A Year of Adventure

I always thought that picking a single word to define an entire year was kind of silly. Looking back I can see that it’s because I didn’t want to take the time to really figure out ONE SINGLE WORD that I thought I could improve upon in life; I was fine being stuck in half-hearted contentedness and just figuring out the day to day. This year, though, I felt an urging – a calling if you will – to do something different. To try to define my wish for this year in terms that are simple and applicable to every area of my life. And so I chose this phrase:

LET’S BE ADVENTURERS.

Here’s the thing: I don’t think that picking a word or a phrase will in and of itself change the entire course of a year if I don’t put it into practice every day. And I chose it not because it’s conveniently in a cute little typographic image on the Over app, but rather because it’s something that I need to employ in every area of my life. It’s a phrase that can sum up every moment of my day, choosing the adventure and leaving the mundane ordinary behind. Sometimes I need the mundane ordinary in order to rest, but I want to strive to do something adventurous once a day.

My idea of adventure may vary based on the topic, but I hope to take bold and adventurous steps in the following areas:

• In marriage. Staying away from the things we’ve always done that don’t work; working together and ignoring the world that says we can do all the things apart. I want to do all the things together, to embody teamwork and make bold + adventurous decisions when we can.
• In motherhood. For me this usually means throwing the to-do list and schedule aside and letting Wes pick what we do. It means saying “OK” to walking off the trail, to climbing the big slide, to letting him take those baby steps out of my control and into learning how to be a man, one day at a time.
• In womanhood. This basically means stepping out of my comfy workout clothes and getting ready for the day. Showering. Fixing my hair a little. Putting on makeup if there’s time. Not letting my schedule or position as mommy define the way I look and ultimately the way I see myself.
• In writing. I hinted at it yesterday, but there are some big steps happening around here for me. It’s time. I’m going for it. And I’m more than scared, but wholeheartedly at peace as well. This is an adventure for sure!
• In eating. More big changes here. I’m not looking to get skinny, but I am looking to move away from the comfort of unhealth and find a new happy place in creating healthy habits for myself and for our family. In a world (and in an industry) that’s laden with cookies and cake and fries and all those yummy things I’m finding more and more that it’s going to be adventurous for us to find a new way to live and eat.
• Most importantly in faith. I was listening to “The Voice of Truth” by Casting Crowns yesterday in the car. It was one of those simple moments, the sun setting behind us as we drove home from the grocery store. No agenda, no searching heart, just a mom and her boy breathing in the sunset together. And then I heard the line, “then the voice of truth says ‘This is for My glory” and it just hit home. It’s all for Him. All for God. All for the One who gave it all. If giving everything I have for someone else’s glory isn’t an adventure, then I don’t know what is. So ultimately my prayer is that God is seen in everything I say/do/write. It’s all His anyway!

I didn’t really plan on doing a resolution post you guys – but I want to be able to look back and see that I set a goal and then see, daily, that it’s being fulfilled. That God is giving me the energy and the presence to live it out. So 2014 – here goes nothing!