“But the seed on the good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it and by persevering produce a good crop.” (Luke 8:15, NIV)

The word you have chosen for this year may very well be a gift God has already given you. This unbeknownst seed placed in your heart, was dormant and protected until the proper time for planting. As a creation of God, a seed has purpose. Its purpose is to produce fruit. Yet on its own, unplanted, it will remain inactive.

By choosing your One Word, you have taken the first step in producing a good crop for the Lord. But more is required. This word may seem foreign to your natural being, but you can trust that if you have received this word from God through prayer and meditation on His word it is a part of your spiritual formation. This seed, your word, must be planted in good soil. How is your heart? Is it arable soil? Is it fit for the gift God has imparted? Will it allow your seed to be obedient to its created purpose? Will the seed from God planted in your heart produce fruit or will it be choked out?

After honestly examining the condition of your heart and removing the stones and thorns that may have been on the surface or deeper down (opening up and surrendering your whole heart to the Lord), the next consideration should be how you will arrange your life so that the seed (a gift from God, not an element of your flesh) can grow exponentially. God gives us a plan of action in the book of James:

“Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.” (James 1:21-25, NASB)

The entire passage is a blessing, but there are five notable points that will illuminate the process of living out your One Word:

• Get rid of the sins that defile you- The “filthiness” and the “remains of wickedness” may sound like things that are already far from you, but they encompass those things we tolerate and even indulge in daily! Laziness, anxiety, scoffing (dismissing God’s way for our own) are examples.
• Humbly receive the word- Know that God beat you to the moment of realizing your word! He placed it on your heart. Take hold of it knowing it is a gift from Him for you to use for His glory!
• Do not forget the word- Keep it in front of you in the form of scripture. Make a few easily accessible lists of the scriptures God led you to in order to reveal this word to you. Define it and use it in declarative sentences, ex. “Courage means doing things I know are right even if I am afraid. I will befriend this intimidating person in spite of my fear!”
• Look to Jesus and abide in Him- We should always be Christ-focused in our efforts. Scripture tells us that if we remain in Him, he will remain in us and we will bear much fruit. Listening for His voice in quiet time, learning his character in scripture, reflecting His image everywhere we go are some ways we can remain in Him.
• Be an effectual doer- act on what you are learning through the exercise, trusting that God is faithful to his promise and that in obedience you WILL bear fruit!

The exercise of My One Word is not a means to an end, it is a call to awareness. It requires you to focus on one thing long enough to actually see its significance as you diligently pursue His kingdom. You have chosen your word, now you must do the work of learning how to position yourself to yield a good crop!

Stepping out into the light, gray mist of a somber afternoon in Guatemala, we were struck instantly by the distinct sights and smells of the city. Swept away in a current of fruits and colors, we coalesced with the crowd, weaving in and out of the locals like the intricate, handmade fabrics layered heavily across their backs. Dense for a non-market day, the city, too, was heavy, its people folded forward beneath the weight of the day-to-day and the lostness of a life barren of Truth. A team member and I fell in step and began prayer walking, quietly absorbing the unspoken burdens from the hollow eyes we encountered, imploring the presence of God to descend upon these people with the rain.

We were finally here, doing this that we had craved for so long: praying not just for but among those we were here to serve.

Lord, raise up this generation for you. Lift the oppression of the Mayan beliefs and fears that block your Truth here. Deliver these widows and children from the bondage of poverty. This man right now, make Yourself known to him in a mighty way; let him be an influence for your glory among other men in this community…

It was then that I first noticed it: the ongoing chattering behind me. A local Guatemalan woman, who had noticed and continually sought out our team since day one, caught up to us in our journey and struck up a conversation in Spanish with another team member. Unabashed and unapologetic—la-ti-da, as if the rest of us were simply taking a Sunday stroll. Looking back with shame, I admit it: I was annoyed. I focused harder on the passersby we slit between, like butter around a knife, struggling to make my prayers manifest authentically and resisting the temptation to walk on ahead, away from the group. She followed us all the way up to the hilltop at Monte Flor, into a small prayer chapel overlooking the ministry’s sprawling campus and adjacent community nestled warmly between the mountains. I continued praying for impact—when suddenly, I caught my breath. There between the muffled dialog, through words I could scarcely pick out, I recognized a prayer. This team member was praying with the woman, our “visitor,” in her native tongue. Impact…

It was then I realized I had completely missed the forest for the trees. I was so caught up in my own spiritual agenda of seeking God’s influence among the people here, I missed the fact that I was His hands and feet right here where He had presented an actual opportunity. I let my own spirituality get in the way of responding to what was unfolding right in front of my eyes: a human being seeking connection. This woman could have been introduced to Christ right there in that chapel as I looked out into the distance asking Him to do something among His people…

