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One Little Word 2014: Determination

- Mama 4 Comments

I’ve talked about One Little Word here before, about this time last year. A trend in the scrapbooking world started by Ali Edwards, One Little Word (or OLW) has branched out far past the initial One Little Word year, the initial project.

Last year, I’ll remind you, I chose the word Capture. Essentially, by choosing that word, I wanted to learn about that word, and then use that word as an inspiration for the things I would do in 2013. I feel like I accomplished that greatly. When I look back at 2013, I photographed more. I wrote more posts. I scrapbooked more. I printed more photo albums. I lived more to provide more things to capture. I detailed more events and more life happenings both on AND off this blog. I feel good about that.

As 2013 comes to a close, I’m realizing that OLW isn’t necessarily a word that follows you for the year. It’s a word that can follow you for life. I know that, as 2014 opens, I’ll continue to have Capture in my mind. I believe if you practice the One Little Word you select, truly practice it, not just pick it at the beginning of the year, then I think it is something that will be a part of your life long-term. Some words will fade over time, obviously, but others will stick with you.

I knew I wanted to go in a different direction for my One Little Word 2014. While my 2013 word was fairly broad (after all, capture can mean more than just photograph or write), I wanted something that would cover all of my goals for 2014. And, well, I have several of them. I have some Bible studies I’m going to be working on, focusing on in 2014, and those were very influential in selecting my OLW.

I chose Determination.

(Layout created using Nettio Designs Goal-Tastic 2013 Template, and Erica Zane’s Fresh Start, both available from SweetShoppeDesigns.com)

I was recently working on a lesson out of my Made To Crave Bible Study I’m working on, a study from Lysa TerKeurst of Proverbs31 ministries. She talked about determination, not self-determination, but true Holy Spirit determination that happens when you get God’s support in your goals and lean on him. Her comment was mostly motivated about food struggles, talking about how she would use cravings as an opportunity to pray instead of eat. However, I think they reply to anything you’re setting your mind to. If it’s something that is pure and holy, and if you’re using it as an opportunity to pray, and asking the Holy Spirit to give you determination, then you can achieve it. I have no doubt in my mind about it. It may still take a lot of time and effort (prayer alone won’t make you drop 6 pant sizes… healthy eating and exercise in conjunction with prayer can, though).

I found myself having so many goals for 2014. I don’t want to use the word resolutions, because resolutions are rarely kept. Goals are something that have a specific, measurable outcome and a time frame. Some things, of course, are easier to measure than others, but they’ll all be something where I can see changes in my life, and the others around me should be able to see them, too, if I’m doing it right.

For 2014, I need Holy Spirit determination to help me, and I’m determined to achieve my goals when it comes to losing weight, being less moody, dedicating more quality time in my relationships, with my son, my boyfriend, and my parents and brother. I am also determined to be more organized, both in my home and in my work. While I won’t share my full, specific, measurable goals in this post, that gives you an idea of the things I’m hoping to achieve this year.

All of these things take Determination. I can’t think of a better umbrella word for them– determination is what’s needed to make it happen. True Holy Spirit determination, that is.

 

 

Do you have a One Little Word for 2014? Are you going to focus on anything specific to get you through your year? What are you hoping to achieve in 2014? Any goals or resolutions? Share them in the comments below!

One Little Word 2013: Capture (Continued)

- Mama 2 Comments

I said at the beginning of the year that the word I wanted to focus on the most was Capture. I felt like there were so many little moments that I missed, so many things that weren’t making it into the family photo albums or being remembered or reflected upon.

I have been trying so hard to be really conscious of this effort at the moment, making sure to take daily snapshots of what life is like. I didn’t want to look through Zach’s albums when he grew up and see nothing but birthdays, holidays, and special events. I wanted to document the unremarkable things about life, too.

It used to be that we only documented the big events out of necessity. I mean, think about it. 150 years ago, if you wanted photographs, you’d have to carry around boxes of toxic chemicals just to take them. That’s not that long ago– just a few generations. It wasn’t until 1901 that Kodak came out with the Kodak brownie, making it easier than ever for people to photograph things themselves, but even then, prints were expensive, hard to reproduce, and not exactly the quality options we have today.

Even when I was younger, it wasn’t easy or cheap to take photos, and a roll of film only gave you so many chances to get it right. There was no burst mode, no delete button, and no way to view the photo you were taking until it was printed, so even if you thought you got the shot, there was that chance that you didn’t.

Now, I have a camera that can take multiple shots per SECOND, be viewed right on the screen as I take them, and I could even print them out in my own home if I wanted, no darkroom equipment necessary.

