2014 Word of the Year – What’s yours?

Well, I am ready to hit the ground running in this brand new year after a much enjoyed holiday break with family and friends. I just completed Michael Hyatt’s course, “5 Days to Your Best Year Ever,” and am PUMPED for all that I believe God has called me to do in the coming months.

At the start of each new year, I like to choose a word to focus on to help guide and direct my actions. When I was originally introduced to the idea of a word of the year through the lovely and inspirational Lettered Cottage blog, I never expected that one little word could have such a powerful influence on my life.

In 2012 my word was “Available.” That year, God gave me the amazing privilege and responsibility of taking the helm at our church’s praise and worship team. He also allowed me to travel and minister with a contemporary Christian singing group that my sister started. He called me to quit my full-time job as a public relations director so I would be more available to my family and this blog ministry. He called me to join the Air National Guard, so I would be available to serve my country once again. And He blessed our family with this little heart breaker:

The experiences I had as a result of trying to make myself available were life-changing and have given me some of the greatest memories of my life so far.

In 2013 my word was “Build.” My goal was to work hard at building others up, not tearing them down with gossip or critical words. (I’m still a work in progress in this area.) I also wanted to build my physical strength, so I could pass my military physical fitness test with flying colors. I scored in the “Excellent” category with a 93 percent – a huge praise! I also prayed that I would build more self-discipline into my life. I worked hard and relied on God’s strength and, as a result, I launched my first e-book and podcast. I also literally learned to build more stuff around the house and increased my DIY knowledge exponentially (although I still have a lot to learn ;)).

So that brings me to 2014 … this year’s word is “Push.”

(I took this photo while my sisters, a few good friends and I were on a hike. My baby sis on the right is carrying my little girl, who is now 7 years old! Time … where do you go?)

Why “Push?” Because I want 2014 to be the year that I push beyond all the boundaries I’ve set up in my mind, body and spirit. I’m praying that God will help me push my self-discipline to the next level; my marriage and parenting to the next level; my ministry opportunities to the next level; my physical capacity to the next level (thus reducing my need for massive amounts of caffeine ;)); and, above all, my faith to the next level.

So what about you? What is your 2014 Word of the Year? I would love for you to share it in the comments section so we can work together, encourage each other and help make 2014 our best year ever!