Tag: One word (Page 5 of 6)

Two Truths and A Lie

February 7, 2014 /

Let me just start by admitting I can be a major cranky pants baby.  I can whine about my bad hair, long lines, and limitations.  Like this stupid foot injury that has kept me from running.  And the whole Polar Vortex conspiracy against Minnesota which has made doing anything outside (my spiritual pathway) virtually impossible because by the time you get all the layers on that you need to survive in minus a bazillion, you have to go to the bathroom and so it takes you all day to get in a walk around the lake and you don’t get all the other stuff done you’re supposed to do.

However, with this One-Word-Choose-Life-thing I’m trying not to be (a cranky pants baby, that is).  Which has led me back again and again to two truths and a lie:

1.  No matter what, no matter when, no matter where, we have choices.

Where do you feel stuck in cranky pants baby mode?  Right now, think…What choices of attitude, action, or reaction do you have that would mean choosing life in the situation that comes to mind?

I can’t run, for right now (limitation), but I can bike (choice).  I can’t bike outside (limitation), but I can bike inside on a stationary bike (choice).

I hate being inside, so I could whine and resist, but I’m blessed to have a facility I can use to exercise so instead I’m choosing to thank God for that (granted, sometimes through gritted teeth!).

2.  Everything counts.  Everything.  Something is always better than nothing.  You can’t do all of the things, but you can do something.  What is it in your situation?

Friday I pushed.  I went to the gym (that I hate), and biked 12 miles hard and fast (for me, at least).  I felt great.  I felt proud of myself.  I felt like I had triumphed over the Polar Vortex conspiracy and the foot demon conspiracy and all of the bad things in the world.

Saturday I was back.  I pushed again and biked hard, but only did 6 miles.  I could think, “LOSER!”, but instead I chose to say, “Everything is something.”  I needed to focus on the small ways I had chosen life.

The LIE?  “It’s all or nothing.”  The perfect ten mile run in 70 degree weather that feels like floating on air with a hot guy holding an umbrella drink at the end… or NOTHING.

You can choose to turn something off, do something new, make a phone call, thank someone, say “no”, say “yes”, listen…And every little thing you do to choose life counts.  Celebrate that!

What’s the one something you can do today to choose life that isn’t everything, but still counts?  Is it words? Attitude?  Actions?

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One Other Woman and Her One Word

January 31, 2014 /

I’m soooo excited to bring you a guest post today from Helen Jenkins!  We have become good friends because we are both heart-deep in World Vision – her from Windsor, UK, and me from Minneapolis.  I love her passion, her authenticity and her wit.  Today she shares her One Word experience.DSC00021

It all started when I began to live vicariously through Laura’s word from last year – FEAR or rather, FEARLESS. Brilliant idea I thought. I loved Fearless Friday where she blogged how her word had impacted how she had interacted with life that week. There were sometimes guest bloggers sharing THEIR word and how it was helping them grow and meet challenges that crossed their paths. Very inspiring!

I never came up  with my own word but I did begin to feel like one of the men in the Muppets – the ones that sat in the balcony enjoying the show, occasionally throwing in their two bits worth. Kind of felt like somehow I was participating … kind of … sort of …

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 Well, I couldn’t believe it when early on in her word challenge, if Laura didn’t up and step way out of her comfort zone and sign up for a half marathon – and she is/was NOT A RUNNER!! Whoa, I thought, from my armchair, this should be interesting! To top it off, she wasn’t even doing it for herself, but to help raise money for a clean water project for World Vision!!! Sure enough she huffed and she puffed and she trained for months and SHE DID IT!! Maybe I should get a word or maybe not … somebody might ask ME to run a half marathon.

Truth is, three years ago I moved to a new country, away from family, friends and my entire community. It was somewhat of a shock to my system and it has taken a while to recuperate but (did I mention it was three years ago?!) it is definitely time to get a move on. Perhaps this could be one of my steps to getting back in the swing of things. Continue reading

One Word and God’s Word

January 17, 2014 /

As you read this I’m in Florida for a long weekend.  Ostensibly for a fund-raiser for World Vision, but let’s be honest, I’ll be with friends and the temperature will be above 30 degrees farenheit.  I’m not suffering for Jesus here.