Back in America, I have to wonder how often I am not so far from that chapel, encountering dozens of opportunities to be a light for God right where I am. And yet, how does one go about arranging their life for response? “Respond,” my one word, falls heavy at times, like a cloak. Yet in the past month what I have heard over and over in my heart is simply this: “Invest in the people around you.” There doesn’t have to be any grand cause or charge. As an introspective at-times introvert, my natural tendency is not always inclined toward community. But to arrange my life where I am positioned to respond means to seek relationships with those around me whom I have the opportunity to invest in every day. To realize that change requires response, and building relationships requires sacrifice. To recognize that God has already made some arrangements when He placed specific people in my life. And to know that He will equip me with all I need—even when it seems like my friend, that neighbor, my husband and I don’t speak the same language…

This would be funny if it wasn’t so true, or if this kind of thing didn’t happen to me all the time.

Two weeks ago I sat down to write my February contribution to the My One Word blog. I have to tell you it was good – actually brilliant! It was the type of essay that would touch your head and your heart…make you think and cry at the same time.

But that’s not what you’re reading here today. In fact you won’t see it for a few more months.

Here is what happened: I couldn’t find the list of monthly topics we were given. I printed it out and put it some place but who knows where. But that’s okay, I am familiar with this program, been doing it for a few years. February is all about using your word as a lens.

Actually it’s not.

Of course I didn’t know that until after investing 3 hours of work on the masterpiece. Turns out February is all about setting up a system so your word can take root. Or, to put it another way; the month is all about getting organizied.

That’s not exactly one of my strengths.

In fact I am so disorganized that I’ve actually tried to spin this character flaw as some type of unique charm. You know what I am talking about – people like me do it all the time! No matter how chaotic the office may appear we’ll actually claim that: “There’s a system to it all, a method to the madness. This is how I am at my best! It may look messy but I actually know where everything is.”

Yeah everything except the car keys, cell phone, vital bills and documents and that My One Word sheet. “Now where exactly did I put that?”

So, I was going to blow off this month. After all who am I to lecture on organization?

But a mist all the clutter, sitting by itself on the coffee table, is a little 3 by 5 inched index card.  Maybe I do have something to say.

You see, first thing every morning I turn to that card for my quiet time. It’s kind of like my cheat sheet. Scribbled on it is an outline (dare, I say an organized plan,) for my morning prayer. I stole it from a book a few months ago, and it has made all the difference in the world:

1. Dedicate this day to God

2. Put on Jesus- remember who God wants you to be today

3. Today is all about Him – not you

4. Give gratitude for what God has done for you

5. Give gratitude for the Cross

6. Give gratitude for the Resurrection

7. Give gratitude for the Ascension

8. Give gratitude for the Spirit that will guide you today

9. What are your expectations? What do you hope God do today?

It all takes 10 to 15 minutes. Some mornings I may spend more time thinking about number 3 and other days it may be number 8 that gets the majority of my attention. Since all this is somewhat new to me many times I’ve had to open up my eyes, glance down at the card, and remember what’s next on the list.

It’s not natural. And at times using the card feels a little artificial, but it always manages to take me deeper. Yes I’d love to have a prayer life that just flows naturally, but the truth is – for right now – I need a system, a structure, an organized plan to get me there.

What does all of this have to do with My One Word? Well, in 2011 I selected “seed” because I want to do something small that makes a big difference in the lives of others. But before I do that, maybe I need to plant a little seed in my own life.

So come back next month, or the month after – whenever it is we’re supposed to talk about lenses. You will really like what I wrote. You know- assuming I can find it by then.

Doug Wahl is a former award winning broadcast journalist. His first book Gradually to God will come out in this spring. He is also the founder of the Off the Wahl blog on facebook http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Off-The-Wahl-Eassys-in-taking-the-next-step-in-a-walk-with-Christ/108832095861048?v=wall

To move forward in a life with God, I have to keep moving forward in my faith. That’s not easy. I’m an optimist by nature, but life many days makes me a skeptic and a cynic. Life makes me doubt. And so my faith comes and goes, ebbing and flowing like the sea I live beside.

I love the ocean, but it scares me—I can’t always see what’s with me when I’m out there. The other night, I dreamt I could see through it, to see the sharks swimming below me. Sharks terrify me. I’m not sure why. I’ve never even seen Jaws. I think it comes from nightmares I had as a kid. Something would pull me into the deep, something I would look for but could never see. My legs would burn, like sliced by knives. Or teeth.

