Word of the Year: Diligent

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.  I wish I could give a good excuse for why I've let weeks go by without writing-I've had several topic ideas enter my heart and mind but I never took the time to form them into a semi-cohesive blog post.

If I were to list a few reasons for not writing, I suppose I could claim the following as my distractions; my four children plus daughter-in-law converged on our house, cookies and candy were made, we threw our annual party, hot tub and bath towels needed washing, last minute shopping errands were run, I planned and prepared meals, wrapped too many gifts, walked the puppy dog, saw friends, ate out, celebrated the birth of Christ and 2013, made trips back and forth to the airport and packed away the decorations.

If I am honest though, I really have just been lazy and unproductive. The book Slowly, Slowly, Slowly, said the Sloth comes to mind…It was too hard for me to get started. 

Although we didn't do anything super exciting while the kids were all, we just enjoyed hanging out together. We plugged in the old VCR machine and watched some old home videos. It was the first time my grown kids have watched themselves as babies and toddlers. (I got exhausted watching how busy four little ones kept me!) The photos today are from a Christmas morning  filmed nineteen years ago.

And now...the house is quiet. The kids are all back at college or work and I need to get motivated. I started a list of goals for the year but I also am choosing ”my one word” for 2013. “Journey” and “joy” were my words for 2011 and 2012. Check out the link below that describes the concept and book written by Mike Ashcraft and Rachel Olsen.  http://myoneword.org/

I've spent days trying to narrow down to just one word.  It’s a recurring problem; I have trouble making decisions, then when I do I second-guess myself. (You’ll often find me ordering the combo platter at a restaurant...) I almost changed my mind about the word I picked but I think it will be a good challenge and theme for me so I'm sticking with it! 

There were so many words I was drawn to; trust, intentional, deliberate, steadfast, simplify, forward, listen, restore, discipline, and honor… I finally chose the word DILIGENT to guide me in the coming year.

I looked up different definitions...

Diligent (Webster’s New World College Dictionary) 

1.  persevering and careful in work; industrious

2. done with careful, steady effort; painstaking

The Blue Letter Bible defines the Old English meaning of diligence, "with love”.

I want to learn to be diligent about getting healthier (body, mind & soul), spending daily time studying God’s word, finally purging all the items our family no longer needs and organizing what we have, improving my blog, and being frugal. I desire to be diligent whether I’m working part-time, caring for my family, spending time with friends or serving my church.

Have you chosen a “word” for 2013?

In His Grip, Jane