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“Choosing life” is easy with beauty all around you.  Vibrant color, warm pavement under bare feet, up-lifting conversations.  But this week, living in the left-hand picture hasn’t been all Bougainvillea, sunshine, and Calamari.  Some experiences felt dismissive, some choices by others that felt unjust.  Not a huge deal in the grand scheme of things, but a little bumpy nevertheless. The kind of thing many, many people experience daily for years and years.

How can we not deny the “death” parts, but still choose life in healthy, non-Pollyanna ways?  Still keep perspective? Continue reading

Three Ways to Choose Woohoo’s

January 10, 2014 /

I shared last week that my One Word for 2014 is LIFE (as in “Choose Life!”).  

I think LIFE is a really great One Word. (Woohoo for me!) I think it’s at the root of following Jesus.  I’m not saying my One Word is better than yours!  Noooooo!  That would be soooo foolish.  Like watching a Bachelorette marathon and eating a bag of Oreos foolish.

I love all the One Word’s you’ve shared here that you are prayerfully living into this year.  (If you want in on the fun look here or here and add your Word in the comments!).  But I also think that a case can be made that whatever word you’ve chosen, it’s about choosing life – the capital “L” life that God made us for.

Ok, I know some of you are reading this in California, or Bali, or Singapore.  The palm trees are swaying and you call a day of sweet warm sun and tropical flowers “Tuesday”.  Your Word may seem easy and your burden light.  You may have a hard time relating to a picture like the one below, but it exists.  Trust me.  I know it too well. Continue reading

Packing up Christmas and Choosing Life. Again.

January 3, 2014 /

Is this pathetic, or what?photo-70

I think the day I take down our Christmas tree is the saddest day of my year.  I may have mentioned once.  Or fifty bazillion times to my family.

photo-4I don’t want to pack up the glow of starlight and holy mystery, the delight of twinkle lights and tingly anticipation of bright wrapping and all the lovely things.

There is no better story than this long-awaited birth.  I don’t want to stop thinking about ordinary but devoted Mary pondering “plan B”, or Joseph responding to the holy interruption that turned his world upside-down.  I love imagining the crazy-plain and teenaged shepherds wearing eau de crap, on hillsides invited the event of the millennium.  I don’t want to stop celebrating Jesus’ arrival in a humble place like Bethlehem.

Putting things away is such a mark of endings, while Jesus is the celebration of new beginnings that I love.  It seems like a death when my One Word is LIFE. (You can still join Awakeners opting in and post your One Word here if you want!)

So when our tree is dead and the boughs are browning and the world is encased in ice like a corpse, how do we continue to choose life?

A friend sent me this quote:

“The true meaning of Christmas is found in the sharing of one’s graces in a world in which it is so easy to become cold, insensitive and hard.  Once this spirit becomes part of life, every day is Christmas and every night is freighted with the dawning of fresh and perhaps holy adventure.” H Thurmond

Choosing life means we choose grace.  We return again and again to the manger where Life and Light arrived on Christmas, not because we earned it but because it showed up when we least expected it and didn’t deserve it.  We accept the gift and share it with others.

When I think of this Christmas choice I think of a mentor named Coke.  She and her pastor husband were much maligned and criticized by a bitter old man in the church where we served many years ago, but one of the images I store of her in my memory is when I walked into a concert being held in the church basement.  There was Coke, sitting next to her “enemy”, leaning in and listening to him with love and attention in her eyes.  She was extending grace, and celebrating Christmas in that everyday moment.

Right now, what is one significant relationship in your life?  Hard or easy.  A spouse or a friend. A mother-in-law or a fiancé.  Got someone in mind?

What would it look like to extend grace to them and celebrate Christmas again today?  Offering an apology from the deepest part of you?  A word of affirmation, encouragement or forgiveness?  A secret act of service?  A listening ear?

“Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you?” 2 Cor. 13:5

 

Help for One Word

January 2, 2014 /

Yesterday I posted on One Word for 2014.  I love seeing the words you’re choosing in the comments section – check them out and add yours!

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I asked my mom what hers is and she said it’s a secret. 🙂 Guys, it’s not like this is a nuclear launch code.  And you will not be struck by lightning if you change your word in February.  Ask my brother, David.

If there was going to be One Word for this blog I pray it would be Grace, grace, and more grace!  Part of my goal is that we would take God seriously, but ourselves not so much, so jump in.  It’s safe, I promise.