I did triathlons for five months last year. This involved swimming a mile across the channel separating Wilmington from Wrightsville Beach. It was terrifying. I got tired. My arms got heavy. I would remember my childhood nightmare and panic. But I was in the middle of it, with nowhere to go, forever from land on either side, and so my only option was to swim.

Faith is like that. More accurately, fear and doubt and skepticism and cynicism are like that. Faith is the thing that gets us to land. The other stuff is what nearly kills us while we’re out to sea.

To truly know our faith, to know the depth it reaches and the expanse it covers, we’ve got to swim through it. We’ve got to throw ourselves somewhere that we’re not sure we can survive.

To lose my faith, to forsake Christianity—this would throw my whole life into upheaval. But that’s not what keeps me clinging to it. It is what made my doubt so powerful, so profound, but it’s not why I doubt no longer.

The truth is, I still doubt. Not always. But some days. Some days, I still think, “If God exists, then …” It’s not pleasant. But it’s human. And is it not our humanity that makes us capable of knowing the divine?

I feel more and more crazy every time I read the latest scientific study proving evolutionary theory and disproving miracles and this, that, and the other, basically laying out Christianity and belief in God as irrational and insane. I’m rational. I want to be sane. But I’ve accepted that maybe I’m not. I see stories like those of the Villanova managers, the boys with cerebral palsy who help an elite college basketball team win. The coaches and players embrace and love them, despite their drooling and lack of muscle control and how they can only move by motorized wheelchair.

For reasons I can’t fully explain, in those stories I also see God. And so I keep the faith. Rather, the faith keeps me. And for that I’m grateful.

As Paul wrote those two thousand years ago, right now all I can see is like looking through fog, but one day it’ll all fade away, and I’ll see Him face to face. I believe for a simple reason. I am no scientist. No expert of quantum mechanics. No psychic. I am but a simple man, a writer, one who puts into words the things I think, hopefully in ways that people can understand.

There is but one thing I know, without a doubt: The days I believe and the days I see God are more beautiful and more full and more alive than the days I do not. Life with God is just better.

The sea terrifies me, but it’s also given me some of my best memories. Floating in it, holding Katie. It was one of the best trips to the beach ever, my first with her. Floating on it, surfing to a beautiful sunrise. In the ocean I have known fear, but there I have also known God.

And so in my pursuit of Him, I’ll just keep moving forward. I can’t see the end. But I can see just far enough ahead to take another few steps, and that’ll get me there.

Brandon is a Wilmington-based professional freelance journalist, copywriter, and editor. He is the author of The Edge of Legend: An Incredible Story of Faith and Basketball (Port 2010) and has contributed to ESPN The Magazine, ESPN.com, and Our State (NC) magazine, in additional to myriad regional publications. He blogs at brandonsneed.com.

Last week due to a flight cancellation I ended up with a six hour layover in Vegas.  I’m not the Vegas type but I teach and research on popular culture and more than a few of my students head to Vegas for Spring Break so I decided to take a cab, see one casino, spend no more than 20 bucks and head home.  That way I could say I’ve “done” Vegas.

With some advice from the airport information desk and a phone call to a friend who attends a conference there each year, I headed out the airport door to find the Hard Rock Casino.

Actually, I could’ve played slots there in the airport. The airport slot machines (yes, really) claim to have given away $13 million last year.  As generous as that sounds, Vegas is arranged and designed to do one thing: dazzle you away from your money.  The people movers and escalators in the airport, the cattle chutes that line you up for cabs, the neon lights, the dramatic architecture, the velvet ropes, the glitzy shows—all of it designed so Vegas makes money despite giving away 13 million in the airport alone.

Nevertheless, I bought four $5 chips and headed to the black jack table. I actually won four out of six hands and got the faintest thought about “hot streak” and knew it was time to part company with my less successful table mates.  Buying chips was easy, cashing them out required GPS and a canteen: Vegas is arranged to take your money, not give it back.

As I rode in the cab back to the airport, simultaneously glad to be “out” but also drawn to wonder “what else,” and “what if?” I asked my cabbie how long he’d been in Vegas.

“Twenty years.”
“So you’ve seen it all.”
“Oh, yes, it’s easy to get in trouble.  The gambling, the booze, the hookers, the women from out of town that try to dress like the hookers . . . ”
“Are you married?”
“Yes, for 10 years.  My first five years here I made all the dumb mistakes but that got old. And then you just want something better.”
“Yep.”

We were back to the airport; I thanked him for his time and tipped him out of my “winnings.”

