My One Word for 2019

Ever have the experience of walking into a room knowing that you're supposed to remember something, but have no idea what it is? Of course you have, we all have at one point or another. What strategies do you use to recall the thing that you've forgotten? Sometimes I just stand still and mentally retrace my steps. Other times, I will physically go back to the space I was previously in and re-walk my path. I tend to be in a continuous state of conversation with myself and so I will also rehash my self talk to try to bring to mind the thing I thought about as I was in a deep dialog with myself. And then there are times when I just have to stop trying to remember and just move on hoping that sometime in the not too distant future, I'll think of it again. 

The last few months I have had the feeling of being somewhere and not quite sure what I'm supposed to do next, just like walking in a room with a purpose and totally forgetting what that purpose is.  

And so, I'm using the My One Word to try to figure out what my next steps should be. I have gone through the brainstorming and selection process and determined that my word for 2019 is ATTEND. 

I want to ATTEND with more purpose to God's Word. I want to ATTEND with more of my heart to His desires for my current circumstances. I want to ATTEND with more intention to my relationships, personal goals, and use of my time. 

The Bible verse that I landed on is Isaiah 30:21 - Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."

So here are some action steps that I've taken since the beginning of January.

1 - Last year I hand copied larger passages of Scripture during my morning quiet time. It's not a bad thing to do, but really, the practice didn't leave a lasting impression on my day. So this year, I have decided to just take a single verse and copy it and write a brief reflection. I like this much better. Now I just have to figure out a way to keep this daily verse in front of me so that it has a chance to make a dent of difference in my day. 

2 - I'm not consistent at it, but I've been trying to get in my bed about 45 minutes early so that I can do some reading that will support my word ATTEND.

3 - Reading non-fiction tends to lull me to sleep easily, so I have a notebook where I can write some reflections of what I'm reading. Journaling is something that I enjoy doing, but just haven't been disciplined enough to do it regularly. (Obviously, otherwise it wouldn't be over a year since I've written a blog post.) My intention is that by recording my thoughts, I'll be more ATTENtive to what I'm reading and consider how it can be used to develop my character or purpose or thinking or whatever. 

4 - I know how powerful goal setting can be. But again, I just haven't been disciplined to sit down and write out a list of goals and action steps. But this year, I'm determined to make 2019 different than 2018, 2017, 2016 - you get the idea...and I know that being purposeful and ATTEND to my goals is the only way that measurable change will take place. 

It's been a month since I selected my word and while I haven't had any epiphanies - there is still time for that - I am still excited about my word and the potential that it has.