.  

My last year of thirty-somethings.  

I feel it is the year to fly...

to SOAR.

One Word 2014: Assured

While every year is filled with unknowns, 2014 is a fresh new chapter for my life.  Much like the calendar hanging on our pantry door, this year is full of blanks, yet to be decided.

I start a new job next Monday, after spending most of my adult life in the same career.  With so many years of knowing what to expect, I'm much like a nervous girl on the first day of school.  The humor here is that I'll be working at a local college. 

And while I enjoy change, there are uncertainties, which make this planner girl a bit apprehensive.  There's changes in budgets and insurance and everything I've grown accustomed to the past decade or so.  The unknown can be exciting, but it can also be nerve-racking.

Tim's year has started a bit unsure as well.  Being injured on Christmas day is surely not the way we'd planned to spend our holidays.  And we've quickly discovered it is about the worst possible time to need a doctor!  As of this point, nearly two weeks after, we still have no answers on his foot.  His doctor doesn't return from vacation until Monday and, with the approaching winter storm, we're looking a few more days before he knows his next step.

For now, his steps are still painful.  This morning his pain was about at the level of the initial injury.  Add to that his frustration with being still and not being able to do, help, or move around, has clouded his new year.  I know he'll be glad to just have clarity of what the future holds.

Don't we all wish for that?  As we approach a new year, don't we wish for a sneak peek of what it holds?  Or some assurance that the months to be hold promise, hope, and even joy?

If the year before was less than perfect, maybe we find ourselves hoping for a better 2014.  Stress free, no storms, sunshiny days.  Wouldn't that just be grand?

Last year, I chose to submit, and selected submission as my word for the year.  It's become clear the theme for this new year is to worry not.  Message after message, God is telling me loud and clear that He's got this and not worry about tomorrow.  Whatever is in store, no matter the storms (or sun), He's by my side.

Sounds easy, but even with all the life lessons I've endured, I still worry.  And I can almost imagine God shaking his head as he sends me another reminder.  This week alone, I've seen Luke 12:27-28 as a reminder to have faith.  And Psalm 31:3 to remember he is my rock and will guide me.  Or, Jeremiah 29:11, which I just happened to put on our family calendar for January. And today, another perfect reflection of keeping my eyes on him even in the midst of a storm.

Excerpt from "Whispers of Hope" by Beth Moore devotional -

Matthew 14:22-33 We can be smack in the center of God's will and still go through terrible storms. Christ loved his disciples with all his heart but still "made" them get into the boat when He knew a storm was coming. They were exactly where they were supposed to be and still experienced frightening turbulence.

Can you relate to the disciples? Have you experienced a time when you knew you where God wanted you to be, but the storms were overwhelming?

Christ calls us to walk by faith through our storms. It seems like a big requirement until we realize Christ does far more than that--He walks on water during our storms. God has placed all things under Christ's feet--including the waves that break relentlessly against us. .....We want Christ to hurry and calm the storm. He wants us to find him in the midst of it first.

Again and again, God is whispering - and sometimes even shouting to not worry about tomorrow...to rest assured.  And so it is only fitting that be my word to focus on this year be - Assurance.

 

Looking ahead to 2014 with assurance,

 in He who holds my future!