I still had time before my flight and so I began thinking about my life in comparison to Vegas.  Vegas is arranged completely for its mission.  The mission is not particularly wholesome or family friendly but it is clear.  What am I about? Is my life arranged with such singular focus?  If someone studies my life, am I as clear about what I SAY is important to me as Vegas is?  I don’t think so.  Not yet.  Hopefully, “compass” will help me.

So, a big goal for me this year is to arrange my life for success in what matters most.  So where will I start?  I’ll start small.

1)      I’ve bookmarked the My One Word site and have reminders in my calendar program to check in, read and reflect on the various blog posts there.

2)      I’ve put my word on my screensaver (actually, all of them—life is cumulative).

3)      I’ve committed to SAY my word daily in some way—if only to myself.  My word is “compass” to emphasize the journey I’m on with Christ.  I’ve already used to avoid stumbling and to recover when I’ve stumbled.

4)      I’m keeping a “compass” handy in form of reading material that keeps me on track.  Packing a book or keeping the Kindle handier than I have will allow one more encounter with Truth during the day.

Hopefully, someday, I’ll be as clear as Vegas but with a different message and mission . . . and my life will be described as “paying out” far more than I’m “raking in.”

A few months ago, I bought 120 white plastic hangers.

It all started with a visit to a friend’s house. This friend’s house was really clean. Pristine. The kind of pristine that makes you feel like you are walking into a Pottery Barn catalog. The kind of pristine where even the washer and dryer are, well, pristine. There was no dust, no lint, no streaks of detergent, no lone, mysterious sock cluttering up her appliances. And then I got a peek at one of her closets–such wondrous organization!- and I couldn’t help but notice that all her hangers matched.

Yes, I noticed that.

And I decided that I too wanted matching hangers. Silly, I know. But when I happened upon a hanger sale a few weeks later, I thought, “What luck!” and loaded up my cart. The following Sunday at church, when I casually mentioned to one of my friends about My-Matching-Hangers-Idea, she looked at me, more than slightly puzzled by my zeal, and said, smiling, teasingly- “Donna, I think you need to go back to work.”

See, over a year ago I became a mom. A stay-at-home mom. After working for nine years, and watching several friends blaze this trail before me, I kinda had an idea what this would look like. Lunches at Chick-Fil-A, playdates at the park, mornings spent shopping at Target. And time. I would have all this glorious time.

Time to be sure there was always a fresh pitcher of my husband’s beloved sweet tea in the fridge. Time to clean the baseboards, straighten the garage, and vacuum my car. Time to read the Bible more. Time to pour into my relationships.

Time.

Eighteen months later…my husband makes his own sweet tea, my baseboards have never been dirtier, my garage looks like something from Hoarders, and my car is littered with cheerio crumbs and dried out hand-wipes. And I don’t read the Bible any more than I use to. Maybe even less. And my friendships.. they are no deeper, no more authentic than they were, well, eighteen months ago.

And all those hangers? It has been six months and they are hanging in my closet all right. They are just clothes-less. All 120 of them still nicely wrapped in sets of ten inside their cardboard sleeves.

Why? I guess I could blame all this inertia on the busyness of life, on the demands of parenting a toddler. But to be honest, this inertia of mine is because I haven’t made the effort. It is that simple. That awfully simple.

This year, God is asking me to make the effort. So. That’s my one word. Effort.

When I looked up effort in the dictionary, I came across this meaning: a determined attempt. This year, that is what I am doing. I’m not looking for perfection, I am just determined to attempt.

Don’t get me wrong. God is not asking me to try harder, as if by sheer will I can become who He designed me to be. But with my one word, God is calling me to examine my character. I found that my natural inclination is towards procrastination and laziness. I like the easy way. I watch too much daytime TV. It is a crying shame that I know that Matt Lauer wasn’t at work on Friday.

So, I am in the process of rearranging my days, so I can make the effort. It might mean getting up earlier, turning off Kathie Lee and Hoda, it might mean calling that friend and scheduling a coffee date even though it might not be convenient. In short, I am determined to attempt that whichever God has put on my heart, whether it is as practical and mundane as keeping house or as sacred as pouring over His word.

With that being said, I am now gonna close the laptop, and get to work. I have some hangers to see to.

My One Word jumped up and slapped me in the face on January 30. Not a very nice thing to do, considering the word is gentle.

My husband and I were taking our daughter to a skating party that day. He said something to me in the car that made me mad. Just a couple days later, I cannot for the life of me remember what he said. But I responded like a spoiled brat, spewing sarcasm at him. Then I looked out the window. Right next to our car was one of my very close friends, sitting in the front seat of her van, waiting for a sleeping child to wake before going into the skating rink.

