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Jan
It’s All About Moving Forward
We were hanging out by the pool and I was about to leave, and so she hugged me, but we didn’t immediately pull apart. As we stood there holding each other, strangely not feeling awkward—maybe that’s just because we’d known each other ten years, so what’s a minute of hugging in a decade of friendship?—she called us nerds. I replied by asking to kiss her.
She asked if we could talk about it, and I said sure. Then I leaned forward and I kissed her.
It lasted only a moment—one of those moments that seem to last forever—followed talking for the next many moments. And then, after another kiss, I went home.
I’d mounted up on wings like eagles, and baby, I was soaring.
Two years and much prayer later, I married her—also with her permission—and now, a year and a half later, we’ve made it something like five times longer than half of celebrity marriages.
All of that is a sorta cheesy way of introducing my word this year: forward. Without that first step, that first kiss and that first conversation, terrifying and intense as it might have been, maybe we never get married.
I have visions and dreams. There are things I know I want to do, things I have wanted to do for a long time, that I just haven’t yet, or that I’ve started and stopped a half-dozen different times. One thing about life: it just goes nonstop.
Having grown up in a Christian family and Christian school, I know to rely on God and all that. I try, but since I’m human, and as such, just hopeless by default, I get distracted because there is a deadline to meet and a project to finish and a dog to feed—and a couple hours later, clean up after—and, basically, life to live.
And with all that and everything else life demands, it’s plenty easy to forget God. Those dreams and visions aren’t just there randomly. Well, some are. Like the ones after we eat pizza before bed. But you know what I’m talking about. Those dreams that don’t go away, that make us tremble with anticipation and wonder. What if?
But we’ve got to chase them. If we don’t, we’ll never know why we dreamed them at all.
I’m passionate about telling great stories, and I’ve long had a vision of what that meant. Some of it I’ve reached, and some of it I can’t pursue yet … but some of it I can, and just haven’t. That’s going to become my big project this year. I’ve committed this year to, well, moving forward. And so that makes this year about walking out in faith and pure faith alone, knowing that, though there is much potential, there is no guarantee.
That’s trusting God. What’s funny is how I’ve trusted Him before, and though terrified and completely unsure of where whatever I was doing at the time was taking me, when I got there, there was no more doubt. And yet each time a new dream arises, I find myself still doubting. But acting and believing in spite of doubt—that’s faith.
The cliché says we take a leap of it, trusting God to catch us.
Only, I don’t think my leap is about getting caught. I think my leap is about learning how to fly. We’ve all had that dream, to fly. And yeah, I’d like to fly.
Only thing about flying: it requires I dare to leave the ground. Eagles never soar standing still.
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, SI.com, and Our State (NC) mag, in additional to myriad regional publications. He blogs about great stories, marriage, life, and his and his wife’s ridiculous Jack Russell Terrier at brandonsneed.com.
Jan
Refine Your Search
Having painted a picture of the person you want to be at the end of 2011, your natural tendency will be to haphazardly hang the still-wet canvas on the wall and start along the path of transformation. Yet, this reaction will have you running in a thousand different directions because numerous godly characteristics make up the person you desire to become. By attempting to instill each virtue all at once, the likelihood is you’ll quickly burnout and be frustrated when all of them do not take root.
Instead of letting the wet paint run and blur your vision for change, you must take the time to narrow your focus. When you invest time and energy into developing a certain aspect of yourself, it will positively effect and spill over to other areas of your character. To help refine your search, examine a few scriptures that speak of virtues that have the potential to become your One Word.
- Read the scripture passages found above. What are some words found in these passages that resonate with you? Why do you seem to be drawn to these words?
- Write down the words that, to this point, have stuck with you. Keep these words in highly visible places (bathroom mirror, bible, car dashboard, refrigerator, workspace, etc.) so you will be able to wrestle with them throughout the upcoming days.
FOR THOSE THAT HAVE ALREADY PICKED THEIR WORD FOR 2011
Your one word provides a lens not only to see your life and what God wants to do through you, but it also allows you to view and respond to your circumstances differently. Rather than just responding to life, you are proactively looking for ways to put your word into action. Keeping your eyes focused on God is the key to being formed into His image, because what you see determines the direction you go.
- In what ways are you going to use your word as a lens through which you will view life, God and your circumstances?
So far, we’ve talked about your hopes as well as the fears you have regarding change. Today we want to confront the tension you will experience as you begin your pursuit of your One Word. We’d love to hear your response to the following question: In what places are you already feeling tension and resistance to your One Word?
Jan
Wardrobe Changes
Being a father of two young daughters, my house is the definition of pinkalicious. Everywhere I turn I am confronted with something girlie. My life is consumed with tea parties, fairies and Barbie’s. This exposure has affected me to the point where I randomly blurt out Disney Princess tunes and, sadly, know more about American Girl dolls than any man should.
I’ve come to accept this as my plight in life and the reality is I wouldn’t trade it for all the money in the world. Yet, I have friends who are becoming fathers of little girls for the first time. On occasion, I like to give them a few tokens of wisdom from my years of experience nurturing those who are made of sugar and spice and everything nice. Of course, this insight includes: show her affection, be her biggest cheerleader, watch your tone of voice because they are delicate and make time for her at all costs.
Then there is the piece of advice I tack on at the end: oh yeah, be prepared for a lot of wardrobe changes. When my oldest entered kindergarten, she switched her outfit at least fives time daily before heading off to school. However, this past Halloween the fickleness about outfits reached a level never seen before. I lost track of how many costumes were in the running.
At one time or another our girls were going to be Ariel, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Alice in Wonderland, Dorothy, Minnie Mouse, or Wendy Darling (Peter Pan). The outfits weren’t just of the cartoon variety because a ballerina, ice skater, fish, pirate and veterinarian were also considered.
But, their struggle to figure out who they wanted to be is far from a unique phenomenon solely reserved for little girls contemplating outfits. The reality is very few of us pause and consider the type of person we want to become. Even within our resolutions, our focus tends to reside on escaping the individual of the past as well as the person we fear we will remain. We are well aware of the negative qualities that person possesses.
So, why you might ask, did we encourage you a few days ago to take inventory on where you’ve been and the person you currently are? Quite simply, it begins the process towards change by identifying your starting point. Taking the time to reflect on the past year in hopes of carving out a better future has the ability to halt you in your tracks. Coming face to face with the unpleasant gaps in your character and personality is not always a pretty picture.
Today we turn our attention to a different picture. This is a picture that propels you forward. Rather than attempting to avoid the person you were or stopping a negative behavior, we want you to begin painting a picture of the person you want to become at the end of 2011. This image must go deeper than outward appearances by focusing on the changes that need to take place deep inside your soul.
- Take a few moments and journal about the type of person you want to be at the end of 2011. How would you want this person to be described? What are some characteristics that would define this person? For those who have already chosen your One Word, what effect do you hope this word will have on your character? How will you have to posture yourself to make that change a reality?
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!