If you’re considering choosing One Word for 2014 and are having some trouble, here’s some help from the author of the book, One Word, who was on the Today show.  As you reflect, he suggests, look in, look up, and look out.  View the 3 minute clip here.

One Word and a Challenge

January 1, 2014 /

So it’s the first day of 2014.  Fresh start.  Leftover cookies are in the trash.  Cleaning and purging excess junk is on my “to do” list today.  The year stretches before us filled with possibilities.

I read back over my journal and reflected on my “one word” for 2013 – Fearless.  There’s nothing magic about prayerfully choosing a word to live into, to pay attention to and “fearless” was not the silver bullet for me.

I wrote that actually my year was more characterized by “undaunted” than “fearless”.  I prevailed more and feared less because God was present and empowering.  Running races, raising money for clean water, pursuing peace in personal relationships and internationally.  I truly believe none of this was possible apart from God.

So on to 2014.  My One Word for this year really should be “Cheater”.  I’ve prayed and reflected and pondered in my little heart of hearts, but I can’t play by the rules this year.  I’m going to be a cheater.  Or a rebel.  Rebel sounds edgier.

My “One Word” for 2014 is two words.  Or, “ChooseLife”, if you will.

Ok, you may think this is a sneaky way to do all of the things.  Or all of the words.  Maybe, but I don’t think so.

I believe God is calling me to focus on choosing

  • Activity over passivity
  • Treasure and truth over trash
  • Laughter and tears over apathy
  • Health over gluttony
  • Adventure over safety
  • Life-giving words over words of destruction
  • Redemption over regret
  • In vs. out on the sidelines

I believe this also ties into the theme of this blog – Awakening our souls…paying attention to  LIFE – the relationships, experiences, and practices God uses to form us into His likeness.

So, Fridays will be devoted to the sharing of ways we’ve found life in all it’s fullness.  Or totally tanked.  Or struggled somewhere in the middle.

Here’s my challenge for you today:  You are awesome.  I hear from many of you via email, text, fb message, or you speak to me to respond to posts.  I want to challenge you today to opt into this community of “Awakeners” and benefit from each other’s awesomeness.

Choose one word (Or cheat and choose two). One word that sums up who you want to be or how you want to live. One word that you can focus on every day, all year long.

Post a comment here – a word if you’ve chosen one, or your thoughts on this practice if not.

Commit to our Fridays of focusing on choosing life and paying attention to the work of God.

“This day I call the heavens and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses.  Now choose life, so that you and your children my live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to His voice, and hold fast to Him.  For the Lord is your life…” Deuteronomy 30:19-20

“The thief comes to steal, and kill, and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.”  John 10:10

What I Learned About Being “Fearless” in 2013

December 27, 2013 /

The week between Christmas and New Year has always been a good time for reflection. So I’ve been thinking about my “One Word” for 2013 – Fearless.

Not that I saw myself as fearless, but I believed God wanted to grow me in that direction.  It didn’t feel like it was “mine”.  It was an aspirational word.  Kind of like “thin” will be an aspirational word my whole life.

There was the acknowledgement that “Fear not.” is the most common command in the Bible and that other command, “Follow me.” which usually involves risk and the F word, at least in my life.

Living with this “One Word” in 2013 helped me to pay attention.  Henry James, a novelist, writes “Try to be one of the people on whom nothing is lost.” This was my goal.

Not that it’s been a smooth ride.  I had a panic attack for the first time in my life.  And that’s not “me”.  At least that’s how my pride responds.

But I also took risks, and went public with a big goal that I felt was beyond my ability.

I think the biggest “fearless” lesson I learned came while I was running. And running.  And, you know… trying not to die. Continue reading

One Word and Clark Griswold

December 13, 2013 /

Back in January, (yep, it’s been a long time) we talked about choosing One Word for 2013 – a word that God might desire to expand in our life…grow us into.

 My word was Fearless, which gave birth to Fearless Fridays, because even if that wasn’t your word, we all deal with Fear in various forms.  

In January I also posted some thoughts from my brother, David, on this.  So the other day I asked him for an update.

I’d love to hear from you too!  What has your experience been with your One Word (if you identified one)?  If you didn’t, looking back now, what is one word that would summarize your 2013?  Post your thoughts in the comment section!

Continue reading

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