I’m quite a bit more behind the curve with this year’s One Word than I was last year. My word last year was ‘engage’ and, whether intentionally or unintentionally, much of my life last year either reflected or was largely shaped by the essence of that word.
Going into 2012, I kept coming back to a word I hadn’t chosen, but which seemed to be choosing me.
This time last year, my friend Alece was kicking off the new year with an idea called One Word 2011 on her blog. The concept was simple: instead of a resolution, choose a word, “one word”, that you would strive to center your thoughts and actions around for the next 12 months. Though I had never done this before, I loved the idea and dove in head-first.
My word was “engage”. I can’t say I knew exactly what it would look like, it is just what seemed to be jumping out at me. So, ‘engage’ it was and off into 2011 I went.
Looking back, I can see how, sometimes intentionally, others unintentionally, the essence of the word ‘engage’ was consistently at the core of many areas of my life throughout 2011.
And just like that, here we are again.
Today is the 11th Anniversary of my 25th Birthday. Do the math. Celebrate good times, come on! I tend to bounce around in the introspective zone often, and what better time to do it than on your birthday.
While the past year has certainly been hard, I have seen God use relationships, situations and struggle to weave a tapestry of hope, redemption and purpose throughout the last 365 days of my life that leaves me amazed. The invitation and challenge through all of it has been to find hope in what looks hopeless, to find purpose disguised as adversity and to find life in what appears to be dead. It has not always been easy, and it was more often a choice than a feeling, but I have done that.
I recently came across this kinetic typography video by Peter Artemenko, featuring an excerpt of one of Timothy Keller’s sermons. I loved it!
After watching it a few times, I started hearing it against a beat of some kind. So I played around with it in iMovie for awhile and ended up with this… True & Better (The REMIX)… a 2 minute collision of TRUTH & THUMP. Keller goes street. Word to your mother.
Today’s guest post is from Kenny Silva. In addition to being a close, trusted friend, Kenny is a Nashville-area realtor who is also passionate about leadership coaching and development. You can learn more about Kenny on his blog and follow him on Twitter.
One day, I happened upon an apple tree in my back yard. Unfortunately, there were no apples on it. This was a shame as I’m sure it had the potential to produce some beautiful, wonderful apples. I wanted so desperately for that to happen, so I committed myself to making it grow those apples.
First, I went out and bought an apple tree manual. In that book, I found every bit of information about what makes an apple tree great. I thoroughly searched out every instruction on cultivating the ‘ideal’ apple tree. I trimmed the failing branches and pruned the ugly leaves, just like the book said.
Still, no apples.
