Tag: balance

Delight–Revisited

I read a blog yesterday in which the author discussed his One Word choices for the past three years and how he chose his One Word for this year.  While he remembered clearly his Words for 2008 and 2009, he was unable to recall his One Word for 2010 and had to look it up.  Interestingly, the word he forgot was Enjoy.  Enjoy seems like a pretty easy word to focus on for a year, and I was first amused that he had forgotten it.    Clearly, he was not successful in Enjoying life fully last year.

I was less amused as I read his explanation that he failed to live up to his word because he is more of a Martha than a Mary.  That observation hit close to home.  I am definitely more of a Martha.  For those of you who don’t understand the reference, this Martha was a friend of Jesus and sister to Lazarus and Mary.  When Jesus came to visit, Martha rushed around cooking and serving while Mary sat at Jesus’ feet feasting on his words.  When Martha complained to Jesus that her sister wasn’t helping her, he replied that, “Mary has chosen what is better.” (Luke 10:42)

For those of us who are doers, sitting at the feet of Jesus does not come naturally.  It is easier for us to volunteer to teach Sunday school or spend a day helping with an event than it is to spend an hour in quiet reflection in God’s Word.  We get so busy doing that, like the author of yesterday’s One Word blog, we forget to enjoy our time with God.  We may also have a hard time fully enjoying our families, our friends, our hobbies, and our work.

The dictionary defines Enjoy as “to take pleasure in; to find or experience pleasure.”  Delight is Enjoy compounded:  “a high degree of pleasure or enjoyment; to give great pleasure; to take great pleasure in.”

When I chose Delight as my One Word for the year, I was focused on Delighting in God and recognizing that He Delights in me.  I will now add another focus—remembering to take Delight in my everyday life.  I will try this year to Delight in time spent in God’s word, to Delight in time spent with my family and friends, and to Delight in those I minister to or who minister to me.  I will try to relax more and be fully present in each moment.  I will try to avoid thinking about everything on my to-do list and what I could be accomplishing when I should be focused on those I am spending time with.

Several years ago I read Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver.  This insightful book speaks about having a balance between doing goods works and spending time communing with God.  Both are important if I am going to be the woman God has designed me to be.  Every couple of year I reread Having a Mary Heart to help me keep my focus.  It may be time to read it again.

Have you chosen One Word to focus on in 2011?  How is your One Word helping you to achieve personal growth?

Delight

Monday morning on the way to work I heard the radio DJs discussing the concept of “un-resolutions.”  They explained that a pastor had come up with idea that instead of making a list of resolutions, people should choose a word that represented what they want to work on during the year.  He calls his idea “My One Word, and says the “process provides clarity by taking all of your big plans for life change and narrowing them down into a single thing. One word focuses on your character and creates a vision for your future.”

The concept made a lot of sense, and I decided to join in.   The three DJs shared that they had chosen   Balance, Patience, and Discipline as their words.   Listeners called in to share their words.   All of the words were great and any of them could certainly have applied to my life. 

I was leaning toward Balance, with a goal of balancing different aspects of my life:  prayer and worship, work and family time, and Bible study and service, leisure and writing, etc.  I recently re-read Joanna Weaver’s book Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World.  Joanna wrote about the need to balance sitting at the feet of Jesus with time spent in the kitchen (or serving).  Balance seemed to be the word God was speaking to me.

During my Tuesday morning devotion, I was reading from the Prayer of Jabez devotional.  It focused on Psalm 18:19, “He rescued me because he delighted in me.”  I’m not sure that I ever consciously recognized that God delights in me before I read that.  At noon, I read a blog in which the writer committed to memorize two scriptures each month.  She is starting the year with Psalm 37:3, 4.  And there in verse 4 was that word Delight again. “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.”  I guess God wanted to make sure He got my attention, because Psalm 37:4 appeared in an email devotion I read before going to bed Tuesday night.

After encountering  Delight three times in one day, there was no doubt in my mind about what word to choose. Delight is going to be my One Word for 2011.  I will strive to delight in God and to remember that He delights in me.  Delighting in God will cause me to keep my eyes focused steadfastly on God and off myself.  Reminding myself that God delights in me will encourage me that God always has my best interest at heart and will keep me from getting discouraged when things are going the way I think they should.

What One Word will you focus on in 2011?

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