2014: The Year of Intention{al}

This year's word found me a few weeks ago. It's one that I'm excited to dive into over the next year, but also a little scared about. I have a feeling it's going to ask much of me. My word is intention{al}. (Why the funny little {al} at the end? Because when I read the definitions of both intention and intentional, aspects of both words jumped out at me, so this is my way of including both.) : )

This past year I felt like I floundered in several areas. I floundered in several parenting areas due to being unprepared and backing down in areas when I should have been gearing up toward the more intense seasons of parenting that are here. Our homeschool floundered because I didn't do as diligent of a job in planning and preparing. My natural abilities in organization helped us get by, but that's where it stopped. Just at getting by. These are just a couple examples of areas that I'm going to mention, but overall, it was just my lack of not trying and working as hard as I could. Hard to say, but there it is.

When I looked up these two words in the dictionary (because that's where I always try to start) I found some eye-opening definitions:

intention:

- a thing intended, an aim or a plan. A determination to act a certain way.
- the healing process of a wound.
- the object for which a prayer, mass or pious act is offered.

intentional

- done in a way that was planned or intended.
- synonyms that caught my eye: purposeful, conscious, voluntary, deliberate

This year, I'm tightening the reins on myself and putting my nose to the grindstone (to throw in a few very well known and possibly overused cliches). : ) I want to be very intentional in how I spend my time over the next 12 months and I have some very intentional plans that I want to pursue. What does this look like?

:: This means I am going to be making plans and then actually break them down into how I am going to accomplish them. As opposed to making pretty plans and lists and then conveniently forgetting about them.
:: It means that I'm going to be very specific about what I do plan to do. Pam at Everyday Snapshots had a great post on this in regards to making goals (specifically homeschool ones) that you can accomplish. For example: less "read great books" and more "spend a year reading at least six books by C.S. Lewis."
:: This means there will be a lot less time wasted. How much time was spent this year endlessly following clicks on different pages or aimlessly checking social media because I didn't do what needed to be done. An embarrassing amount. I'm done with that nonsense.
:: Quality time with Travis, the kids, in what I choose to read as opposed to quantity. I spend lots of time with my kids (and Travis), but I'm encouraged and reminded that I still need to be very deliberate about quality time with them, as a group and individually.
:: Being intentionally and 100% present in our schooling. And encouraging myself to learn along with the kids.
:: There is going to be some healing involved over this year. What does this mean? With some of the choices that I made over the last 12 months to skim in some areas, there will need to be some retraining, correction, and new habits set. Things like this are rarely easy and I'm anticipating it will mean "cleaning out" of the old (wound) so that there is healing and new habits set in. I absolutely loved this word picture.
:: Prayer!! Without this, and laying my ideas and thoughts before God, I don't figure that all the planning in the world will produce much fruit.

This is just skimming the surface - I have so many thoughts bubbling in my head and am very, very excited (nervous!) about this year. I want to be 365 days from now and look back and say that I faced each day wisely and focused on what the Lord wanted me to accomplish in that place.

So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.

Psalm 90:12

2014. Bring it on.

You can read more about the One Little Word idea here. This is where I heard of it several years ago.

Previous year's words:
2013: Abide
2012: Here
2011: Serve
2009: Joy