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SuzanneG
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| Posted: Jan 03 2009 at 12:24am | IP Logged
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Great thread....Very inspiring and uplifting!! Thank you, everyone!
Bookswithtea wrote:
Gentleness. I am so inspired by Michelle Duggar's refusal to show her frustration to her children. I'm not a big yeller, but I am not anywhere near as *gentle* as I want to be. 
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Me too. There was a small section on "Gentleness" in the Charlotte Mason Habits book that I read this summer, Laying Down the Rails that really stayed with me. I just kept thinking of that word....Gentleness.
Definition: Mildness of manners or disposition; free from harshness and sterness.
"Nothing is so strong as gentleness, nothing so gentle as real strength." St. Francis de Sales
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperence,: against such there is no law." Gal. 5:22,23
And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient. 2 Tim 2:24
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Suzanne in ID
Wife to Pete
Mom of 7 (Girls - 14, 12, 11, 9, 7 and Boys - 4, 1)
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cathochick
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| Posted: Jan 03 2009 at 11:12am | IP Logged
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My focus words for the year are Contentment and Trust. I need to learn to be content no matter what the circumstances rather than waiting for the next big thing to come along. And I need to trust that God will watch over our family and provide for our needs.
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Jessica
Mom to Dom 9, and Joe 5.
The Dominican Bungalow
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Mackfam
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| Posted: Jan 03 2009 at 11:29am | IP Logged
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Wow! I loved this thread from the minute you started it, Cay! What a wonderful way to distill your year's goals into one single itty bitty word. And thus the reason I am on page 4 of this thread just now putting my word out there.
I really thought long and hard about ACCEPTANCE. I think it will have to be the sister to my word because in the end I keep coming back to my word from last year, my focus, my prayer, my attempt to civilize myself...
GENTLENESS
But not just any gentleness,
MARIAN GENTLENESS
I can be so passionate in my thoughts and words and sometimes that passion equals harshness, impatience, impetuousness. I pray to have the gentleness of the Blessed Mother in thought, word, and deed. If I can cooperate enough with God's graces to embrace Marian gentility I think as Anne pointed out it will have a domino effect with other virtues I badly need to cultivate and polish - acceptance, meekness, contentment, obedience.
This has been a wonderful thread for prompting some interior searching and prayer, Cay. Thank you!!!  Praying for all of us as we seek to transform our lives and vocations in Christ!
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19 , ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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mary theresa
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guitarnan wrote:
My word is:
YES
Yes to God's plan for us. Yes to changing to better serve my family. Yes to sharing our resources with family and with those in need. Yes to listening instead of charging ahead with my own plan. Yes to asking, each and every day, "What is best for my husband, my children, my extended family?" and then trying to listen in silence for God's answer.
This will be a pivotal year for our family, and we all know it. Everyone's looking to me for approval of all kinds of plans...I can't say yes to every single one, but I can think before I say no, and try to find a way to God's yes, to Mary's yes, to St. Therese's yes. |
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Mine is like this -- it's FIAT
I have a hard time saying Yes/Fiat to the hard things in my life that God wants of me. 2008 brought alot of changes and hardships that wouldn't have been so bad if I'd "gone quietly" with a "fiat" instead of fussing and rebelling against them.
And I picked FIAT rather than Yes, because it reminds of how much I want to bring Mary into my life, and how much I will need her help.
Thanks SO much for this thread! I have been thinking and thinking since I read it first and I am happy to have found my word.
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Mary Theresa
mother to 3 little girls --March '06, Dec '07 and Jan '10
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Cay Gibson
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Mackfam wrote:
| This has been a wonderful thread for prompting some interior searching and prayer, Cay. Thank you!!! |
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I can take no credit. You'll have to thank the ladies at F.I.A.R. as I got the idea there. But, as much as I love stopping there for a root beer float, I find the good stuff here.
[ETA: Ooops! I wasn't finished... ]
And I have not been disappointed. You're right, Jennifer. The interior searching, prayer, and inspiration found in this thread has made my New Year look very promising and very "HOPEFUL".
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Cay Gibson
"There are 49 states, then there is Louisiana." ~ Chef Emeril
wife to Mark '86
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Cay Gibson
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| Posted: Jan 03 2009 at 3:32pm | IP Logged
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Nina Murphy wrote:
| Sorry to steal yours Cay, but I'll bring it full circle. Mine is simple; it has to be HOPE. 2008 brought some devastating things. |
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Not all all, Nina. Honestly, I was tickled at having you as a "word" buddy. 
Bookswithtea wrote:
I finally decided on a word. :-)
Its Gentleness. I am so inspired by Michelle Duggar's refusal to show her frustration to her children. |
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If mine wasn't HOPE this year, I'm sure it would have been GENTLENESS too, Books.
aussieannie wrote:
Thank you Cay for starting a very meaningful discussion and personal reflection for us all. |
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guitarnan wrote:
I love reading about everyone's chosen words, because I think I can learn more about myself as I see why each of you chooses a particular word for this year. |
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Exactly my feelings as I've read through each post. Who would think that one little word could give one's life so much meaning and hope.
Ah, the greatest word of all, Leonie! 
mary theresa wrote:
| I am happy to have found my word. |
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I know the feeling. I so know what you mean.
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Cay Gibson
"There are 49 states, then there is Louisiana." ~ Chef Emeril
wife to Mark '86
mom to 5
Cajun Cottage Under the Oaks
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Cay Gibson
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| Posted: Jan 03 2009 at 3:40pm | IP Logged
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As the FIAR ladies did, I took all the "words" for 2009 and compiled them into one place. Let me know if I overlooked anyone.
