Forget resolutions. What if you could just pick one purposeful word for 2012?
I did it last year and I’m amazed how much it influenced our past 12 months. The purposeful word I picked for 2011 was Respect. Respect for my children, mostly. I realized how disrespectful I was to my children and I wanted desperately to reverse that pattern and any damage I may have done with my behavior.
Well, I’m still no girl-Jesus (far from perfect, y’all) but I am proud/blessed/thankful to say that the Bowmans have come far in the parental respect department this year. It inspired the writing of my e-book Parenting Wild Things – Embracing the Rumpus, for one thing. And my passion for revolutionizing my parenting even helped to land me a contributor spot on two other mothering websites, The Better Mom and M.O.B. Society.
The older I get the more I am humbled by the amount that God can teach me in the span of one year.
So what is our purposeful word for 2012?
Well, I was slightly conflicted. I considered Present because I desire to be more present in each moment of my life. I also considered Joy because I want to learn to take joy in all the jumbled up imperfections of my world.
But in the end, the word I felt the most strongly about is Slow.
The word slow for me ties together being present and taking joy in the little things.
Y’all, I get pretty desperately disturbed by how fast time is passing. I feel like I’m amtraking my way through my life and my children and my marriage. The details are blurring as they pass and I just. can’t. make. the train stop.
So I finally bought Ann Voskamp’s book 1000 Gifts on sale last month.
And found an old journal.
The one with the life embedded in the pages.
And I tore out the used bits. The ones with verses about a love I haven’t been living enough.
And I wrote Ann’s Jesus words at the top.
And then I started my own list.
My list won’t look the same as the wife of a Canadian pig farmer and mother of 6. My list will reflect me. My heart. My soul.
I hope that it helps me to slow down this year and cherish every delicious morsel of life.
Because life is slipping by, y’all. At neck-breaking, train-wrecking speed.
So let’s all just slow. down.
-Jessica
Are you picking a purposeful word for 2012? Feel free to link it up below.
{Check out The Tuckers Take Tennessee for another great word link up}
Wonderful word. Blessings.
Sam @ Sam’s Noggin recently posted..Welcome 2012
Surrender
Judy recently posted..One Word 2012
My words seems to be building on eachother even though I don’t make the connections until after God has led me to my word. I wrote about it in my post, but I”ll quickly mention it here too. First year was Love. Second year was Quiet and immediately God gave me Zeph 3:17 to memorize. During the year he “quieted me with his Love”. (see the word play). Now I am ready to Listen…..so my word for 2012 is Listen. I know there are many layers to this word – listening to God, listening (really listening) to my children (which you touch on in your book!), listening to others – not making every conversation about me.
Jill Foley recently posted..Prayer Week 44
I tried to post my link, but it kind of failed somehow… so I reposted. Is there any way you can delete the first one? It’s just called Lyssa. *sigh* I fail at following simple directions!
Lyssa recently posted..Instead of New Year’s Resolutions…
I linked my post up …. my word in Intentional :-)
Brandy @AcrosstheTable recently posted..January 2012 3in30 goals
Picking just one word is a FABULOUS idea. Thank you for the suggestion!
Mine is “thankfulness”. A lot of suffering & humbling has happened this past year & my husband said he believes God will make this a year of thankfulness. I agree.
The word “slow” is a great choice. What I wouldn’t give to be able to make things go a little more slow!
Jennifer recently posted..The year of "clarity"
I am re-reading 1000 Gifts (I love it!) and I restarted my list yesterday. What better day, right?
sharon f recently posted..Books I Plan To Read In 2012
I loved your 2011 word and i love your 2012 word. Congrats on the contributor spots and I just started reading Ann Voskamp’s book. Journaling with it is such a great idea! stopping by from the TTT linkup.
I picked GIVING. Not just financially, but giving attention and affection. Giving priority and giving focus. Giving time and encouragement and the Good News…
Michelle ~ Blogging from the Boonies recently posted..Another Look at Letter Writing Day
I picked GIVING. Not just financially, but giving attention and affection. Giving priority and giving focus. Giving time and encouragement and the Good News…
Michelle ~ Blogging from the Boonies recently posted..Another Look at Letter Writing Day
Thanks for linking up – great minds think alike :) Great word too.
Blessings!
Meghan
http://www.thetuckerstaketennessee.com
I’m all for going slow. I’m built for comfort, not speed.
seekingpastor recently posted..New Year’s Resolutions
Slow is such a great word, and one I choose to be more mindful of in 2012. I recently read a blog entry that suggested we have a greater capacity for growth when we slow down instead of rushing forward through life. This truth resonated with me and I realized I am choosing to slow down in 2012. This realization brought me to my word for 2012- RELEASE.
Chrysta
Chrysta Bairre recently posted..Keep it simple with one word goals