Saturday, December 15, 2012

A Year with my Motto

So about a year ago I attended a seminar called Finding your Passion and Purpose at UNCG. One of the activities we completed was to create a motto for our lives. We spend 2 days doing self-reflection activities to help us discover our purpose. So this was the culmination of the 2 days. Our guidelines were to choose words that have meaning to us and for it to only be 7 words. Apparently there is some evidence to prove that 7 words is easy for us to remember. The result of that task was my motto which now appears in my signature line for any personal emails I send, and is referenced often. I thought it would be fun to look back over this past year of having this motto to see how it has been worked out in real life. So here ya go: 


  Live Intentionally. 
                                      Be For Others.
                                                                      Cultivate Peace. 


Live Intentionally: 
  • I created a 30 before 30 list. and have been intentional about creating space in my life to do the things on the list (not always succeeding, because sometimes its easier to watch TV than to read a book a month...)
  • This year I've heard several friends remark on my being intentional with them - seeking out time to spend with them or doing something specifically for them (again I am not sure I always succeed in this area, but that's what "they" say)
  • I've paid more attention to how I am intentional. I really do have reasons for almost all the things I do. This year I've had some tough conversations with people who have questioned my intentions and I've had to evaluate them. This hasn't been fun, but actually very important. 
  • I have noticed this year, since having a motto, that I do in fact live my life with intention in a way that some others don't. This can make my life more exciting sometimes, and more boring other times. But I noticed it most when I meet new people and they comment on something I do or say in a way that reminds me - oh yea, it's because I'm intentional...Ashley Porter knows what I'm talking about in this regard. :) 
Be for Others:
  • I went to Greece to be a counselor for missionaries. So while Greece was awesome and traveling is one of the great joys in my life - I went to serve. I wanted to use my skills and education in counseling for the benefit of the body of Christ, and what better way than with those whose job titles are the body of Christ in motion. 
  • I responded to a basic need for water by raising $1400 for Rwanda and a new project that gives clean water access to people living in Rulindo. This is exciting because as the project is completed we will get to receive updates on how the money was spent. I was able to get my network of friends and fellow advocates to be for others that we will most likely never get to meet. But we have changed their lives forever. 
  • I am trying to simplify my life by getting rid of the superfluous stuff in my house. I've been to Goodwill more this year than any other. I have tried to find good ways of getting rid of stuff, and even paying more attention to what gets recycled and what doesn't.  So I hope I am able to be for others who buy the things I take to Goodwill.
Cultivate Peace:
  • This year I think I've had the most trouble seeing this one in my life. Probably because cultivation can take a long time. I may be planting seeds of peace in small ways and won't know about them for a long time. I did put a cool bumper sticker on my car in hopes of helping - it says "Love > Fear" and goes wherever my car goes. So that's something lol.
  • I hope I am able to cultivate peace through my work with the high school ministry at my church. I love those students and seek to show them God's love and grace in this world. I find a lot of my time is spent encouraging and reminding them that God's got this, hopefully in turn bringing about some of that "peace beyond understanding" that only God can provide. 
 So I'm very thankful for my motto. I am grateful to God for making me someone who loves language and finding words that resonate with my soul and provide a "soul check" on how I'm living. I like having a motto that makes me question -  Is what I'm doing in a way that fits with how God made me and living into my motto - or do I need to realign myself with who I really am and who I want to be.

If you're still reading to the end of this self-reflection - thanks and enjoy this nostalgic take on the importance of a motto.