It's all over the blogging world - choosing one word to reflect on, act on for the coming year. I have seen the concept before and I like it but never gave it much thought beyond that. Until this year. Even friends outside the blogisphere are mentioning it and it really started rolling around in my head. The word I keep coming back to is this:
But as much as I kept coming back to that word, the word "INTENTIONAL" was beating on the door to my feeble mind, begging for attention too. These words seem really opposite to me, y'all. The first begs for me to do less, buy less, try less while the second implies that I need to do more, buy more or at least differently, try more. How the heck do I reconcile those words?!?!?
That's where the writing comes in handy. I went looking for images to go with this post (as a side note, simplify is one of those words that totally looks like a made up word if you look at it too long. Trust me.) Per His usual sneaky ways - God lead me to the answer. To use a definition coined by another blogger, SIMPLIFY is to eliminate those things we don't need or that may take away from the more important things in our lives. (Thanks to Emi at www.theclothdiaperreport.com).
WAIT - maybe simplifying can LEAD to being intentional. Huh. What if I simplify my life - saying no or goodbye to unneeded or less important things, activities, habits - and that allows me to be more intentional - saying yes to things, activities, habits which will bless and/or please me, my family and friends, God? Ummm, when I write it out like that it doesn't sound like a hard concept to grasp but it has alluded me for so long (um, like forever . . . ) so bear with my fumbling baby steps, OK?
I still have to figure out what simplifying will mean for me in 2014 but it feels good, right to get this out there now, where you guys can hold me accountable. So let's see where this journey takes me . . .
