Yes and Amen Blog: oh my word~

This *one word* idea is not a new one~

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(this is Ali Edwards wordle from her post about "one word")

The idea of one word has been around for a few years, and I love everything about it. It is an all-inclusive concept~ meaning it is open to all kinds of interpretation, all kinds of people with all kinds of beliefs/ideas. It isn't limited in anyway- anyone can participate. I think the concept is brilliant, it brings so many ideas/people /word fetishes together~ and it really works for me.

It is all about dealing with just "one word", just one...

With having done this study in words before, I know the craziness of that statement. Just one word?

The cool thing is how simple it makes things. A sweet little focal point in a chaotic world. It hones in on what is really going on in your heart, in your life, and for me the lessons have been profound and prophetic. The hardest part is getting past the mind's inner critic with the sweet little word unadulterated. The inner critic wants to wrap the mind around a word that "you think you should be working on" or one that "sounds like something I should do". I get caught up in that every year. I think the problem with listening to our messy heads is that we get trapped in our own idea of what we need. I have learned that I don't always know what I need~

But, I have learned to try to trust in God's knowing what I need~

Can I share my experience with you?

God seems to always be in front of me. He promises to prepare a way for me, and so to think that he is in control of my word (my world) for the year is a given...but it is still a trust issue. Do I trust God enough to turn this over to him? What kind of a word will he give me? What will it mean for me?

I pray simple prayers for the little word and then let the word come to me. This is honestly how it works for me. I read that it is how it seems to work for many others as well. I usually pray for my word and it unfolds in a manner of minutes/days. Last year it took weeks (because I didn't like my word), but this time it only took a day~

So, here it is...my simple word this year. LIVE.
(I don't know what it really means to me, but it resonates with my heart/mind/soul)

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I struggled so much last year to ~~come up with a word I wanted~~ to accept my word. I really wanted something uplifting and hopeful, instead my word was "hands". I didn't want it. I struggled with it for 3 weeks before making the decision to take it on. It haunted me with it's connotations of "work", "service", and "get it all done before bedtime". I didn't want a word that to me meant more work. I was so mistaken. It was a beautiful gift to me in so many ways. It grabbed me and led me deeply into my passion for photography, having a more "hands on" creative project in my life, and it brought me to the sheep ~my divine/hard work~ and validated that decision in my life. It also intensified my love of other peoples hands and work. A beautiful thing. I have pages in my notebook full of gifts from my "one word" and how it played such a significant role in my healing, learning, loving...

(This was a validation of my word...I found it on my birthday last February. I knew it was meant to be.)

So I trust this year will be the same.

Now for your experience. If you want to join in, DO, just find your word. Then let the little word take a front seat for a time. Write it out, speak it, define it, see how it relates to life right now, and then watch it grow, and soon enough (and I am so not kidding) the word will manifest itself all over the place.

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Did I ever tell you that *Yes* was my word one year? I started this words+pictures blog that year~