One Little Word 2014: Determination

I’ve talked about One Little Word here before, about this time last year. A trend in the scrapbooking world started by Ali Edwards, One Little Word (or OLW) has branched out far past the initial One Little Word year, the initial project.

Last year, I’ll remind you, I chose the word Capture. Essentially, by choosing that word, I wanted to learn about that word, and then use that word as an inspiration for the things I would do in 2013. I feel like I accomplished that greatly. When I look back at 2013, I photographed more. I wrote more posts. I scrapbooked more. I printed more photo albums. I lived more to provide more things to capture. I detailed more events and more life happenings both on AND off this blog. I feel good about that.

As 2013 comes to a close, I’m realizing that OLW isn’t necessarily a word that follows you for the year. It’s a word that can follow you for life. I know that, as 2014 opens, I’ll continue to have Capture in my mind. I believe if you practice the One Little Word you select, truly practice it, not just pick it at the beginning of the year, then I think it is something that will be a part of your life long-term. Some words will fade over time, obviously, but others will stick with you.

I knew I wanted to go in a different direction for my One Little Word 2014. While my 2013 word was fairly broad (after all, capture can mean more than just photograph or write), I wanted something that would cover all of my goals for 2014. And, well, I have several of them. I have some Bible studies I’m going to be working on, focusing on in 2014, and those were very influential in selecting my OLW.

I chose Determination.

(Layout created using Nettio Designs Goal-Tastic 2013 Template, and Erica Zane’s Fresh Start, both available from SweetShoppeDesigns.com)

I was recently working on a lesson out of my Made To Crave Bible Study I’m working on, a study from Lysa TerKeurst of Proverbs31 ministries. She talked about determination, not self-determination, but true Holy Spirit determination that happens when you get God’s support in your goals and lean on him. Her comment was mostly motivated about food struggles, talking about how she would use cravings as an opportunity to pray instead of eat. However, I think they reply to anything you’re setting your mind to. If it’s something that is pure and holy, and if you’re using it as an opportunity to pray, and asking the Holy Spirit to give you determination, then you can achieve it. I have no doubt in my mind about it. It may still take a lot of time and effort (prayer alone won’t make you drop 6 pant sizes… healthy eating and exercise in conjunction with prayer can, though).

I found myself having so many goals for 2014. I don’t want to use the word resolutions, because resolutions are rarely kept. Goals are something that have a specific, measurable outcome and a time frame. Some things, of course, are easier to measure than others, but they’ll all be something where I can see changes in my life, and the others around me should be able to see them, too, if I’m doing it right.

For 2014, I need Holy Spirit determination to help me, and I’m determined to achieve my goals when it comes to losing weight, being less moody, dedicating more quality time in my relationships, with my son, my boyfriend, and my parents and brother. I am also determined to be more organized, both in my home and in my work. While I won’t share my full, specific, measurable goals in this post, that gives you an idea of the things I’m hoping to achieve this year.

All of these things take Determination. I can’t think of a better umbrella word for them– determination is what’s needed to make it happen. True Holy Spirit determination, that is.

 

 

Do you have a One Little Word for 2014? Are you going to focus on anything specific to get you through your year? What are you hoping to achieve in 2014? Any goals or resolutions? Share them in the comments below!

A Week in the Life: Tuesday Recap

Well, I’m on day 2 of my project, and I have to say, I’m loving how it’s turning out! Obviously, today, I’ve reached the fourth day of the project’s photos and notes, but the second day of the album is finally finished. Wanna see?

Day two meant that I was really in the groove of trying to get photos, and it also meant that I considered my photos of the day before and tried to capture the moments that I missed. In some ways, Tuesdays are so drastically different than our Mondays, because they’ve got appointments and practices, but at the same time, many of the vital parts of our routine– like lunch, dinner, and bedtime– remain very similar to the day prior, so I wanted to be sure I was photographing the parts of Tuesday that were unique from Mondays… while still showing that our life is really similar from day-to-day.

I also really struggled this week with how to feature the people in our lives in the book. Zach and I have our own routines within the greater family routine of Grandma and Grandpa, and Uncle Jeffrey. Since I don’t go to practice with Jeffrey and I’m not a part of those things, I wasn’t able to fully integrate those into the album. It meant I was putting a lot focus on Zach and I. I also realized that I need to keep track of photos of myself, too. It’s so tempting to stay behind the camera this week, capture what everyone else is doing… but I also realize that my intention with this album all along has been that Zach will look back on it someday. If something happens to me, I’d like him to see me in this album, silly faces and all, no makeup, sweatpants, the way that I actually am.

