A few of my friends have been participating in Alece Ronzino’s One Word challenge this year, and I wanted to get in on the action as well. When thinking about what my ONE WORD would be for this year, I didn’t really have to dig very deep. In fact, I already posted about it on December 17th:
If there’s anything I wish for this next year, it’s that I will be more intentional, in all aspects of my life… I look at myself in the mirror and I see limitations, imposed by myself and others, in this Sondra-shaped reflection staring back at me… but I also see God standing right behind me and all around me, and He is BIGGER than all of that. In my weakness, He is strong.
I want to be INTENTIONAL in my life: in my actions, in my words, in my plans, in my relationships, in my walk with God. What does INTENTIONAL mean?
- characterized by conscious design or purpose
- done or made or performed with purpose and intent
- Synonyms: conscious, deliberate, intended, knowing, purposeful, set, voluntary, willed, willful
You may have heard it said before, but nothing worth having is easy. Or, put another way, there’s a quote attributed to Andrew Carnegie that says, “Anything in life worth having is worth working for.” But so often, I get discouraged from the work. It’s not that I don’t want to work, it’s that I don’t feel capable. I have a long history of just letting life happen to me, and responding to the consequences, instead of LIVING it.
When I was a kid, one of my favorite rides at Cedar Point was the Antique Cars. The cars are on a metal track, but anyone 48 inches or taller can be fooled into thinking they are really driving: press the gas pedal and steer… so long as you are okay with going only where the metal track goes. Go too far to the right or left and BAM, you hit the metal rail and go careening back the other way. This, to some degree, is an accurate depiction of my life thus far. I’ve let other people and circumstances and my own perceived limitations or weaknesses direct my path… and most of the time, I have not liked where I ended up. But I have had no one to blame but myself. It’s time to drive! I want to start arriving at destinations on purpose, WITH purpose. I think a large first step of faith in that direction was heading down to Nashville last May, but that was just the beginning.
If there was a second word I could pick for 2011, it is that I would be BOLD. Boldness is not something that comes naturally to me. But this is where He is strong in my weakness:
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” -Joshua 1:9
Being bold and being intentional are two unfamiliar territories for me, but I look forward to blazing a trail through 2011 with these two things in mind. It will take work, it will take mindfulness, and wisdom, and grace. I’m going to need to do a complete flip of my script, but it will be worth it. I know in my heart that God will equip me for whatever He calls me to this year. I know that He has already blessed me with gifts to use for His glory. So now it’s time to continue my walk with Him this year, and build on everything He has done in 2010. I will walk confidently, knowing that in Christ, I am more than a conqueror.
Go get ‘em, Sondra!! You can do it!
“I can do all things through Him, who gives me strength.” Phillippians 4:13
(I wrote this in the back of the bible my parents gave me for graduation in 1997 – it’s one of my all-time favorite verses in times of feeling full of despair).
intentionally bold — go for it! gonna be a banner year…
If I had to pick a word to describe last year, it would be “intentional.” I can’t even begin to explain how much it changed my life.
God is going to do amazing things in and through you this year. He’ll never tell you that you’re not good enough. He’ll never lie and accuse you. He’ll never hold you back. Those things only come from the enemy and, unfortunately, other people.
Keep it strong, Sondra. Abide in God and be intentionally bold this year. I promise, it’ll change your life. I’ll be right here rooting and praying for ya.
Kenny
Eunice: Thanks, girl! I love Philippians 4:13, such a great reminder, and something we so easily forget!
Alece: Intentionally bold, YES! Thank you so much for stopping by my little old blog. And thank you even more for starting this OneWord movement. I’ve spent most of today/tonight reading through the participant blogs and they are all amazing.
Kenny: I so appreciate your encouragement. And I so appreciate your friendship AND your blog. Perhaps it is because you have already been where I am, focusing on being intentional last year, but the fruit and the life in your posts lately have given me so much to digest (and apply). The internal script, avoiding self-sabotage, ALL of it. God is speaking through you so much. Thanks for your transparency and your WISDOM.
I love this, Sondra. And it challenges me as well. As intentional as I try to be about a lot of things, I know that I am quite unintentional and haphazard about just as many things. I’m thankful for the intentionality of grace that closes the gaps that I miss when I’m unfocused. I want my life to be shaped by a marked intentionality that effects everyone and everything around me. Thank you for sharing this.
oh my gosh – i’ve spent HOURS hopping from one to the next… and i have so many more still to hit! there’s so much good stuff out there in everyone’s One Word posts!
Grant: Good point about grace closing the gaps. I’m definitely thankful for that as well!
Alece: Agree! So much good stuff, and it just keeps growing. So awesome.
Love it, and not just because that’s my ONEWORD2011 too… I just think it’s a great word and has so much potential!
I think the part I will struggle with is when people ask me how I’ve been living with intention, I don’t know what I’ll say. I guess I’m hoping that I’m more intentional with my time, the people I choose to spend that time with, my money, my resources. I want things I do to be for a purpose, not just to say I did them and be able to cross them off some list.
Cheers to you!!
Cheers to you as well, Amanda! I’m excited for our ONEWORD this year! I share the same struggle… “What will I say/explain this?” Which is why I’ve been trying to break it down into steps, and evaluate how it is going to look in my life/draw up a battle plan. Not just so I have something to say to people, but so I have a plan of attack myself. I am easily distracted and that’s why being INTENTIONAL is all that much more important of a goal for me.