I often wake up multiple times each night, toss and turn for a few seconds and go back to sleep. I also often have vivid and weird dreams, the kind that would make a great book or movie. Then I usually forget them shortly after I wake.
Recently I woke up with the memory of a dream that was so vivid, so important that I could not go back to sleep. I knew I shouldn’t even try without writing down my dream. So at 1 am, I pulled out my personal journal and a pen and began writing. As soon as I got the dream on paper I put my journal down and went back to sleep.
In the days that followed I would come to realize that the entirety of the dream wasn’t significant, but the message was. Simplify.
I’ve heard respected women in leadership talk about their “word” for this year. It is based on the concept from Pastor Mike Ashcraft of choosing one word to move toward becoming rather than looking back and trying to fix all the things that are wrong. That’s a rather simple explanation of My One Word, but the concept intrigues me.
I first learned of the concept in April when a respected leader shared her word with a group of other women leaders, and encouraged us with that word. Throughout the rest of 2017 I borrowed her word, “Release,” and wore the reminder engraved on a bracelet on my wrist. I released some of my fear, negative expectations and self-doubt. Most importantly, I released myself to what God would have for me. His plans to empower me as a leader and use me to influence others.
In December I began to think about the one word concept and wonder if God had a word for me going into 2018. I figured I needed to set aside time to pray about it. Life was busier at the end of 2017 than I anticipated, but God wasn’t surprised, He found a way to get my one word to me in the midst of the chaos, through that dream.
The content of the dream really wasn’t important, it was rather obscure actually, it’s the message that matters. Simplify.
My life, like many others today, is hectic. I am a wife, mother, pastor, homeschool mom, and leader. I cook, clean and do laundry. I make decisions that will determine whether my children make it to their next birthday and decisions that determine the direction of a ministry. I balance schedules and my checkbook, sometimes simultaneously.
As if that weren’t enough there is an entire world trying to get my attention. I am constantly bombarded with appeals for my time, my money, and my compassion. I am surrounded by the claim that someone has found the way to do what I do better or faster or cheaper. Click-bait tells me I have been doing basic tasks “wrong” my whole life. There’s always the next great thing, gadget or experience that someone wants me to know about.
There are so many things that need to be simplified in my life: my calendar, my schedule, my home, my wardrobe, my finances, my to-do list, my diet...
I am beginning with my home and my time. To start with, I am reorganizing my entire home. This may sound daunting, but was made simpler by the fact that our apartment complex had us move out entirely for 2 weeks so they could redo our floors. We are still in the process of unpacking. This means I am going through things, getting rid of things and organizing things so they are easier to find.
I am also simplifying my schedule and to-do list. This is made possible by a very handy, very simple planner I received for Christmas. I’m learning how to do more in less time by simplifying my workspace and raising up leaders to share the workload.
Simplify doesn’t mean easy, but as I move into 2018, I have been given a rare blessing, the permission to simplify.
Permission? Yes!
As I write this a new layer of my one word is revealed. What does it mean to have permission to simplify? This is something I will ponder as I live out my one word for 2018: Simplify!
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