One word

Welcome to 2014!

Eight days into the New Year, and I'm feeling overwhelmed -- and I didn't even officially set any resolutions or goals for the year.

Oh, I made a mental list: eat right, exercise regularly, lose weight, be prompt in sending cards, keep my blogs up-to-date, write daily, finish my novel, write a memoir, find a way to make about $500 more a month, declutter my writing room, my email accounts, my house, my mind . . .

See? I have goals and resolutions. I just don't like writing them down. Looking at them everyday through the lenses of yesterday and reality, is just too overwhelming.

So I'm taking it one day at a time, one activity at a time.

Which of the above are the most important? What are my priorities?

Health.

Family.

Ministry (writing, speaking, mentoring).

Then I read Rachelle Gardner's blog, "The Year in a Word."  She writes that choosing one word as a focal point for the year helps her to "distill the theme of all [her] goals into one simple expression."

Boiling all those goals and resolutions down to one word.

ONE WORD?

YIKES!

"Come on!" I thought. "Me? Choose one word to focus on in 2014? Yeah, right."

That was too much for my brain to process.

Then, out of the blue, it came - my one word: STEADFAST.

Dictionary.com defines STEADFAST as

1. fixed in direction; steadily directed: a steadfast gaze.

2. firm in purpose, resolution, faith, attachment, etc., as a person: a steadfast friend.

 

3. unwavering, as resolution, faith, adherence, etc.

4. firmly established, as an institution or a state of affairs.

 

5. firmly fixed in place or position.

I think that pretty well sums it up:

I need to be steadfast in making healthy choices, such as eating the right foods and exercising regularly (my exercise of choice is walking).

I need to be steadfast in spending time with my loved ones.

I need to be steadfast in getting my work done, which includes my writing, my mentoring, my blogs, and my household duties.

I need to be steadfast in caring for the needs of others.

I need to be steadfast in spending time with God, setting aside time daily for Bible reading, study, and prayer.

I need to be steadfast in praying for others.

The list could go on and on and on.

But if I just focus on that one word - steadfast - in all I do, from the time my feet hit the floor in the morning until the time I slip between the sheets at night, one activity at a time - I won't feel so overwhelmed.

Steadfast doesn't mean I'm not flexible. Life demands flexibility.

It means that I'm focused on the things I need to do to work with God as He "fulfills His purpose for me" ((Psalm 138:8).

What about you? What is your one word for 2014?

Keep writing,
Michele