My One Word

I have never really gotten into the whole New Year's resolution thing. Maybe it is because I am afraid to commit to something that I may fail. I have made silent commitments, inside my head such as: "This year I will lose weight" or "I am going to be a more positive person." Regardless, those tiny "resolutions" have only been whispers to myself because I would never share them with someone who would actually hold me accountable.  It isn't that I don't like to set goals. I am actually a pretty driven person. I just don't like the artificial feeling that a New Year's resolution brings. It is sort of like that one acquaintance that you always run into and she promises that she will call, and you'll have to do lunch because she feels just awful that we haven't seen each other in ages. She knows she doesn't really intend on calling, and I know that she doesn't intend on calling, yet the idea of it is nice enough to keep us in acquaintance status. That is how a New Year's resolution feels to me. It is nice in theory, but what good is it going to do for me to set something up that I have no intention on following through with. I'm not knocking others for choosing to have a resolution. I actually know plenty of people who always accomplish their goal by the end of the year. It is just too intimidating for me.
  So today on the way to homeschool playgroup, my children and I were listening to our usual radio station of choice-KLOVE. I heard one of the DJ's mention a concept created by a pastor(his location and name escapes me) called My One Word(http://myoneword.org/).  The vision of  My One Word is this:

"Our resolutions seldom work because they focus on the type of person we want to become rather than who God wants us to be. Many people do not see God at work in their lives simply because they don’t know what to look for. So, what if our hopes for the year centered on who God wanted us to become instead?
  My One Word is an experiment designed to move beyond the past and look ahead. The challenge is simple: lose the long the list of changes you want to make this year and instead pick one word. This process provides clarity by taking all of your big plans for life change and narrowing them down into a single thing. Your one word focuses on your character and creates a vision for your future. So, we invite you to join us and pick a word."

 I was so captivated by this concept that I immediately began pondering what my one word would be. I wanted a word that would encompass everything that I hoped to accomplish and to help me become more of the person God designed me to be. After much deliberation, I decided that my word for this year would be FOCUS.   I will illustrate how I plan to implement focus into my life using JOY-Jesus, Others, Yourself

Jesus--I will focus more on HIM and HIS plan for me than my own.  I will focus more of my time serving and listening to HIM by saving and donating more resources, donating more of my time, and spending more of my time focused on God's word by giving up other things--computer time, extra activities, etc

Others--I will focus more on my family and my marriage. This is especially important for the last few months we have together before Jeff leaves for a year long unaccompanied tour to Korea in April.  I sometimes need to remind myself that before there was Lynsey and Jackson, there was just Jeff and me. I need to work just as hard in my wife role as I do in my homeschooling momma role.  It is sometimes hard for me to put forth that extra energy at the end of the day to focus on solely my husband and his needs. It seems like after the kids go to bed, I'm rushing around finishing up the tasks I didn't get accomplished during my day. However, I am going to make it a point to spend more QUALITY time with my hubby.  I also want to focus more of my time and resources to help others. This may be by witnessing, serving, hospitality, or whatever God uses me for.

Yourself(me)--I want to set a goal of OVERALL health. I do not want to be a certain weight or dress size. I want to focus on eating real, unprocessed foods that nourish my body.  I want to take the time to exercise even on days that I think I should be doing the laundry instead, and on those days I will remind myself how much better I feel after a good cardio workout.  I want to be in God's word and spend more time with HIM. I can only do this by rearranging my priorities and making a point to put HIM first.

I didn't mean to get so lengthy, but I'm really excited about my one word--FOCUS.  I may not reach all of my goals in the way I hope for, but I am really optimistic about the positive effect of being more focused will have on my life.  So, what is your one word?