I shared with you that I spoke to our MOPS group about how to choose your word of the year. I’ve been asked to share the presentation with you, and I’m glad to!

*The idea of a word of the year was first introduced to me by my dear friend Heather. Once upon a time, she had a lovely blog full of beautiful inspiration. I’m very glad to call her friend. She told me of Ali Edwards, OneWord365, and her own collection of beautiful inspiration. What is written below is my attempt to help others find these lovely ideas.

WHAT IS A WORD OF THE YEAR

– the idea is to choose a word (or let it choose you) that has the potential to make an impact on your life

HOW TO START

Spend time with God seeking where He wants you to grow in your friendship with Him this year. Take note of the words He is putting on your heart, thinking about each one until the word God has set aside for you becomes clear.

Sometimes, it might feel like you keep ‘tripping’ over a word. He’s probably trying to tell you something.

TIPS FROM ONEWORD365

Focus on being rather than doing.
Different than resolutions, your one word isn’t a constant reminder of what you “should be doing”. Instead, it stands to inspire how you want to live.

Be authentic.
Your word should reflect YOU, and no one else. It’s easy to listen to others’ words and then pick one that sounds good. But you want a word that’s uniquely yours…

Don’t overthink it.
It’s simply about identifying the word that keeps coming back to nag at your heart. Keep an open mind and heart, and pay attention to the word that you see, hear, and recognize the most in the coming days…

THERE ARE NO RIGHT OR WRONG WORDS!

abide, calm, abundance, balance, flourish, hope, joy, listen, obey, expect, purpose, surrender, submit, patience, trust, nourish, still, whole, thrive, grow, pursue, focus, nurture, shine, brave, cultivate, embrace, love, forward, action, create, release –
The possibilities are endless!

WHAT DO YOU DO WITH YOUR WORD?

You live with it, you invite it into your life, and you let it speak to you. You follow where it leads you. The intent of your word is for it to become a part of you for the rest of your life. Each year, each word you choose will build upon the others as God’s heart becomes embedded in your character.

READY, SET, CHOOSE!

1. Spend some time imagining what you want your life to look like. Who is God asking you to be? What is He whispering to you to let go of?

2. Write down the characteristics of that person you want to become. The virtues are always a beautiful place to start: prudence, justice, temperance, courage, faith, hope and charity

3. Make a list of words that sum up that description or that conjure up an image of that vision you started with. It can include nouns (such as peace or joy), adjectives (like thoughtful or brave), verbs (like create or pause) or even prepositions (like with or in).

4. Then whittle your list down to the few words that resonate most with you. Really dive into the true meaning of each word.

5. Turn them over and over in your heart and mind. Give yourself time to mull over your short list.

6. Take a deep breath and commit. Just go ahead and decide.