I wanted to share with you a great gift idea. You may remember a few weeks ago when I posted a blog post about choosing a word of the year. If you didn’t get a chance to read it, you can read that post HERE. I took the quiz and chose fulfilled for my word for the year. My daughter took the quiz as well; her word for the year is beloved.
When we went to my sister-in-law’s house this past Sunday, she gave Madison and I each a gift. Madison’s gift was a metal bookmark with the word beloved engraved on it. It’s beautiful and perfect, because Madison loves to read but is always losing her spot in her books. Consequently, I am forever telling her to use a bookmark.
My gift was a beautiful mug with the word fulfilled on it. I instantly loved it. It’s perfect! It’s the newest component of my morning time routine. Coffee every morning is a must, and drinking that coffee from a mug that has my word to focus on for the year? Perfection.
I asked for the links from her to be able to share with my friends. This is the link for the bookmark, and this is the link for the mug.
These are just neat ideas to help us keep our word of the year before our eyes all year long. They also make great gifts.
More Ideas
I was thinking and came up with a few more neat ideas of personalized products you could make for the year with your theme word on it.
tshirt
a poster
magnet for the fridge
wristband
cell phone cover
a tumbler
I think all of these would be fun. If you end up creating a word of the year product, be sure to let me know! Give me a shout-out on social media!
Sometimes the future seems so far away. I read this quote from The Next Right Thing by Emily Freeman. “It’s a slow work building a life. But the future always comes.” We look at our kids, at whatever age they are now, and feel like the future when they leave us is so incredibly far away. Yet, we know in our hearts that it will be here and gone in the blink of an eye.
Barbies, legos, trucks and cars, crayons and markers will give way to phones, wallets, keys, and textbooks. It’s hard to see that right now when I step on a lego in the middle of the night or when I can’t see the floor in my girls’ room because it’s covered in the world that they’ve created for their Barbies. Little girls twirling around and giggling in princess dresses will give way to running out the door in a uniform for work. Master lego building by my boy will give way to long work hours and college classes.
Just to keep it real, this is the photo I snapped when I went into my girls’ room this morning. Yikes! (See, all the Barbie mentions are not metaphorical)
Looking Past What’s Before Me
These moments won’t last forever, and I try to remind myself of that. Because in the here and now, it’s easy to lose sight of that. In the here and now, it seems so much more important to get my kids to pick up their room, to make them finish their math homework, to get them to stop fighting and arguing, to get them to leave me alone for just five minutes so I can go to the bathroom or take a shower. Right now, all I can see is the mess before my eyes that wasn’t there ten minutes ago.
Yet, these precious few years are the gift God’s given to me. Yes, it’s a gift; even though it may not feel like that on a Tuesday morning when the laundry’s overflowing, the kids are late to start school, there’s endless fighting, tears over schoolwork, no milk in the fridge for cereal, and a mess everywhere I look. It’s in these moments that the future seems so incredibly far away. It seems so intangible. Yet, it won’t always be that way.
Don’t Look at What’s Before You
Soon, my kids will leave our home one by one. They will head off in different directions, some of them never to live at home again. I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that in those days when it’s quiet and the house is perfectly clean that I will long for the crazy chaos that is my kids. That mess of Barbies all over the floor? I will wish for that once more. I will wish for my table to be covered in the latest Lego masterpiece. The quiet will make me long for the sounds of my kids because it’s the sound of love, of family.
So, if you’re feeling weary today, young Mom. If you’re feeling like your house will never be clean. The kids will never learn to pick up after themselves or stop fighting. You will never be caught up on laundry in this life or the next, and you would give anything for just an hour of uninterrupted quiet time…Then let me encourage you today. Don’t see things for how they are right now. Don’t focus on the mess, the noise, the chaos, the frustration, and all the things that are wrong. Instead, focus on the faces in front of you. Count down how many years you have left with each of those precious faces and choose to make today count.
