“What’s your word for the year?”  I have a number of friends who, instead of making New Year’s resolutions, faithfully choose one word to characterize their year.   Perhaps the word is something true about them that they want to be reminded of, like “chosen” or “clean”.  Maybe the word is an area they would like to grow in, such as “forgiveness” or “dependability”.   As they go through the year they can see God do work in their lives in that specific area.

I’ve never done this.

I’m not against the idea.  I believe it’s a worthy pursuit.  I just have never had a word captivate me enough to want to focus on it for the whole year.  It could be because I see so many areas of my life that require growth and attention that I can’t narrow it down to one.  Or it could be that I know myself well enough to know that the thing that seems pressing in early January may be long forgotten by May.  Regardless, I’ve never felt compelled to join in the exercise.

Until now.

I was recently reading an article by Ann Voskamp that caught my attention.  (It was reposted by my friend Pamela Haddix on her blog Worship and the Word which you should definitely check out!)  Ann brilliantly presented a word that was so compelling that I am inclined to make it my word for the year.

• … it’s a word that captivates my attention like no other
• … it’s a word that reminds me who I am and where I stand in this world
• … it’s a word that brings attention to where my priorities are and where they should be
• … it’s a word that causes the chaos in my life to hush
• … it’s a word that commands attention where it is due
• … it’s a word that silences storms and moves mountains
• … it’s a word that makes demons tremble and sends them cowering

I’m not sure how I’ll do having a “word for the year”.  But anything that will keep me coming back to the name of Jesus has got to be worth trying.