Welcome to the first Spiritual Journey Thursday post of 2018. Today I and my SJT friends are unveiling our one-little-word choices for the year. My trusty altar-ego Power Shot is here to do the honors in a storyboard sequence. Take it away, PS!
Life is full of so many lovely distractions.
But now it’s time to get to work…
Write and tackle that “To-do List”
Wait. I need to see what’s happening on Twitter…
Aand Facebook and Instagram, and Pinterest, and all the social media hangouts I love.
No PS. FOCUS!
So there you have it, folks. My word is FOCUS.
Frankly, I was loath to leave my 2017 word LISTEN behind. So I picked its cousin who is not quite so sensory specific.
The word FOCUS came to me as somewhat of a lifesaver over the last few weeks. On November 1st, my husband had hip replacement surgery. My broken hip experience of 2014 sure came in handy here as I knew what to expect. Still, on some days the compounding of caregiving and household responsibilities together with Christmas almost bowled me over.
When I began to feel overwhelmed, I would calm myself with self-talk like: “Just do the next thing” and “Focus.” That attention to the moment and refusal to give in to distraction helped me stay on top of things through the first weeks of hubby’s recovery.
He’s well on his way back to normal now and Christmas is over. However, I’ve decided I want to hang onto FOCUS a bit longer applying it to my work, my relationships, my leisure, and my spiritual life.
The Bible passage that I’ve chosen as my focus true north is Philippians 3:13,14:
“But one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
To me this means living a life of purpose that will be effective in its trajectory because of its focus on the things that matter.
This post is linked to Spiritual Journey Thursday, hosted today by Margaret Simon on her blog Reflections on the Teche. There you will find links to more 2018 one-little-word reveals. (Thanks, Margaret, for hosting and for making the swank 2018 Spiritual Journey button!)
Violet Nesdoly / poems 
margaretsmn
January 4, 2018 at 12:29 pm
Focus is a great word. I love the lesson of just doing the one next thing. I will need this next week when my mother-in-law undergoes hip surgery. She is nervous about it, but from everything I’ve heard, she’ll be glad she did it. Happy New Year! Thanks for joining the roundup today.
LikeLiked by 1 person
bookseedstudio
January 4, 2018 at 6:53 pm
Hello Violet & hello Power Shot. (Or may I be so bold as to say P.S.?)
Such a creative post, with the clues hidden in each frame as P.S. focuses for you.
Glad for the good news about your hubby’s improvements, nurtured by your focus on him & with your own experience, a forward course that is bound to continue.
Happy, focused 2018!
LikeLike
cvarsalona
January 4, 2018 at 7:19 pm
Violet, it is so important to me to focus on the things that are important but I, too, am distracted by many other things. Hope is my companion this year and one of my goals is to channel my energy in a timely fashion.
LikeLike
Patricia J Weaver
January 5, 2018 at 5:59 am
We all need focus in our life… good word
LikeLike
Ramona
January 5, 2018 at 11:23 am
Focus on the things that matter, such a good intention for the year. I love your self-talk, “just do the next thing.” It’s easy to be distracted. I look forward to following your journey this year.
LikeLike
Dani Burtsfield
January 5, 2018 at 8:42 pm
Hello Violet – I can completely relate to your focus dilemma! While not officially ADHD, sometimes I wonder about myself. My word, intentional, requires focus on my part, so we are kindred spirits this year!
LikeLike
Irene Latham
January 6, 2018 at 5:20 am
Dear Violet, just do the next right thing is a favorite phrase of mine! I like how you are extending LISTEN into 2018 with FOCUS… I’m excited for your journey. xo
LikeLike
dorireads
January 13, 2018 at 4:11 pm
Bless you, my sweet friend. Sounds like you had an intense few weeks. I’m thankful your new word and focus on the next thing and focus on the Lord kept you going through it all. I look forward to seeing how your OLW weaves its way through the year. Your verse for the year is a powerful reminder to focus on what is important.
LikeLike