Some of you are still thinking and praying so continue to let us know your "word" and how you felt called and/or inspired to carry it on your heart this new year.
I invite you to look over the list and see if you have a "word" partner who has felt called to focus on the same "word" as you throughout 2009. I thought of this when I saw that Nina was inspired with the same word as I. I couldn't help but feel pleasure and Christian unity in the fact there would be another wife/mother guided and inspired by the same word as I in 2009.
I think the idea of having prayer/support/inspirational/word "buddies" will be helpful for all of us in keeping our yearly outlook positive and spiritually fruitful.
I will do my best to post an "Accountability" thread each month to help us renew our commitment to our words and what God has spoken in our hearts.
God bless you all! 
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Cay Gibson
"There are 49 states, then there is Louisiana." ~ Chef Emeril
wife to Mark '86
mom to 5
Cajun Cottage Under the Oaks
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LeeAnn
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I read this thread several days ago and had to think on it for a while.
My personal word is STEADFAST. To me, this brings to mind my need to work on being diligent, reliable and trustworthy. (Ouch! That hurt to write!)
I have been drawn to the word GENEROSITY for our family for several years and have meant to make some recognition of that. I want to hang it about the front door or in the dining room. I guess this will be the year!
This would be an interesting question for my older children to ponder as well. Thanks!
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my four children are 17, 15, 11 & 8 - all now attend public school - we read many 4Real recommended books at home
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marihalojen
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Wow! It looks like I made it before the boards close!
I choose CHERISH.
I want to CHERISH my time with my daughter and my husband, CHERISH my time in the tropics and on my sailboat.
The list of synonyms fits what I want to focus on this year to a tee so I choose CHERISH joyfully!
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~Jennifer
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The Mari Hal-O-Jen
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Donna Marie
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I just came up with something...and I am off to Michael's for some red paint, letters and sandpaper (gotta love gift certificate gifts for Christmas! I can do some serious damage there...LOL!) I was thinking of using the fruit of the month that is listed in the planners we are using and just expand that a bit to our window ledge for an easy eye-balling reminder. I blogged about it...well best I could with distractions. I will get a hang on blogging with a newborn yet! LOL
God love you!
Donna Marie from NJ
hs momma to 8dc and nak!
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God love you!
Donna Marie from NJ
hs momma to 9dc!!
Finding Elegant Simplicity
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trish
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It took me quite a while to decide on just one word. There were so many I thought of like: diligent, accountable, patience, and thoughtful. But I think what I need the most is: Faithful. I think if I can keep that one word in front of my nose it will lead me to where I need to go.
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~ Trish ~
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Philothea
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I thought I replied to this last night, but I guess not!
PEACE, ORDER, PATIENCE, YIELD:
PEACE in my soul.
ORDER in my life and home.
PATIENCE with myself and others.
YIELD to God's Will and the story He is writing (with me as a very minor and totally expendable character!).
All of this, I pray, will lead to the one word I've been seeking and not finding for too long now: JOY!
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donnalynn
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My word is LISTEN - there is a lot in that word for me and a lot of people -
I need to listen to my husband - really listen - we've been having a lot of "You never told me/ Yes I did" kind of conversations lately.
I need to take time to listen to each of my children individually.
I need to stop more often and listen for God's whisperings.
I knew this would be my word when I first saw the thread - and what a great exercise to kind of focus on exactly what I could do better this year in one word!
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donnalynn
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12stars
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I can't decide between TRUST and GENTLENESS so I decided for both.
Gentleness for my husband
for my children
for others
and myself
Trust that everything we are going through is in Gods hands always.
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Claudia in Southern California
Wife to George,
Mom to DD 14, DD 10, DD 7, DS 4, DS 2, 1 in heaven, and now due 5/11.
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CrunchyMom
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Yk, I was thinking about how to display my word to make it more "official" and real. Reading about all the people buying and painting wooded letters (which, of course, look so pretty in all the catalogs), and it occurs to me that you all picked such "pretty" words. Grace, Hope, Gentleness, Trust, all look so pretty spelled out in a nice script or whatever, but DILIGENCE just isn't as aesthetic.
Sigh. I guess that comes later. One of the reasons I know I need it is because for me, diligence is the missing foundation needed to create an atmosphere where I can more easily rest into the other "pretty" virtues.
I guess that is part of what I need to learn and internalize--that it is just plain hard work that isn't naturally appealing to my sanguine self that I really need!
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
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[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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tallulah23
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I think mine needs to be gentleness too. I can be so harsh verbally sometimes. Surely this affects every aspect of our home.
Thanks for this reminder to convert my heart. Blessings as we come to the end of the Christmas Season!
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Evie, SAHM to dd 3.5 & ds 2
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aussieannie
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I was looking for Chesterton quotes and found this, it sums up this thread, I reckon:
"The object of a new year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul."
G K Chesterton
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Maddie
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My word for the year is:
MAGNANIMOUS
Here are two definitions that I particularly like:
Courageously noble in mind and heart.
Generous in forgiving; eschewing resentment or revenge; unselfish.
noble in mind; high-souled; esp., generous in overlooking injury or insult; rising above pettiness or meanness
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~Maddie~
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lapazfarm
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Chiming in late here to add my word: "Engage".
To me it is similar to "connect" but with more of an active component. My intention is to more fully engage my self and my children with the world around us and all it offers.
Great thread!
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
LaPaz Home Learning
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Leonie
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lapazfarm wrote:
My intention is to more fully engage my self and my children with the world around us and all it offers.
Great thread! |
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Nodding - perfect for an unschooler! I would also like to engage more with my kids, instead of being busy with other stuff....
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Leonie in Sydney
Living Without School
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: What's Your Word for 2009?
