Present- My #OneWord2019

Has it really been an entire year since I last pondered what my #OneWord2018 would be? I remember this time last year searching for my #OneWord2018 by being aware and open to anything and everything around me. I am a voracious reader as anyone who knows me is well aware of so as I read I intentionally sought out what God would have me focus on. At the time I was reading through the book of Daniel and I stumbled across the following verse:

But Daniel resolved...

That was it. I had found my #OneWord2018. How did I do on resolving? On a scale of 1 to 10 I would have to give myself a 6. Why a 6? Well, I didn't intentionally focus on resolving each and every day. I didn't set goals for what I resolved to do. This year will be different. I am spending more time reflecting and setting goals as I go into 2019. I purpose to make things happen instead of letting things happen. 

Here we are just hours away from a brand new year and I find myself going through the same process to find my #OneWord2019. Again I went through the same process by opening myself up to anything and everything around me. Once again it was in reading that I came across a pattern of phrases that brought me to my #OneWord2019. 

I read a blog by @MarkWilsonGA entitled 10 Questions for Mid-Year Leadership Reflection . One phrase fired across my synapses: 

"Keep your mind where your feet are." 

I have also been reading and digesting #ReclaimingOurCalling by Brad Gustafson (@GustafsonBrad). In his chapter entitled Autopilot he lists 6 strategies for getting our brains out of autopilot. Number 6: Be Fully Present coincided with what I read in @MarkWilsonGa blog. 

I began to think that maybe I had found my #OneWord2019, but I wanted to make sure. So, I spent the next several days testing my ability to be present in each moment and what I discovered was astonishing. 

Being fully present is really difficult. 

Whether I am in the car, doing laundry, cleaning house, watching TV, or my favorite thing to do, running, I found that being fully present took a lot of intentional focus and energy. My mind really struggles to be in the moment. 

But as this shirt I stumbled on at Old Navy, it is truly Mind Over Matter. I can learn to be #present in each and every moment. 

Brad says, "No matter the size of the moment, it's important to be in it. Be fully present. Make it a habit to be mindful of where you are and whom you're with." (Reclaiming Our Calling). 

That's it. My word. PRESENT. Here's to a fabulous 2019.