Every year I try to think of one word that will help me keep focus on what I want to accomplish. I was picking a word long before I discovered this resource by Mike Ashcraft and Rachel Olsen, but I have found their site to be very helpful.
As described by Mike Ashcraft and Rachel Olsen on their website http://myoneword.org/pick-your-word/ , to choose your one word follow these three steps:
Step 1: DETERMINE THE KIND OF PERSON YOU WANT TO BECOME
“The first step is to simply take some time and decide what kind of person you want to be at the end of this year. This goes beyond simply being healthier and wealthier, but it must drive deep into your soul. What about the condition of your heart? What about the person that God Himself has created you to be?”
Step 2: IDENTIFY THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THAT PERSON
“Get a picture of that person and then simply identify their major characteristics. Is that person gentle? Is that person generous? What are the qualities of the person you want to become?”
Step 3: PICK A WORD
My word for 2016 was Homeschool Wholeheartedly because I wanted to really make homeschooling my children a focus since they were getting older. For 2017 it was Balance, as a busy, working, homeschooling mother I found myself in need of balance so that work would not overtake my responsibility to my family. For 2018 my word was Consistency, I wanted to be consistent in the things that I did to achieve success.
Now as I look forward 2019 I decided that I needed a shift. I first thought my word should be Abide. John 15:4-7 had been calling my name. I simply wanted to just rest in Christ this year. I felt like I had been spinning and this verse was calling me back .
4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
John 15:4-7
However, as I looked up the meaning of abide it did not quite resonate with me. While I want to continue and remain in Christ in all that I did this year, I did not want to be “fixed in a state”. That is when I decided to look up Breathe. After all I was planning a retreat with the same name. Maybe God was calling me to that for the year.
I looked up the definition for breathe and found the following:
intransitive verb 4: to pause and rest before continuing 5: to feel free of restraint
transitive verb 4b: to make manifest 5: to give rest from exertion to 6: to spend a great deal of time, thought, or effort on (something) : to be wholly devoted to (some interest or activity)
That’s it!! I don’t want to remain “fixed in a state” as in the connotation of the word abide. I felt God was calling me to rest before continuing, that I needed rest from being a workaholic but that I also needed to be wholly devoted to Him. So my word for 2019 became Breathe.
It is my desire that you too find rest for your weariness. The savior has an invitation for us all!
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28
How about you?
What is your one word? Are you still trying to make sense of the year and what you hope to accomplish? Click here for a free guided form to help you find clarity.