That meant no dressing up. If Zach doesn’t want to wear pants, he doesn’t… just like any other day that we’re not going anywhere. If I was wearing my sweatpants instead of jeans, then so be it… just like any other day we’re not going anywhere. I knew that this album had to be about real life, which meant that some of those less-flattering details had to be involved (although, I at least tried to pick the most flattering photos possible of myself– I mean, wouldn’t you?)

Are you doing AWITL? Feel free to comment below with your pages or pictures so far!

A Week in the Life

I’ve been scrapbooking for a long time, and if you recall, my one little word for this year is Capture. So, to me, it seemed a natural fit that I’d want to spend more time scrapbooking the photos I’ve been taking on Instagram and with my camera, and remember every detail of the year that I can.

Because of this, I have invested time on a Summer album, a Vacation Instagram album, and even just random layouts that capture Zach and I’s life together.

Now, if you’re a part of the online scrapbooking community, you may have heard some extra buzz this week, as yesterday was Day 1 of Ali Edward’s A Week In the Life project! The aim is to capture those every day moments– everything from laundry to family dinner and anything that happens in between, whether it is exciting or a bit standard in your life.

The project isn’t anything new, but I’ve ended up skipping it year after year. However, I’m just coming off of the high of receiving my completed summer album, and I’m realizing so quickly how important it is to keep these memories documented. It helps that one thing Zach enjoys most is looking through our summer albums. I love that he gets such joy from remembering the ways he spent his summer.

The idea is that Zach and I will be able to look back on this album 1, 5, 10 years from now and remember what life was like at this time… and, over a period of years, over a period of AWITL albums, we’ll be able to compare how life has changed from year to year and see what is different about how we eat, what we watch, what we love to do, and how we look.

To do AWITL, though, I needed a plan.

First, I started with an album idea. I knew I wanted my album to be the same size as my other albums– a 6×6 mini album from ArtsCow. Why? Because it’s affordable, and the quality is good. I also love a mini album for a few other reasons. With it being small, it’s portable, so Zach can carry it around with him and manage the pages himself. It also doesn’t take up a ton of space on the shelf, so I can put multiple books side-by-side atop my bookshelf. It’s exactly what I want for taking a quick peek at my pages!

Then, I needed to decide on the design of my album. Why did I want to decide my album before the project started? Because I wanted to ensure I was taking plenty of photos! Because I love the clean, photo-loving style that Nettio Designs creates, I decided that using her newest LifeCaptured album would be perfect. The only hiccup? She’s created it in an 8×10 size. However, with a little creative playing around in photoshop, I adjusted those photo-loving templates to a square size to fit my needs. It brilliantly captures her style that I love so much, while making it my own and allowing me to print in the size I need.

Finally, I needed to have a plan on keeping track of my notes and photos. Ideally, I’d be able to do my pages every day, making sure to capture, document, and finish the pages as soon as the day was through. However, I also knew, realistically, that I may not be able to complete my pages every single day. I decided the best option was to find a way to take notes as I go, to be sure that I have the memories written down in case it took me days (or even weeks) to finish my album. So, I decided to use the free Evernote App on my phone to keep track of the times that we would do things, especially trying to make them coincide with the photos I was snapping. This helped me make sure I was documenting a variety of things rather than documenting the same photos day after day. It also helped me make sure I was capturing the entire day’s events overall.

Once I had those things all figured out, it was time to get started.

Now, if you’re thinking “AWITL started yesterday, and it’s already night of day 2, so I’m late… maybe I just won’t start…” I’m going to tell you to hush, stop those silly thoughts, and DO THE PROJECT! AWITL doesn’t have hard and fast rules. Nothing says you have to do it when Ali, or I, or anyone else does it. You can start tomorrow and run it for 7 days following. You can wait until next Monday. You can do it 3 weeks from now. Just pick any week that symbolizes a typical week in your life, and document it.

Perhaps you’re thinking “I don’t have any scrapbooking skills, so I can’t!” Yes, you can. Whether you’re a scrapbooker or not, you can do it. Pick up a photo album at the store, snap pictures throughout the week and write down notes on note cards. Slip your notes and printed photos side-by-side, and you’ve documented your week in the life. Not into paper scrapbooking? Try your hand at digital, like I’m doing. Do what works for you, and capture your life the way that is less stressful for you.

And maybe you’re saying “I lead a boring life! Why capture it?” Because the every day memories matter. Because not every scrapbook you have should be about vacations or birthdays, Christmas and other thrilling events. What do you think your kids will treasure more 10 years down the road? 20? Because I think that if it were me, I’d value a memory of those little events that made life so special, even if it wasn’t a special day like Christmas.

I promise, it’s worth the time. It’s worth the energy. It’s just one week out of your busy year focused on capturing what life is like for you. So consider it.