The first time I heard of the concept of having a One Little Word, I fell in love with it. Since then, each January I’ve picked a word that came to me. These words felt like the theme for each new year.
My list of past words includes:
2012 :: Now
2013 :: Enough
2014 :: Peace
2015 :: Focus
And my word for 2016: Celebrate!
Once again, my word came to me easily—with specific applications points, too!
But despite the fact that I have picked a word each year for the last four years, I have never really done anything with it. Occasionally, my word and my resolutions would come to mind… but I wasn’t very intentional about the whole thing.
I wanted this year to be different! This year I was super excited to sign up for Ali Edwards’ class. I figured that there’s nothing like a class to help keep you motivated, kick your butt, and keep you going strong!
So far, so good—I’m actually doing stuff with my OLW!
Like making it visible around the house…
I found this pretty wood veneer by Heidi Swapp on Scrapbook.com. It was the perfect thing!
The word “Celebrate” kinda pulls together a few things that have been a theme in my life recently…
#1: Let’s Eat Cake & Celebrate
Before the year began, I had already resolved that I wanted to (literally) celebrate more this year.
I want to enjoy each season. I want to celebrate the holidays that have meaning to us. I want to go all out for my kids’ birthdays. I want to celebrate more all throughout the year!
I love my sparkly Christmas decorations, and every time December comes to an end, I wish that we could keep that same sort of festive atmosphere going! But in reality, I’ve been pretty terrible when it comes to parties—specifically when it comes to making my kids’ birthdays special. I’m tired of being such a grouchy Grinch about it!
I found this beautiful card at Anthropologie:
When I saw it, I was like, “Yup! That pretty much sums up what I want more of in this new year!” So, it came home with me to decorate my front table, so that I’d see it every day.
I think the thing that holds me back from enjoying and planning more events is that I often feel like I have to do someone else’s X, Y, and Z to do it “right”—like, it’s not going to be a great party for my 6 year old unless I dress up as Queen Elsa and throw her a Frozen Birthday Extravaganza with Olaf cupcakes and snowflake cookies, etc. etc.
That’s not me.
Instead, I want to use tools, like Pinterest, to find the decorations, games, traditions, etc. that already appeal to me!
This has been easy when it comes to December! I know that I love red ornaments on my tree, little snowflakes around the house, lots of candles, lots of gold glitter. I want to take the same approach to other special days! What Valentine’s Day things are MY favorite Valentine’s Day things? What says “Easter” to me? How can I decorate for Thanksgiving?
I want to go on adventure of decorative discovery this year!
#2: Celebrate by Counting
A few years ago, I read the book One Thousand Gifts. At the time, I also ordered the devotional, but I found that it was very similar to the book.
So, now that some time has elapsed, I am slowly going through the devotional as a refresher course on giving thanks and finding joy in the blessings I see around me.
I want to celebrate the things I already have.
I want to see these gifts that are right in front of me. To name them. To count them.
Part of wanting to celebrate more this year also includes continuing the practice of noticing and praising God for all the little things I see in my life every day.
#3: Speaking Out Loud
I also want to grow in the art of celebrating others!
I want to tell people the good things I see in them. I want to be encouraging. I want to lift people up! I want to be a blessing to others—but especially to those people who are in my own house. I want to be patient, loving and encouraging to my kids as they are learning to do new things. I want my husband to know how much I love and appreciate him. I want our friends and family to know how much I enjoy being with them.
I want people to know these things… I don’t want these thoughts to just live in my head. I want to celebrate the good things I see in others.
Those are just some of the ways I want to celebrate more in 2016!
Let’s Do This!
I’ve been working on a 6×8 mini album for my OLW all month long. I hope to share my pages here, at the end of each month!
I’ll be posting January’s pages on Sunday. See you then!
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