My One Word

      The following is a personal exercise I went through in following the guidelines from Mike Ashcraft’s book, “My One Word: Change Your Life With Just One Word”  I highly recommend reading his book and implementing the My One Word project into your life in 2014.  I apologize in advance to the typos, run-on sentences, and crypticness of the writing.  I decided to give you the roughed-out version just as I worked through the process in order that it be may model to you, both the thinking process and the impact. 

       I started the process with a question of my own that ties to the Crazy Chicken photo I have chosen for my blog.  As a chicken-raiser, I frequently find examples in their behavior that illustrate a not-so-complementary human characteristic.  Usually I find chickens to be rather comical.  I include this step as it was a beginning stage for my thought process.

        I hope you enjoy the article and that it helps you in your own, personal New Year’s dialogue with God.

Why did the chicken cross the road? 

                 This is really a question of why am I doing this?  Or why do I do anything?  Paul wrote “I do not understand the things I do. I do not do what I want to do, and I do the things I hate.”  (Romans 7:15-20 - MSG)  Just as the answer to the chicken-crossing-the-road is simply “because it’s a chicken”, the answer to why we do anything is just as senseless.  I do what I do, and I rarely fully understand why.

What kind of person do I want to be this year? 

               I think I want to be a person who better understands why I do what I do and to have more control or effect on the actual doing in advance?  Intentional living instead of reactional living.

What drives my desire to be this kind of person?

              Lack of control over my life?  A sense that the river of my life is flowing out from under me with the banks eroding under my feet.  Time is quickly passing and if I do not effectively create goals and objectives, the end will come and nothing will be accomplished.  Now is the time to be who God created me to be.  It is not some far off event that I’ll eventually grow into. Today is the day.

Describe the characteristics of this person. Make a list of words based on this description. 

              When I picture this person I see a dignified and esteemed person content with his being, with words of wisdom emoting like smoke from a pipe swirling around his knowing countenance.  He is a great listener and has a comfortable lap.  He is fatherly to everyone and respected by all.  He has a twinkle in his eye and a chuckle in his belly.  People love to be around him and with him.  They listen to his sage advice and laugh at his stories, not because he demands to be the center of attention but because they are drawn to him.  They trust him and know they are loved by him.  He is a man that provides positive impact on their lives.

      · Dignified               · Knowledgeable             · Content
      · Quiet                    · Comfortable                  · Fatherly
      · Respected            · Joy                                · Love
      · Sharing                 · Magnetic                       · Trust
      · Loving                  · Positive                         · In Control
      · Firm                     · Involved                        · Teacher
      · Elder                    · Peaceful                         · Twinkle
      · Faithful                 · Present                          · Mindfulness
      · Discerning            · Immersed                      · Distinction
      · Excellence            · Time                             · Weightiness
      · Accepting             · Kind                             · Tender
      · Benevolent            · Mentor                         · Leader
      · Shepherd              · Healer                           · Benefactor
      · Patient                  · Composed                   · Serene
      · Calm          

                 

Reduce your list to 10 words or less. Research those words using a dictionary, Bible, and thesaurus.

                        · Peaceful                            · Loving

                        · Mentor                              · Patient
                        · Faithful                              · Teacher
                        · Accepting                          · Holy

Choose one word from the list.  HOLY!

Choose a Bible verse that speaks to you about your chosen word and memorize it.

          ¹⁴ Now that you are obedient children of God do not live as you did in the past. You did not understand, so you did the evil things you wanted. ¹⁵ But be holy in all you do, just as God, the One who called you, is holy. ¹⁶ It is written in the Scriptures: “You must be holy, because I am holy.”  (1 Peter 1:14-16 - NCV)

Also: ‘Be my holy people. Be holy because I am the Lord your God. Lev.20.7 and ‘I am the Lord your God. You must be holy because I am holy. Lev.19.2

What initial expectations do you have regarding the impact of your word?

           I sense that a very large burden has been lifted.  In one way, a burden of responsibility has been lifted from heart.  It is not up to me to live in a holy way – it is through and with God that this is possible.  Instead of trying to add self-control to my knowledge and patience to my self-control…, (see 2 Peter 1:9-14 - NCV).  I now realize that these are things are the result of living a holy life.  God adds them as I chose rightly in each moment of my life. 

