Tag Archives: focus

A Yearly Theme or Word Instead of Resolutions

A Yearly Theme Instead of Resolutions title image

A Yearly Theme or Word Instead of Resolutions

It’s that time of year when many people set New Year’s Resolutions. Getting a fresh start and taking inventory or assessment (like we discussed here) are not bad ideas. It’s good to take time to rejoice over victories and lessons learned while still seeking out areas needing growth and improvement. A time for personal inventory and new commitments can be important in your accountability to the Lord. We can see many examples throughout scripture where people set apart time for personal reflection.

However, as I’ve mentioned in previous years, I usually like to come up with a yearly theme or word instead of writing resolutions. I have found this to be a lot more powerful, effective, and productive both personally and especially spiritually. I originally got this idea from a Bible devotional that I read on my YouVersion Bible app, called “One Word That Will Change Your Life”. It was a quick, simple 4-day reading plan. This has changed how I usually approach the new year now, and my focus on a yearly theme tends to last all year as opposed to a fleeting, failing, or temporary resolution.

“Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the LORD.” Lamentations 3:40 (NIV)

“So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do.” 2 Thessalonians 1:11 (NLT)

Take Some of the Following Practical Steps to Pick a Yearly Theme or Word and Then Focus on it Over the Year:

Continue reading

A Yearly Theme Instead of Resolutions

A Yearly Theme Instead of Resolutions title image

A Yearly Theme Instead of Resolutions

It’s that time of year when many people set New Year’s Resolutions. Getting a fresh start and taking inventory or assessment (like we discussed last week) are not a bad idea. It’s good to take time to rejoice over victories and lessons learned while still seeking out areas needing growth and improvement. A time for personal inventory and new commitments can be important in your accountability to the Lord. We can see many examples throughout scripture where people set apart time for personal reflection.

However, as I’ve mentioned in previous years, I usually like to come up with a yearly theme or word instead of writing resolutions. I have found this to be a lot more powerful, effective, and productive both personally and especially spiritually. I originally got this idea from a Bible devotional that I read on my YouVersion Bible app, called “One Word That Will Change Your Life”. It was a quick, simple 4-day reading plan. This has changed how I usually approach the new year now, and my focus on a yearly theme tends to last all year as opposed to a fleeting, failing, or temporary resolution.

“Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the LORD.” Lamentations 3:40 (NIV)

“So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do.” 2 Thessalonians 1:11 (NLT)

Take Some of the Following Practical Steps to Pick a Yearly Theme and Then Focus on it Over the Year:

Continue reading

One Word for the Year

One Word for the Year

One Word for the Year

We’re currently mid-January of 2020. Statistically, within the next couple of weeks nearly half of people who made New Year’s Resolutions will have already broken them. Honestly, I haven’t done “official” resolutions for quite some time now, much for that reason. Instead for the past several years, I’ve approached the New Year in a different way. I come up with one word, kind of a theme word, to focus on for the year.

The idea is to come up with a one word vision to focus on for the entire year. I got the idea from a bible devotional that I read on my YouVersion Bible app, called “One Word That Will Change Your Life”. It was a quick, simple 4-day reading plan. “Change your life” was a bit of a dramatic claim. I can’t say I experienced any life-altering evolutions, but subtle changes, yes. I’m a firm believer that lasting change happens little by little anyway. However, it truly did change how I approached the New Year, and my focus truly did last all year as opposed to a fleeting and failing resolution.

How does a person pick their word for the year? Ideally, God will reveal your word to you as opposed to you just randomly picking one. However, I think that even if you struggle with determining if your “one word” is truly divinely inspired (as I did one year) or even if you just pick a word that seems good, I believe that God will work with that to teach, grow, mold, and change you over the year. Try to listen for God to speak to you about your word.

How I came up with my one word each year

Continue reading

Do You Have Your Theme Word for the Year?

Do You Have Your Theme Word for the Year?

Do You Have Your Theme Word for the Year?

