Welcome back to my blog for the latest One Little Word blog hop! Today, we'll be sharing our September assignments (or wherever we are in the process) and some of us will be talking about how our word has been speaking to us this year.
If you're not familiar with the One Little Word concept, you can check it out here and join in any time. It's almost time to be thinking about our words for 2012. (I actually have a little list started...)
You'll find a list of all those participating in the hop today at the bottom of this post, as well as links to all the participants. So, thanks for stopping by and enjoy the ride...here we go!
Our assignment for September was to look over our past assignments/writings/thoughts and to choose a battle. That meaning to go ahead and FOCUS on one thing and begin making steps towards accomplishment. And, along with this, we were to let go of one thing as well. To give up one thing in an effort to lighten our load. I so appreciated this concept. My word is, in fact focus, and, again, I really found it speaking to me in this assignment. There was a lot of writing for September, so I'll just let the words that I've already written speak for themselves. Here are my thoughts on my word thus far into the journey (specifically, the bottom paragraph below): (click on any image to enlarge)
So, what battle did I decide to "fight" for and what will my first step be? Again, my words below:
I think I've chosen wisely. :)
And, alas, here is the battle that I've decided to give up (for now, anyway):
At the beginning of 2011, I knew that I would be having my second hip replacement (bad hips, man!) sometime in the future. I saw my ortho doc in July and we tentatively set a date for the surgery for January of 2012. As soon as my husband and I got in the car, though, we quickly realized that if we just canceled one little getaway, I could have my surgery as soon as September, or even late August. And that's what we did. My surgery was August 30th. All of that to say that by putting that plan into action, not only was my summer cut short, but the remainder of this year became something entirely different that I had envisioned it. SO - many things have been given up at this point.
So, as I looked over all my goals for 2011 and all the many things I thought I was going to focus on, the assignment this month and the rehabilitation I'm in the midst of has really all come together to guide me to this ultimate decision of what I really choose to focus on right now at this point in my life. As my summary writing above mentioned, there really is nothing more important to me than keeping my focus on my relationship with God; really nurturing that and making it a priority to nurture it. I truly feel that if I do that, all else will fall into place. I still want to simplify my home, I still want to get fit. I still want to nurture friendships, send cards, get my cleaning system in order, etc. But I love that all the planets have aligned and are pointing me to the fact that focus, for me, must mean to keep my attention concentrated on one thing.
So, thanks Ali. This has been an important lesson for me. :)
While focusing my attention on my relationship with God, I have had a little time while recuperating to broaden my horizens in the area of art journaling. I was encouraged by, actually, a fellow "one little word-er", to try my hand at sketching and adding color. This is my very first attempt, so don't laugh. :) But I thought I'd share with you the teeny little journal page I made. What you can only barely see is all my thought-driven journaling in white, because it sort of melted into the color. I really like that, though, because it's really just for me. It adds an artsy feel to the little drawing, but still remains my own private thoughts. :) Here it is:
Thanks for hanging out with me for a little while. Here is the promised linked list of participants. Next up is
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