          I also have come to realize that the impact I have on others can be huge – both in a negative sense and in a positive.  The ripples of holy living can be far reaching but so can the effects of non-holy living.  An example was provided as I drove home from work yesterday thinking about the word Holy.  I had a traffic situation that went amiss.  I was in a lane of traffic that was ending and I tried merging into the through-traffic lane. There was a space but as I put on my turn signal and started moving into the lane, the driver in the car behind sped up to block me out.  Instead of breaking and allowing the person the spot he most craved, I continued my merge, trying to force the guy to stop and let me in.  His horn blared in my ears as I moved farther into is lane. Our cars came within inches of hitting.  I finally had to stop and watch my adversary speed past.  I took the space behind and drove up, angrily, behind him.  He responded by jamming on his brakes causing me to almost rear-end him.   The tete-a -tete continued through the 8 mile stretch of my village.  After the near run-in, I shrank back in traffic, giving him room but the other driver’s erratic driving and obvious anger at me continued.  His anger spilled over to other drivers and the entire village became at risk as he obviously was growing more and more out of control with his rage. I realized that in a more holy-living approach, I would have not forced the issue in the first place but, instead, would have allowed him his space as soon as he indicated it was important to him.  Had I allowed the word Holy to dominate my thoughts I probably would have recognized this earlier. 

        The main thing to remember is that our words and actions have impact on the lives around us.  Holy living is not just an attitude of reverence with my head in the clouds.  It is the key ingredient of discipleship where God can use my life to build his Kingdom on earth.

        Holy is the way.  Holy is what is expected of me.  Holy is God.

A New Creation

“If anyone belongs to Christ, there is a new creation. The old things have gone; everything is made new!”  (2 Corinthians 5:17)

I cannot think of a more fitting verse to read and contemplate on New Year’s Day than this.  The past is truly gone. This is a daily reality but more salient than usual on New Year’s Day.  Our desire, at times, is to relish the past, if not an attempt to maintain a fully engaged embrace on the glories of yesterday. Our reality, however, is that no matter how much we want to hold on to the past, our lives move forward into a new beginning… each and every day.

As I start this New Year, I have fond memories of this past year that began with us living in Oregon but quickly transitioned into a sudden, unplanned return-move to New Mexico in April and the death of Jennifer’s mother in May. With the return to our life in NM complete with tenant-caused reparations and reestablishing our chicken flock, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving with all our family. We have also endured a severe downturn in business that has put our company at risk.  It seems that there was a lot packaged into one year but it is my guess, everyone’s experience is similar. The past is filled with events, planned and unplanned through which we somehow managed to survive, endure and even thrive.

As we stood at the threshold of 2013 we had no idea what the future would hold.  We simply had to take it day-by-day, experiencing each day and each event as it evolved.  One thing is for certain, we are changed by the experiences we faced in 2013.

Will 2014 be any different?  I expect not.  We are, in fact, new creations each day that our life unfolds.  The question is: Are we ready for the ride?

As I begin 2014, there are a few things I hope to do to be better prepared for the unknown journey of each tomorrow.  The purpose of these intentions is not to affect the changes that will occur but rather be better prepared for the situations that occur.  Yes, it would be a good idea to resolve to lose weight as there are at least 10 (20) extra pounds that do not need to be carried around.  And, if I were to lose those pounds, then I’d probably be a better person for it.

These “intentions,” however, are not goal oriented.  They are recognitions to the truth that in Christ, every day is a new creation. It is by being “in Christ” regularly where the new creation called Gary Sims will better fulfill God’s intentional plan for his life.  As I remain in Christ God will provide all that I need in order to achieve the results He has in mind.

From previous experiences I have learned that for me to be in Christ, I need to write. It is as though the lessons God has for me to learn come alive on the written page.  I hear them more fully and I remember them more completely.  As a result, I live them more effectively.  However, to write, I must also read.  As I read scripture, words pop out to inspire my writing.  (An example of this is the word “Whenever” in my Sheep and Goats article.)  In addition, as I read books and other blog postings, I learn how God is using other writers to share his Word and his effect on their lives.

As we move together into 2014, I want you, the reader, to know how much I appreciate your readership as I believe that it is through these efforts, God reaches into the souls of those touched to open new insights and wisdom.  I also want to encourage you to spend time of your own reading the books I’m sharing from my library and the writings from the blogs I’ve listed.  I also hope that encouraging words authors from the past such as C.S. Lewis and John Wesley will provide wisdom for your path in 2014.

What is the bottom line? (Can you tell I’m a CEO?) 

What I pray with each writing is that someone, anyone, will hear a word from God that will change their lives for the better.  In this change, it is my hope you will become the new creation Christ intends and that you will be better equipped.