Last year I wrote a post on coming up with one word or a theme word for the year. This is what I do each year instead of New Year’s resolutions. The idea is to come up with a theme word, preferably one that God reveals to us, that we will focus on for the year. The process to come up with our theme word consists of evaluating the previous year, spending some time in prayer asking God for direction, listening to God and paying attention during quiet times and bible readings, and looking for anything that stands out or has a pattern or repetition. Through this process (which could take a couple of days up to a couple of weeks), a word is revealed, and that sets our course and focus for the upcoming year.

Today I thought I’d share this recent process for me to hopefully give you a practical, tangible example of what that looked like in action for me.

First I started the reading plan again

Each year, I go through the 4-day devotional reading plan on the YouVersion Bible app, called “One Word That Will Change Your Life”. This plan gives more in depth instructions, daily meditation verses, and guidance on deciding my one word or theme word. I could probably do without the plan at this point, but it’s nice to have a step-by-step guide or plan to fall back on. I actually started this on New Year’s Eve this time which is a little earlier than usual for me.

I went in thinking that I probably wouldn’t come up with my word right away and especially not in the four days it would take to go through the reading plan. Primarily I believed this because that’s what happened last year! It took me a couple of weeks to really “find” my word because I really wanted to be led by God instead of just picking a word (even though that probably would have been just fine). Surprisingly, I settled on my theme word this year in just 3 days.

Lessons from the previous year

I’ve shared before that I’m big on journaling and taking notes, especially during quiet times and study times. So this step is fairly easy for me because I have my journal to look back on. I took some time to flip through and scan the pages from the previous year. As I did, I wrote down some of the lessons I learned. Here were a few of the things I wrote down…

  • Give up! Give up trying to do and control things myself and hand the reigns over to God. Let God do the work—When I am weak, He is strong.
  • Peace with change and new things (in new relationships, in transitions from losing old relationships, in the face of job changes and the possibility of relocation, etc.).
  • Rest, relax, refresh. More time (i.e. downtime) for myself. I did LOTS of book reading this year for the first time in a LONG time. I’m learning to become more laid-back and less rigid and structured all the time.
  • Learning new ways to pray and do spiritual battle (training and preparation for a prayer team I was on). I had so many answered prayers in this specific area.
  • Many “back-to-basics” moments where I had to go back to what I’ve done before in times of struggle.
  • More loving view of unbelievers and sinners…seeing them in new ways, seeing them the way God sees them, and becoming less judgmental and condemning of them.
  • LOTS of removal of pride, lots of humbling.
  • Stepping out of comfort zone in several areas.
  • 2018 was a preparation year…nothing really big or major or difficult…I feel like it was maybe preparation stuff.

Looking at my previous theme word and how it played out over the previous year

Continue reading

Keep Your Eyes and Focus on Jesus

Keep Your Eyes and Focus on Jesus

Keep Your Eyes and Focus on Jesus

It’s easy to lose spiritual focus and get distracted when things don’t seem to be going our way. It’s especially true when we see or experience injustices, trouble, unethical behavior or wrongdoing. However, the Bible encourages us that even, and especially in those times, we should keep our focus and our eyes fixed on Jesus.

God has been showing me some of that lately. I tend to get more frustrated and discouraged when I rely on myself and my own strength instead of remembering that I have a God that will give me the strength I need to handle and endure anything that comes my way if I’ll just look to him.

Sometimes things just get under our skin so much that we forget about God’s role and ability in the whole process. For example, state budget cuts and administrative changes have completely affected education where I live. I teach at a local community college, and we’ve experienced some significant negative effects as well.

Take this upcoming semester, for instance…

In my department alone, over half of the classes have been canceled, instructors are receiving fewer teaching assignments but still have increased workloads, and a tremendous amount of autonomy has been eliminated. It’s super frustrating for both professors and students alike. I had a class canceled this semester, and a good friend of mine did as well, even though she was guaranteed a certain number of classes in return for some uncompensated work that she did.

In these situations it’s extremely easy to focus on the injustice. It’s easy to spend time stewing and trying to think of ways that we can make things right, change our circumstances, and/or make people see the error of their ways. What I should be doing instead is just focusing on God and the things that are in my control. I have to choose to shift my focus from the negative to God. 

Park’s tree

Continue reading