For the past few years, I’ve selected a single word to live by throughout the year. This is a word that defines my life for the year, and helps undergird everything I do for the next twelve months.

The new year is quickly approaching, and a new word is on the horizon. I’m not going to reveal it now; that post will come closer to the end of the year.

I choose to identify and implement a word every year as a part of my life plan. I add this word to the beginning of my plan, and try to use it as a piece of the foundation for every portion of my plan. Some areas are more successful than others.

Right now, I’m examining the past year to see how I lived according to the word that I chose.

For 2013, I chose the word intentional.

I selected this word because we had a pretty intense year in 2012, and this word seemed to fit. Little did I know the impact it would really have throughout my year.

Here’s a brief rundown of some of the reasons I chose intentional.

• In 2012, we moved from the midwest to the Gulf Coast of Florida, taking on a new ministry.
• Moving over a thousand miles and leaving our families and friends behind was pretty hard.
• We experienced the birth of our sixth child, Jude Michael.
• I launched a new ministry to dads, DeliberateDads.com.

That’s a lot. But I had no inkling of an idea that this was only the tip of the iceberg. In 2013, my commitment to be intentional was tested severely.

• We finally sold our house in Mountain View, Missouri, after over a year on the market.
• I launched a podcast to go along with DeliberateDads.
• We decided to leave the ministry in Florida, and move back to Missouri.
• Moving back to the midwest came with a new role. I stepped out of youth ministry and into the lead role at our new church.
• I enrolled and was accepted into a Master’s program with the Institute for Creation Research program,called the School of Biblical Apologetics. My first class begins this winter.

With so much on my plate, my ability to be intentional was tested hard. And though I feel like I was able to keep my focus most of the time, I am ready for things to slow down somewhat.

Intentional.

With so much in our lives being new and different and busy, my need was to make sure that everything I did was done with purpose and intent, and not haphazardly. My goal was to implement this in every aspect of my life. And I feel like I did, for the most part.

Even though the year is over, my commitment to be intentional must continue. Whether that is in my relationships with my wife and kids, my friends, or my church. Whether it is in my writing, my hobbies, the books I read, or the movies I watch. Whether it is in the words that I say, the thoughts that I think, or the things that I do.

Intentional. Difficult? Yes. Necessary? Extremely.

I’m looking forward to how this continues to play out in my life in the coming years.

And, I’m looking forward to sharing my word for 2014. I’m just about ready.

Are you?

Did you select One Word to live by this year? If so, what was it? You can share your thoughts in the comment section below.