Because of that, I shouldn’t feel limited to taking photos only of really extra awesome things that happen. I can snap photos of ridiculous things.

Like a dorky self portrait.

The tattoo Zach decided to draw on his knee.

A late night craving for pudding.

Zach all dressed up for our Valentine’s Day date.

A favorite lunchtime salad.

A particularly blue sky.

A crazy cake mustache.

My favorite flowers.

A little bit of spilled granola.

That time we shared Cheetos with the dog.

The day the hot water heater went crazy.

Or hanging out at the airport.

 

None of these things are particularly remarkable. None of them are even remotely “extra special.” They’re just bits and pieces of our everyday life together, and I love that I’m able to capture these snapshots.

To me, this is what my word is about. It’s about capturing the memories, the date, and a few words about what was happening. It’s about a special moment in time, remarkable or not, that I’ve been able to capture.

100 years ago, would Zach spilling a box of granola on the ground have made it into the scrapbooks? Probably not. In fact, even (just a few) years ago, when my mom was younger, she had a similar experience while making her family breakfast as a young girl, but that photo wasn’t captured. We have the story, and we have photographs from holidays around that time, but we don’t have that particular event captured.

Sometimes, I wonder if I’m doing the right thing by capturing grainy images on my cell phone, questioning if these will be good enough quality, but then I’m reminded of a quote someone recited to me not too long ago, saying “The best kind of camera is the one you have with you.” If you happen to have your DSLR ready at a moment’s notice, perfect. If not, your cell phone will work just fine.

Just go out there, capture the moment. Report back to me– I’d love to see your favorite moments captured so far this year!

One Little Word 2013: Capture

- Mama 4 Comments

A lot of you who were following my blog last year probably remember that I chose a One Little Word last year, inspired by the craze created by Ali Edwards. My 2012 word was Growth, and I feel like, in so many ways, I really did grow a lot in the past year.

I grew with my blog, taking it on as a full-time career and getting featured by Duncan Hines, Jell-O, International Delight, Citrus Lane, and several other brands. I ended up getting over 12,000 new visitors last year alone, and had many people visiting from around the world- 93 countries in all.

I grew with my baking, inventing over 100 new recipes over the past year, and even getting invited to the Duncan Hines test kitchen as a Frosting Creations winner.

I grew as an educator, getting into the swing of where I fit in in terms of homeschooling, and discovering the right curriculum for Zach.

I grew as a mom, figuring out how to create a better routine for Zach, meeting his needs better, and learning how to figure things out.

I grew as a photographer, finding my niche in terms of style, and figuring out exactly how I wanted my photos to look. I also learned how to do better post-processing to make my photographs look as brilliant as possible. I even had a company email me and tell me that my photos were “the most professional in-action shots of their product they’ve ever seen.” Hello, awesome.

I’m not saying any of this to brag. I’m saying that, by focusing on the word “growth,” and focusing on the areas in which I wanted to grow in 2012, I ended up achieving so many of my goals, finding new ones I hadn’t thought to plan for in January of last year, and really, truly, embracing my word with gusto.

And that’s why, this year, I’ve decided to choose a One Little Word once again. This year, my word is…

 

Capture.

(From Unglued, by Lisa Terkeurst)

I want to better capture life. Even with my blog, and even with my improved photography skills, I felt like I failed to capture the day-to-day life that we lived. I captured the big things, yes, but so many little things, like the way Zach’s hair stuck up into a unicorn horn one morning when he woke up, and the day that Zach finally understood the sign language for “all done” were lost to history.

This year, I’m really embracing the idea of capturing. I purchased a smart phone recently (yay! I’ve reached the 21st century!) and got instagram (follow me! @jengerbread88).

I want to photograph more, post more, share more, and remember more.

I’m also trying to do Project Life, a project initially created by Becky Higgins and adapted by hundreds of thousands of scrapbookers, in formats like paper, hybrid, and digital. The concept of Project Life is that you take a few photos a week, put them in an album, and include relevant journaling to capture the every day life of your family. You don’t have to take a photo every day, and you certainly don’t have to work on the project every day.

I can’t guarantee that I’ll make it through the entire year. In January, I start out with a lot of things, feeling very gung-ho, and end the year without it. But this year, I’m looking at it as, every week I DO actually complete is just one more week captured and that’s what my goal is all about anyway.

So here’s to focusing on capturing more than ever in 2013.

Do you have a One Little Word for 2013? What are you planning to focus on over the next year?