My One Word for 2014



Happy New Year.....2014! A fresh new year is right in front of us. A few years ago I decided to stop setting new years resolutions and instead choose one word to focus on for the year. You can read about it under the tab My Story. This past year was filled with twists and turns as well as so many wonderful life experiences for my family. Our oldest daughter, Emily, graduated from the University of Florida with high honors, I ran my first marathon, Mark competed in several Triathlons, our youngest daughter, Katie,  graduated from the College of Central Florida, we cheered on Emily as she ran her first half marathon and then finally we helped Emily transition to Las Vegas where she accepted a position at Central Christian as the Associate Director of Communications & Branding www.centralonline.tv. Whew.....and those are just a few of the highlights. Emily and Katie decided to road trip out to Vegas so they left on New Years Eve. That was one of the hardest moments for us, to watch the girls drive away and know that life will never be the same. As we stood in the kitchen, all for of us in tears, we told the girls we will always be Team Cummins we will just be in different places...Multi-site:)! We prayed for protection and guidance and His peace to fill us. Then the girls drove away and Mark and I found ourselves sitting in front of the fireplace, not really able to speak or move for several hours. I finally opened up my journal and I began to write out my thoughts & feelings. I knew I needed a Word for this year more than ever.

 

My one word for 2014 is Focus. This will be a very different year for me....I have never been here before. The landscape of my life is changing with Emily out west and Katie charting her course. It will be easy for me to drift.....drift in my thoughts, to old patterns, in my eating & exercise habits, to drift into depression & just want to stay in bed. My life just looks different & feels different.

Focus - I need to think on what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think on these things. (Phil 4) I need to focus on God and trust His Word, Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer & petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. He still has a plan for my life. To focus on an incredible future. To focus on trying new things & achieving new goals.

 

One word is sticky and memorable. It gives clarity & a laser focus throughout the year. It will stretch you spiritually, physically, mentally, relationally, emotionally & financially. By living a single word that is meant just for you, you'll find a renewed purpose & meaning throughout the year. Instead of coming up with a list of things "to do" choose one word "to be" and then let God transform you from the inside out. It will change your life!



Visit www.GetOneWord.com where you can read stories of others on this same journey.

Send me your One Word for 2014 Linda@hopeinocala.com. I would love to hear your story!

A new chapter in My Story

I have been in church and around more people who know what I believe most of my life so it is easy to talk about my relationship with Christ. Turning 44 this year I wanted to do something that would be a "mile marker" or a "memorial stone" of my journey with Christ. Jesus has changed my life in the past few years, so much that my family would say I am not the same person that I was when we moved to Florida. I wanted to do something that would open
the door of sharing my faith with a converstion starter and then I also wanted something to remind me of what Christ means to me.
So on my birthday, the girls went with me to get a Tatoo.....yes you read that right a Tatoo! I have thought about it all year. I knew I wanted to get a word in Latin written on my wrist but I also knew it would be permanant so I prayed and asked God to show me what the word should be. I began making my list of words that would express my "story" naturally, I read scriptures and I kept it in my prayer journal. I kept comming back to the words I get to choose
Every day we make choices.....we choose how we are going to live our lives, what we will say with our words, who we will touch with our lives, if we will love, forgive, be kind....we get to choose how we respond to life. Because Christ chose to give his life for me I get to choose how I am going to live it for His glory. I wanted the second half of my life to make a greater difference for Him, to live intentionally.
Here I am getting a Tatoo at 44!The coolest thing was going with Emily and Katie and sharing this experience with them. To hear them say, they are proud of me as their mom for stepping out and taking a risk, to not worry about what people think but follow after.....chase after God.....to express my relationship with Him as the most important and do something that is "out of my comfort zone" for me!

God has changed me so much in the past few years. (and thankfully He continues to change me) My natural self would rather choose to have it my way, all about me & be the center of attention. There are times when I would rather harbor a grudge or nurse a hurt rather than let it go and forgive. I have thought that by choosing to hold on to the hurt or even the bad thoughts
I would be hurting them back but in reality I am only hurting myself. I end up blocking my communication with God. The only thing in this life I get to control is my attitude....my reponse and I get to choose! When I choose God's way, He blesses and honors that choice with more and more of His presence in my life. Jesus didn't tell the disciples to follow the crowd, follow their hearts, or follow what seems to be right according to the present circumstances. He simply said, "Follow me"....Matthew 4:19.

We only become different when we are following him!

Matthew 16:24-25 - If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself/herself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.

The Latin word, eligere, means "to choose". This is a permanant reminder that Christ chose to give His life for me and I get to choose every day to live my life for Him!