My Word of the Year

           courage                  consider                           strong

                                               stretch                      wonder  

                                                    believe           listen                            

                                                               

                  ~~  Embrace ~~

 to hold someone in your arms as a way of expressing love or friendship

to accept (something or someone) readily or gladly

 to use (an opportunity) eagerly

so many words. so very hard to choose, but I have  decided it will be embrace.

when I chose this word I was simply thinking about the most common definition of this word;
to hold close in a hug......something I am making a more resolute decision  to do, especially with my oldest two girls.
At times I feel like there is so little I can do for them, as they navigate their dreams and I wonder if they have surpassed my sphere of influence...(I know this isn't all bad.) 
it's strange  to feel like a spectator at times and wonder what is all going on inside that isn't being verbalised. 

I will hug them more, hold them close and listen to what is and isn't being said.  My care will be there in an embrace, that holds tenderly and then lets go.

Then I study the word more closely and see how it means to include and accept....
that was the moment I knew this was 'my word'....

here are a few things I hope to include a little more of in 2014...

God's word......while this is a part of my life almost daily...I would like to get MORE out of it...I have been especially convicted lately how easily I can sit down at the computer and how difficult it seems to get into the Word.

my bed...earlier! (Hubby and I both tend to be night owls but this is not a great presidence to set to our kids or ourselves!)


Gratitude again daily....thankfulness doesn't just happen, it is cultivated.

Laughter.....it is good for the soul.


So my word is chosen and the rest is left to experience. Come with me? 
I sure would love your company.....

                   Don't fear change, rather embrace it.

                           

My Word of the Year

The beginning is the half of every action...

Routine began anew this morning.
 And  I am the one who loves the hum of routine most days, except for this morning I was calling recant.
 I need another day I say and I pull the throw up around me, after I've made the lunches and breakfasts and combed hair, and prayed  with them and waved to the bus driver.
The world outside my window had been softly and  regally draped in a pure, white garment.
It was ever so still and quiet. Hushed was the word.
 I don't want to move...BE Still and KNOW that I am God.
Be still, still, still.Psalms 46:10

I am pondering my word or words for the year. I like the idea of having a word that resonates a theme for the coming 365 days. Last year I went with the small; but ever so mighty word YES.
The word that keeps  coming back to me as I consider this is RESPONSE. I talked about it here.(thank-you Amy)

Last years Yes,was a response.This year I'd like to "bear it in mind" a little further.
So many times I cannot change the outcome, but my response is entirely up to me. This was something I thought about while hubby and I watched the absurd movie Ground hog Day last week. While I certainly don't condone everything about this movie,it really impacted me how Bill Murray ultimately came to the conclusion, after nobody believed his strange tale of repeating the same day; that his own RESPONSE was the pivotal key to his own happiness.(Inspiration and observations come from the most unlikely things sometimes.)
The way I respond is up to me... ,whether someone arrives late or on time,
hold or relinquish,give or take....HOW I respond is what is important!
So much is a response,and has the power to change me! I have a feeling I may learn some frightening things about myself but I am ready for the challenge!

Even when I think I am NOT responding, that alone is a response.

 I have a couple more words that I'd like to integrate in 2013, that I will share with you another time.

       How about you, Do you choose a word for the year?