The Days Are Long, but the Years are Short
I’m saying this to myself today, because it’s January. The days are long and cold, my kids are cooped up inside and have been cranky and fighting with each other every day, all day long. Attitudes have been raging, and frustrations have been mounting. I need to be reminded of what’s really important. I’ve heard this said about child-rearing. “The days are long, but the years are short.” Oh how much wisdom there is in that saying!
What’s really important to remember is that I have six years left with my oldest. That’s 72 weeks or 2,291 days. When put like that, I might be able to overlook his intense frustration for Math today and just help him get through it. I can focus more on hugging him and letting him know I love him, rather than correcting his bad handwriting. When I run the numbers for each of my kids, they are surprisingly small. Six years, seven years, eleven years, and twelve years don’t seem nearly long enough. So I must choose to make the most of today. That’s all I can do, yet that’s the greatest thing I can do today.
The Future Isn’t So Far Away
The future looks so far away when I look at today, but it will be here before I can blink an eye. The future isn’t all that far away. “Building a life is a slow work. But the future always comes.” It will be here before we know it. Will I look back on these years with my kids with regret? Will I wish we would have taken more trips to the park, played more games together, laughed more, talked more, done more crazy fun stuff? Or will I look back and nod and say, “We built an amazing life together.”
I read some great books in 2021, and I also read a few duds. I haven’t started a non-fiction book and not finished it in a while; but this year, I did that with two books. I used to feel like I couldn’t do that, especially when I bought the book. But I have realized that life is too short to read bad books. Right? There is nothing worse than getting slogged down in a book that does nothing for you. So now, I give myself permission to not finish the book. It doesn’t happen very often, but when it does, the next book is usually great and I get right back at it.
My Favorite Read of 2021
I read so many amazing books, but if I had to choose a favorite, it would be The Turquoise Table by Kristin School. Not only is the concept so good and something that Matt and I are putting into practice, the book itself is beautiful. It’s hardcover and full-color. It has beautiful pictures and recipes as well. It’s a win all-around and is written so well. It’s all about hospitality and how you can use hospitality to reach out to your neighbors, specifically by being front-yard neighbors. I highly recommend this book and am calling it my favorite read of 2021.
My Second Most Favorite Read of 2021
My second most favorite book was When Woman Pray by T. D. Jakes. I love books by T. D. Jakes; they are so inspirational and moving, as well as convicting. But this book was a little different in that it was almost like a Bible study as well. He dives into the lives of ten different women from the Bible and really pulls out details that we miss often miss. I loved this book and highly recommend it.
Those are my top two reads; here’s the rest of them.
My Top Ten Reads of 2021
Creative
A Million Little Ways by Emily Freeman. This book is great for any creative. It took a little while to get going, but I really enjoyed it after that. It’s all about being wired for creativity, and I love that.
The Turquoise Table by Kristin Schell. This is a great book with hospitality tips and tricks, recipes, and ideas for doing things with and for your neighbors.
Spiritual/Inspirational
You are the Girl for the Job by Jess Connolly. This is a great inspirational read if you need to be reminded of God’s purpose for your life. Jess doesn’t pull any punches, and I love that. This book challenges you to be reminded that God chose you for a purpose, and you need to step into that purpose.
Kind is the New Classy by Candace Cameron Bure. Candace is such a classy person, and that obviously comes through in her book. I enjoyed reading about her life and being reminded how just being kind can make all the difference in the world.
When Woman Pray by T. D. Jakes is an in-depth look into the lives of ten women from the Bible.
Practical
Rhythms of Renewal by Rebekah Lyons. This book surprised me. I actually thought it might be a little boring, but it definitely wasn’t. I love all her practical advice on the rhythms of life like sabbath day, eating, exercising, schedules, purpose, and more.
Books with Lots of Stories
Have More Fun by Mandy Arioto. As you can probably guess from the title, this was just a fun read overall. I really enjoyed her writing as she covers ways we can have more fun in every area of our lives. She also has great ideas in breakout boxes.
