What’s your Picture for the Year? {#Pic4Year}

Jan 2, 2013Archive

pic4year

Last year I started a new revolution (well, not exactly a revolution, but a fun conspiracy nonetheless). Many folks choose a word for the year, which is a helpful and amazing way to focus your year and anticipate what God is doing.

But being a visual girl, I wanted something more, something to represent abundance (2012’s word) in a tangible way. So I chose a picture, had it immortalized in canvas, and placed it near my desk so I could be reminded of abundance all day long.

Here’s the picture I used last year:

The most joyful thing about this picture was the opportunity I had at the end of the year to award it to a friend who personified abundance to me. I think this is the start of a really cool tradition.

So onto 2013. In the middle of digging weeds and lamenting my lot in publishing, the Lord powerfully spoke to me, yet in a whisper, while bees buzzed and my fingers browned. He said, “Choose small; tend large.” I applied it to my marketing efforts and wrote a post about it here. 

But the phrase keeps niggling me. It’s more than just a marketing phrase; its’ an analogy for my life. I choose large (and way too much) and tend small. I’m overscattered, not present in the moment. I fail at resting. I speed by steady purposefulness. I flit here and there, never staying put, kind of like those bees buzzing around me while I weeded.

So I don’t have one word for 2013, I have four.

Choose small. Tend large.

I knew right away which picture I’d use:

choosesmall

And now I’m off to The Canvas People to make a canvas of the picture. Click on this link to get a big discount on your own: Cheap, Quality Photo Canvases! $25 Off + FREE shipping. We’re so sure you’ll like it! An 8×10 is about $25 with this offer. I can attest to the quality and efficiency of the Canvas People. But if you’re strapped for cash, just print out your picture and mount it on some cardboard or place it on your fridge so you’ll have a reminder of your word/phrase/picture of the year.

And here’s where you come in. I want you to choose a #Pic4Year! Here’s how.

  1. Pray about what word or phrase God might be speaking to you. Look over last year, remembering the main themes of your life. Look through your journal and look for repetitive words or scriptures. If you’re still baffled, ask your spouse, children or close friend what they see from the outside.
  2. Once you have your word(s), search through your picture archives or a free image site for an image. If you want to add your text to the image, consider trying Pic Monkey or Pixlr Express. (I use these both to make all my pins and images here; they are FREE).
  3. Write a post about your words/image and link back to this post. Here’s the link: https://www.marydemuth.com/?p=15341.
  4. Join the party here and upload your picture using the Linky Tools below.
  5. Tweet about your fun picture using this hashtag: #Pic4Year

That’s it. I hope this exercise helps you focus on this next year. I know for me, I’m more poised to think differently, to slow down, and take this life a little more deliberately. I’ll be taking things off my plate and focusing! I’m excited to see how this changes my day to day life and heart.



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