Back in 2016, I had one word and one phrase as themes for the year. I chose them at the beginning of January and thought about them often throughout the year. The one word was “brave” and the one phrase was “follow through.” It’s fascinating to look back and see how much I needed to be reminded of those two things during 2016. In fact, I thought about and followed-through with being brave when we said “yes” to Munchkin’s placement in June of 2016. Little did we know then that being brave in saying “yes” would ultimately change our lives. She is now our forever daughter. I am still in awe and wonder of it all.

Having a word/phrase for the year was extremely helpful. It was like a simple and subtle reminder that held me accountable at various moments in 2016. Some were bigger moments than others, but the theme was still the same. I needed to remember to be brave and to follow through.

Though this process proved to be quite helpful for 2016, I don’t recall having a word or phrase for 2017. I’m not sure why. Maybe I did and I just don’t remember it? I haven’t found it any journals or posts where I mentioned having one for 2017. Perhaps I was too busy focusing on being “social media free” for the year? Hmmmm … maybe that was my theme or phrase for the year?! haha!

Regardless, here we are in 2018 and I’m ready to declare my word, or better yet, my theme for the year. This will be what I dwell on, think about, process, and be reminded of throughout the year. This will be what helps hold me accountable and to focus on something very specific with each new day.

My word for 2018 is “present.”

By nature, I have am a task-oriented person. I love to tackle a good project. I can easily see what needs to be done around me and typically jump right in to get it done. I may get easily distracted (including walking into a room and forgetting why I went in there!) or only partially finish various tasks, but I love to work on them. I love to physically see the fruits of my labor.

What you may or may not realize, is that in my desire to do all-the-things, it’s easy for me to not really be in-the-moment with the people around me. A child of mine can talk to me or ask me a question, but I struggle to truly hear them because my focus is elsewhere. My mind is on what I’m doing or what I’m going to do next, not on my child. I often need to have my children repeat themselves again and again because I’ll say “what” but still not give them my full attention. My brain is still elsewhere. Sad, but true.

Present.

This 2018, I want to be present in all that I do.

Present in my relationship with the Lord.
Present in my marriage.
Present in my parenting.
Present in my friendships.
Present in my conversations.
Present in my homeschooling.
Present during church.
Present in each moment.
Present.

This may mean more eye-contact, more sitting down to listen, more awareness of the needs of my children, more games to be played, more focused attention during conversations, and definitely more setting aside of my to-do list(s).

Yes, I want to be present. A quick google search has the definition of “present” as “existing or occurring now.” Now. Not living in the past or looking to the future, but living right here, right now, in this exact moment.

Here I am.

I’m ready to be present.

To God be the Glory!