The thought of her seeing my ugly display struck panic in my heart. Never mind that I had insulted my husband and grieved the Holy Spirit. I felt the worldly grief of “getting caught.” Later, true spiritual grief came at the realization that I could be so bitter one moment with a member of my family, then turn around and act sweet and charming to friends and total strangers at a party.

I think gentle is sort of a boring My One Word. Yet, I want a gentle heart, a genuinely gentle heart. Not one that shows up for duty during public moments, or when everything is going my way. Not one that appears gentle on the surface, while inside I am pouncing on someone’s shortcomings.

Apparently this gentle heart doesn’t come naturally, at least not for me. I do believe it will come supernaturally as I allow myself to be led by the Spirit. But what can I do to cooperate in the process?

I’ve only come up with a couple things: One, start each day asking the Lord to help me to forgive others’ faults as he has forgiven mine. Ephesians 4:2 says, “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” Two, when tempted to speak harshly to my husband or 7-year-old daughter, I can take a few deep breaths and begin my sentence with a term of endearment. That sounds like a corny technique that doesn’t begin to tackle the iceberg below, but according to Proverbs 15:1, “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” Maybe the wrath that’s turned away will be mine.

Somehow I think God is chuckling at me for thinking My One Word is boring. I just hope He’s gentle with me.

Katy Davis came to Christ four years ago, with the extremely gentle guidance of her awesome husband and the body of believers at PC3. She is a freelance writer in the surreal world of advertising.

Whether we realize it or not, many of us spend our lives as orchestra conductors. We try our hardest to make all these random pieces of life come together to make beautiful, balanced music. Yet, before we know it, the percussion misses its queue by coming in to soon, and we quickly realize they can’t keep a beat. Their rhythm is off, and it causes all the other instruments to speed up: dance recital for your daughter, big proposal for the new client, picking your son up from football practice, quality time with your wife, bills that need to be paid, chores around the house, etc.

Rather than living life intentionally, most people end up responding to whatever comes their way just hoping to survive. Our lives are filled with what amounts to be distractions simply because everything else is allowed priority in our lives. We raise our kids, run our businesses and go through our lives holding our breath, crossing our fingers and hoping that somehow in the busyness of it all we will grow into reflecting Christ’s heart. This simply will not happen by chance.

It has been said that your life is perfectly designed to produce the results you are getting.  Like a well-oiled machine it achieves the characteristics and qualities you value. The way you orchestrate your life not only reflects what is important to you, but also shapes you into the person you are becoming. It makes sense that without any modifications to the status quo that the results at the end of the year will remain the same.

The question you must ask yourself is whether or not you are satisfied with the results that you are currently achieving? If the answer is no, then it might be time to do some life rearranging. The natural, normal pace of life won’t push you to spiritual formation. You will have to be intentional about creating margins for God to transform you through the lens of your one word.

The author of Psalm 119:5 knew that our natural direction was not towards God, which caused him to pray, “Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees!” This is a prayer yearning for God to help influence the direction of his life by being intentional with the days he was given. Today is the day the Lord has given to you. What are you going to do with what you have been given – pursuing wisdom and arranging your life for growth or letting life direct your steps towards busyness? The choice is yours.

During the month of February, the My One Word blog will be devoted to this idea of arranging your life to grow.  In order for life change to take root, it requires you to be intentional about your posture and the way you structure your days. The first step in this process is understanding where your priorities currently lay.

Questions & Exercises for Reflection

• Over the upcoming week, write out in detail how you spent each day in a planner (sleep, school/work, family, hobbies, television, volunteering, etc.). After coming to some conclusions about what you devote your time and energy towards, spend some time journaling your reflections on the following questions:  (1) What currently composes and consumes your schedule, world and life? Is your One Word getting pushed to the side even though you say it is a priority?  (2) In order to make your One Word form into your character, what will a typical day need to look like?

• SPIRITUAL, PHYSICAL, MENTAL/EMOTIONAL, PROFESSIONAL, RELATIONSHIPS, FAMILY — this is a list of areas in life where you should consider establishing a discipline. Using this list, come up with a tangible way that you can exercise your One Word (i.e. spiritual – spend 15 minutes each day journaling). Establishing a discipline in these areas of your life is a practical way to begin a path towards growth using your word this year.

Are you looking for a way to keep your word in front of you all year long? Register for a My One Word account! One of the key features of a MOW account is an online Word Journal that allows you to capture your thoughts to reflective questions like you see above. You can go back at any time to read your completed journals to see how God has been moving in your life through your word in 2010. If you already have an account, the questions from this blog have been posted to your Word Journal — log in to your account to start your Word Journal today!