I look forward to Thursdays when I can publish thoughts on my spiritual journey and hear the thoughts of others on a weekly theme topic. It has become a space for an encouraging and fortifying community to come together. We welcome anyone who would like to join us!
"Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil." - Proverbs 4: 25-27
In other words, FOCUS!!!
I loved the idea Margaret Simon had to look up synonyms for her OLW and to put them into Tagxedo. I decided to do the same and chose words that spoke to me spiritually. I love that the word focus can be a noun or verb, so I chose synonyms for both. I kept in mind all that I want to focus on when it comes to God, and many words appeared more than once in Thesaurus.com since there are synonyms for each main synonym. The words speak for themselves, but I'm going to choose a few and define them below the image.
I've taken the liberty of choosing the definition(s) that describe my aspirations for FOCUSing on God.
NOUNS
polestar - North Star; directing principle, guide; center of attraction
mecca - a place regarded as a center
soul - the spiritual part of a person that is believed to give life to the body and in many religions is believed to live forever ; a person's deeply felt moral and emotional nature; the ability of a person to feel kindness and sympathy for others, to appreciate beauty and art, etc.
vanguard - the forefront of an action or movement
nucleus - a central or most important part of something
VERBS
align - to arrange things so that they form a line or are in proper position
discern - to come to know or recognize mentally
examine - to look at (something) closely and carefully in order to learn more about it
follow - to engage in as a calling or way of life
intensify - to make intense or more intensive: strengthen; to make more acute: sharpen
To consider God as the center of my focus; to align my thoughts, prayers, and desires with His Word - the result being a closer walk with Him...that is the power of my OLW for 2015. I look forward to reading YOUR blog posts about FOCUS now!
Below is the current OLW Spiritual Journey Thursday schedule - if you're not on the schedule, and you'd like us to write about the spiritual aspects of YOUR OLW, please let me know your word and blog URL, and I'll add you! Also, if I made a mistake or didn't add you, and I was supposed to, let me know!
JANUARY 15th: Carol Varselona's OLW, LISTEN
JANUARY 15th: Carol Varselona's OLW, LISTEN
JANUARY 22nd: Michelle Haseltine's OLW, FLY
JANUARY 29th: Leigh Anne Eck's OLW, TURN
FEBRUARY 5th: Margaret Simon's OLW, REACH
FEBRUARY 12th: Justin Stygles's OLW, LOOK
FEBRUARY 19th: Greg Armamentos's OLW, DIVE (Dwell, Ignite, Venture, Embody)
FEBRUARY 26th: Ramona Behnke's OLW, STRETCH
Holly, I am impressed with your Tagxedo word cloud. It is such a beautiful visual and the words you chose to highlight your OLW are on target. Follow-engage in a calling or way of life=>that is what the apostles did. They chose to follow. I hope that focus allows me to LISTEN intently to the calling. Thank you for your spiritual direction. I hope that FOCUS brings you to a closer awareness of God in your life.
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ReplyDeleteI love your Tagxedo. I've had technical difficulty with the app in the classroom. I almost did this with the word Focus as well,but looked for a quote instead. Thanks for being such a generous leader for our spiritual journeys.
Great visual! I've come to believe that visuals are as important as the writing about the OLW. I liked writing about focus today. What a great idea to have each of us write about our OLWs. I'm excited to see what everyone else has to say about the word I've picked. Today gave me a chance to really visit with your word and borrow it for a bit. I'm loving this opportunity! Thanks Holly!
ReplyDeleteI would love to write about my own OWL too. Let me know. I will have to read up on this too as I start my New Year so I will not how to format. Thanks so much for this weekly opportunity to connect. You have no idea what it means to me. ;)
ReplyDeleteLove that focus & heart are at the center of your Tagxedo!
ReplyDeleteThe word "vital" in your Tagxedo really stood out for me! Focus on the right things is so vital! Thank you for giving me a push to the right direction this week. I will let you know my OLW next week.
ReplyDeleteI love what you have done with your one little word. The word mecca struck a chord with me because I am trying to create a space in my home for meditating, praying, writing, and just spending time with God - a place to be centered and focused. Thanks for thinking of using our OLW's. This has brought about some wonderful reflection and insight. I love where this community going, so thank you for leading us.
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