Love Lives Here by Maria Goff. I love books by the infamous Bob Goff, Maria’s husband. So when this book came out, I knew I would love it. I wasn’t wrong. It’s written with vulnerability and comes straight from a Mama’s heart. It’s heart-warming and thought-provoking.
Dealing with Our Thoughts
Get Out of Your Head by Jennie Allen. This is such a needed book in today’s world. Jennie’s encouragement to us to get out of our heads and start living the life God has for us is both challenging and encouraging.
Don’t Overthink It by Anne Bogel. This book is great on a practical level. Someone bought it for me as a gift, and I really didn’t think I needed to read it. But boy was I wrong; I didn’t realize how much of my life I spent overthinking things instead of accomplishing things.
Fitting in More Reading
If you want to read more books this year but don’t know how to bring that plan to fruition, here’s the system I use to fit reading into my daily routine. I simply read for ten minutes a day after I read my Bible, journal, and pray. I do this as a part of my morning time routine. You can read my post, but here’s the simple system I use every morning for Bible reading, journaling, praying, and reading books. Matt and I call it 30-to-THRIVE.
It’s that simple. In just thirty minutes a day, you can do all of those things—read your Bible or devotional, journal, pray, and read. If you stick with that system even just five days a week, you will be amazed at how many books you read by the end of the year!
For More Encouragement
Looking for even more great books? Be sure to visit Manney Resources to check out the books my husband and I have written.
Choosing a word for the year has become really popular over the last few years. I love the concept of it. I think it’s a great idea, but I have a confession to make. I’ve never actually done it. To me, picking one word for the year seems so daunting. I’m just not bright enough to be able to pick one word to summarize my entire year. I admire people who can, though.
However, that all changed when my mother-in-law sent me an article this week with a link for a quiz for finding your word for the year. It intrigued me, so I took the quiz. It was only seven questions. At the end, it gave me a word for the year, based on my answers to the questions. The word was fulfilled. I love that.
I had my ten-year-old daughter take the test, and her word was beloved. I love that too, and it’s perfect for her for the year.
The Power of Words
There is such power behind words. Words can be beautiful and uplifting or cruel and degrading. It’s all in the words we choose and how we use them. Solomon understood this when he wrote about the power of the tongue in Proverbs.
Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.
Proverbs 18:21 KJV
Here’s another way to put it.
Words kill, words give life; they’re either poison or fruit—you choose.
Proverbs 18:21 MSG
I think picking a word to come back to all year long can help us keep coming back to what is important to us and what we want to focus on. For me, I want to focus on the word fulfilled. I want to remember this year when I get discouraged, that God meets my every need. I have more than enough. I am so incredibly blessed. I love the life that I am living, and it so fulfills me. I want to remember these words from Psalm 23:1.
The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.
Psalm 23:1
Choosing Your Word for the Year
Maybe you already have your word for the year. If you do, just disregard this post. If however, you are like me, and it seems too daunting to find one for the year, I hear you. I suggest trying this quiz from DaySpring. It may be just the thing you need to help you find your word for the year.
Once I took the quiz and received my word for the year, it no longer seemed so daunting. Other words started coming to mind—words that inspired me. So I made a list of words for this year. I chose each of these words and think any of them would make a great word for the year. Take a look at them below and see if maybe one of these words could be your word for the year.
Hopefully, this post encourages you to pick a word for this year. If you do, tag me on social media and let me know what it is. I would love to hear it! Happy word hunting!
For Extra Encouragement
If you are looking to have a great year this year, I believe the best way you can do that is by spending time every morning with God, first-thing. The best way I have found to do this is through my morning time routine. Check out that post for ideas on starting your own morning time routine. If you like videos, check out my free Morning Time Routine Course. If you need resources to get started, be sure to check out our devotionals, journals, and books, available from Manney Resources.
