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Jan
2011: A Year For Growth
There’s something about My One Word that no one ever talks about and it’s with good reason; the truth would stifle us. The reality is so overwhelming that it would keep us from ever getting started.
And yet – for me at least – I feel it’s time to acknowledge the pink elephant in the room. Here goes: This month you are not picking a word to get you through the rest of the year. It’s much bigger than that. You will actually have to live with it for the rest of your life.
Talk about commitment issues!
It’s not like you can spend the next 365 days working on patience, only to become impatient next year. What’s the point of being compassionate in 2011, if you adopt an “every man for himself” attitude in 2012? You can’t spend the next 12 months trying to be humble, and then on the stroke of midnight on next New Year ’s Eve, brag about how well you did.
All of this is on my mind because I now realize that my previous words must play a role in the selection process this month. Whatever I choose for 2011 must further the change and transformation that has already taken place. The new word has to stand on the shoulders of those that have already come before it.
The first year I picked “failure.” Yes, it’s a strange word, but I was one of those guys who was so afraid of failing that at times I didn’t even try. As a new believer it seemed like I had a new identity that would be there no matter the outcome. Winning or losing was no longer the sum of who I was. So in 2007 I embraced failure, didn’t pursue it, but embraced it. Bring it on!
A few years later I wanted to address another major issue in my life. My mind was never in the present. I was always living somewhere in the future, sometimes worrying about it and other moments celebrating a great event that was years away. Some guys struggle with living in the glory days of the past. Whether you’re looking backward or forward it’s all the same sin…because you’re not living in the now. And so in 2009 and I choose the word “moment.”
Those two words are still with me today and will play a huge role in the year to come. In 2011 my word is going to be “seed.” It’s comes from the line:“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed” (Matthew 13:31-32). Jesus, by the way, also compared it to yeast. But who wants to put “yeast” on the mirror or the dashboard?
Either way the notion is if you give God something small He can build it into something huge. The seed becomes the tree big enough to house birds. The yeast becomes the loaf of bread large enough to feed the family.
In the first 4 years of my walk the focus was on my own root system. This past year God has revealed, through not the most pleasant of circumstances, that a foundation is now in place. Certainly there are areas that need to be refortified, but a structure is there. And now – for the first time – I can afford to look above the surface.
2011 is for planting seeds: in relationships, in acts of faith, through any talents or gifts and certainly through evangelism or witnessing. This year I am going to offer up something small, and then sit back and see what God will do with it.
To be sure “failure” has a role in all this. Some of the seeds will not bloom. I know that. Perhaps most of them won’t. But when they do, those few that survive, the first sign of growth – that “moment” – will be celebrated not for what it may become but for what it is. The word “seed” demands me to live in the now.
I am sure “seed” will help transform me, and I know it will be a part of my life long after 2011 is gone.
Jan
Response to a Word
Approaching the fifth year of PC3’s “My One Word” experiment, I already had a couple words wrestling in my mind as we turned the corner into 2011. And I was getting all too sure about one in particular—until God waved the flag of a completely different word in front of me.
I knew it was my word because it made me uncomfortable. I’ve found that’s how it typically works, at least for me. (After all, making the changes necessary to become the person we want to be rarely comes easy…)
I had been set on “authentic.” I really liked this word. I’d been thinking a lot about spiritual formation, and it occurred to me that God created me exactly as I am, with purposeful design, and He is the one doing the work inside to make me, well, spiritually formed. If I’m ever striving to be someone I’m not, if I’m ever painting pretty pictures instead of being transparent about who I am, then I’m not allowing Him to work with the real me that He created. I’m creating a roadblock to spiritual formation without even knowing it. This word would be a reminder for me to just be real—at all times, in all circumstances. It would also incorporate a quest toward a more authentic relationship with Christ and even a more authentic relationship with my husband. Right on, word! You rock!
This was all well and good until the annual My One Word sermon.
