2010 in a word

Several years ago I caught on to the practice of setting a word for the year - a guiding hope or principle to shape my focus and intentions. I originally got the idea from Ali Edwards and was reminded of it this year by Kal, who writes one of my all-time favorite blogs.

I picked a word two years in a row, and then last year picked a bunch - I even stitched them onto a pillow. This year I am back to one word - SAVOR.

My Sunday school class was reading a book called Pause, which talks about living in the moment. In church a couple Sundays ago, one of the pastors had us just stop, close our eyes, push away thoughts of whatever was coming next (lunch, the football game, etc) and just breath in and out and be in the moment. I am terrible about being in the moment. I am usually 20 moments ahead of myself, thinking through what I am doing tomorrow or next week or next month. I also realized a few weeks ago, as Christmas break was coming to a close, that I probably should have been more engaged with my son while he was off school, rather than digging so deeply into my own projects. He is only going to this age once. Pretty soon he won't want to snuggle on my lap or tell me everything he is thinking.

So, in 2010 I want to slow down and savor - savor my food rather than rushing through meals barely noticing what I eat. Savor my family by truly listening and engaging in conversation rather than nodding and wondering 10 minutes later what I agreed to. Savor the moments to myself and use them to do things that feed my spirit rather than wonder where the day went and what I have to show for it that was meaningful.

So, my word for 2010 is savor. What word would you choose?

Self-Respect

Christina Katz is posting the 52 Qualities of Prosperous Writers in her weekly e-zine The Prosperous Writer. This week she talks about self-respect.


In summary, she says that self-respect will help you set appropriate priorities for yourself and your family (rather than others or urgency setting priorities for you), take yourself and your writing seriously, and help you keep your sanity. I think these things apply more broadly to life than just in writing.


She asked her readers to rate themselves on a 1 to 10 scale regarding self-respect. I would put myself at a 6. I can say no, but usually feel some level of guilt. I am susceptible to flattery, so when someone says I would be good at something, I feel obligated to say yes even if I ultimately say no. I am learning to listen to trusted voices in my life who are very comfortable encouraging me to say no to distractions and yes to my personal priorities. This is something I can definitely work on in the coming year!

BONUS BLOG: Reading Challenges

This month I have signed up for several reading challenges. You can read about them here and track my progress on the side bars of this blog and my book blog.

Best Intentions

I have talked already this year about some of my goals for 2010. What I didn't mention was how I did on my goals and plans for 2009. In a word, lousy.

In 2009 I wanted to

• Journal more - at least once a week. I did not do this. At least a third of my journal is empty.
• Blog regularly - This was actually a good goal for me. Even with adding new blogs, I stayed on a good schedule.
• Send my son to private school this school year. Thanks to a lot of help, we were able to do this. It is a wonderful environment for him. While I haven't written it down, it is a goal to have him there again this fall.
• Submit 15 pieces of writing. Progress? Zero. Pathetic, really. It all comes down to fear.
• Lose 20 pounds. Everyone has goals like this. I did not do anything to make this happen.
• Cut debt in half. This did not happen either.
• Complete writing Bible study in January. I did this. It was really good. I have another one I hope to do this year.
• Finish Write is a Verb with my SIL. We did this. This was also a really good resource. We are working on Plot and Structure right now, although we took a break for NaNoWriMo and the holidays.
• Memorize 12 passages of Scripture. I started with a big one - 1 Corinthians 13 - and only made it half way through before quitting.
• Read Harry Potter, The Chronicles of Narnia and at least half of my TBR (to be read) stash. I read Harry but that was it.
• Laugh, play, write, read, teach, learn, pray, move,listen, sing, create, hug, save, remember. I would liked to have created, wrote and saved more, but essentially this was a good list and 2009 was a great year.

I hope to do a little better with my goals for 2010, but I think it is better to have made a plan and only completed part of it than to have had no aspirations at all and lived up to them.

Dedication

One of my favorite writing resources is Christina Katz, the Writer Mama. She has authored two books - The Writer Mama and Get Known Before the Book Deal. She is a blogger who recently merged several blogs and newsletters into one.

In her January issue of her newsletter, "The Prosperous Writer," Christina asked, "Who do you dedicate your writing to in 2010?" Fascinating question. I never really thought about this. I generally write for me. That is probably one of the reasons that I don't submit my writing to anyone other than my writing mentor.

The more I thought about this, the more I realized I wanted to dedicate my writing in 2010 to my son. When I signed up for NaNoWriMo last November and endeavored to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days, my seven-year-old was skeptical. When I finished, he said, "I knew you might do it." Resounding support, huh? But I would like him to see me push forward and keep making progress on this writing dream of mine. I would like him to see me work at something and have it pay off over time. I would like him to see me model perseverance, which is something we talk to him about quite a bit.

So, I dedicate my writing, and my writing goals and aspirations in 2010 to my son. May he see me work and follow through and not give up and take risks this year.

Planning Ahead

Happy 2010! I hope your New Year was happy and healthy and safe.

I love a new year. There is something about the fresh start and potential of a new year that makes me giddy. For the last couple weeks I have been brainstorming goals and plans for the new year. It is a great time to start new projects.


I made a new journal for the new year - something I did in 2007 for a class at Big Picture Scrapbooking and have kept up ever since. Each year has a different design. This year I went back to a monthly format. I divided the journal into 12 sections, one for each month. That way I can keep track of my monthly goals. In retrospect, I wish I had done something else, though. In 2008, I had a list of things for each month, so I set the monthly sections up with a couple pages each at the front of the journal. That way I could "journal" in the section after the monthly tabs without worrying about running into the next section. I didn't think that through this time. Oh well. I love how it turned out and will make the best of things.

My monthly goals are:

• Read one writing book from my stash. I have a shelf of writing books that are gathering dust. I want to concentrate on one each month this year so I can make use of the material I have at my disposal. In January I am reading A Novel Idea.
  
• Memorize a verse of scripture. For January I chose Galatians 6:4-5 from The Message.
• Submit three pieces of writing to a publisher. I have toyed with this writing thing for too long. It is time to jump in. Three is a very small number, but doable regardless of how much I am subbing or how intense my parenting load is.
• Prepare one song to sing for church. For January I chose Savior, Please. I only sing once or twice a year at church, but I love to sing. By setting a goal, I can really dig into a new song, memorize it, have it ready in case I am asked to sing. In reality, this is probably more about me making time to sing for myself rather than about performing a song at church (which makes me a nervous wreck).

I have other goals and plans, but I will save those for another blog entry. If you set some goals for yourself, post them here. I love to hear what others are working on.

Happy New Year!

I will be taking a blogging break to enjoy the holiday season with my family. I will leave you with some thoughts on books and creativity. I will be back to blogging on January 5, 2010.

Quote comes from Wisdom Quotes

The moment when you first wake up in the morning is the most wonderful of the twenty-four hours. No matter how weary or dreary you may feel, you possess the certainty that, during the day that lies before you, absolutely anything may happen. And the fact that it practically always doesn't, matters not a jot. The possibility is always there. ~ Monica Baldwin