Mike casually mentioned that he and his wife chose a singular word this year, collectively, to promote the “oneness” in their marriage—and that’s when it hit me. Not necessarily that I want Trey and I to share a word (as an English major, writer, and former editor, sharing words is a whole new level of oneness we’re just gonna have to work on). But I realized that my words have always been about me, the kind of person I wanted to become or the things I needed to focus on to reach a particular destination of character. And while that is, to a degree, the point of all this, it made me reflect that for the first time, this year, my identity includes being a wife. And that involves another person. That involves working on who I want to be in light of the fact that “I” am now a part of this new entity that God established on our wedding day in 2010.
Thoughts reeling, the Proverbs 31 “wife of noble character” came to mind. Should my word be “noble”? Whoa. Easy, tiger… OK, what about “submit,” the primary role of the wife that we learned about in premarital counseling? Through this process of me trying to design my word is precisely when God’s oven dinged, and He served me this hot little word prepared especially for me: “respond.”
Something clicked, and that was it. As a biblical concept, men were designed to initiate and women to respond. The husband’s role is that of leadership, the wife’s is that of a helper. Looking toward this first full year of marriage, who I want to strive to become is the wife that God intends me to be. (Authentically, no less.) This includes keeping myself in a position to respond. To trust in my husband’s spiritual leadership and his leadership of the two of us in general.
“Respond” also encompasses my walk with God. When there is something He asks me to do, when He puts a calling on my life—how do I respond? Do I respond at all? Do I respond only on my terms? Or do I respond with trust, obedience and gratitude—no matter what? So far in this journey is a truth I have landed on, a board in the water on which I have planted two hopeful feet: If I truly trust His authority in my life, if I maintain an authentic relationship with Him, I have no choice but to respond. It can be a scary thing, committing one’s submission to God’s guidance (…like when He gives you a word you hope He doesn’t rock your world with). But I know there will be spiritual formation in the process. And I can’t wait to see what He asks of me in 2011.
—Emily Glenham
Jan
Messy House
As far as I can tell, only one downside exists from going on vacation and that would be the chaos you return to when you get home. Lost in the excitement to go on your journey, little thought is often given to the current state of your house. It isn’t until you open the front door a week or so later that you come face to face with the messy reality. To make matters worse, your luggage, dirty laundry and mementos you collected along the way only add to the clutter.
Maybe it is just me, but I don’t do well with a house in transition. To put things in perspective, it’s January 3rd and my house is just now getting back to order after the Christmas vacation rush. I remember coming home to chaos all around me and not knowing where to begin. It literally halted me in my tracks. I felt paralyzed. Part of me wanted to figure out a way to live in the midst of the chaos and ignore the reality of work that stood before me.
I’m pretty sure some of you are experiencing those same types of emotions in regards to picking one word to define you in 2011. The idea of narrowing your focus to one aspect of your character which needs improvement can be an intimidating venture. After all, in your mind there are numerous bad habits, character flaws and struggles that demand your attention. However, fight the urge to push the disengage button. It is better to do something about one thing than nothing about everything.
Just like tackling a messy house, you need to start somewhere. When it comes to the process of deciding what your word will be, the first step towards growth is to take inventory on the past year and see where God has moved in your life. Before moving forward, one must look backwards. Take a few moments to reflect on the following questions:
- Do you feel that in the past year you have progressed or regressed in your relationship with Christ? What shortcomings have you observed in your character over the past year?
- What emotions and baggage are you bringing into the New Year?
- If someone were to ask what God had taught you this past year, how would you answer them? If you were honest, would your response be just lip service?
FOR THOSE THAT HAVE ALREADY PICKED THEIR WORD FOR 2011
We know that there will be some of you that have put the wheels in motion towards growth and have already selected your One Word. It encourages us to know that you see the benefit of this experiment and we are excited to see how God will shape you through this experience. Utilize these first few blog posts to find your pace. Each post will include an exercise or question to prepare you for the journey.
Today’s exercise is a reminder to anchor your One Word with God’s word. If scripture is not the basis for our change, this experiment will be nothing more than a practice of our fragile human ability to evoke change in our lives apart from God. When times get tough and discouragement sets in, you can keep going back to the truth found in these verses for reassurance and reflection.
- If you haven’t done so already, take a few moments to select a few core verses that inspire and support your word.
Regardless of whether you’ve picked your word or not, the truth is we all have apprehensions about the road the lies ahead of us. We’d love to hear your response to the following question: What are your fears about picking a single word that defines you in 2011?