For the past six years, I’ve chosen a word to focus on for 365 days. As I think about my word for 2019, I thought it would be fun to reflect on past words and how they have impacted me.
Joy – 2013
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Bible Verse:You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 16:11 (ESV)
Intention: At the time, my intention was to learn to live in the moment and stop wishing away each day in hopes for the weekend or the next thing. I wanted to be thankful for all that I had been given. Psalm 16:11 was my favorite and I wanted to discover how that fit into my daily life.
What I learned: Joy isn’t necessarily the opposite of sadness and definitely doesn’t mean that hard days don’t exist. It is about finding the little things to be thankful for and spending time in God’s presence. I read One Thousand Gifts by Ann VosKamp for the first time and it really played into the gratitude aspect of this word for me.
Rooted – 2014
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Bible Verse: So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. Colossians 2:6-7 (NIV)
Intention: Kevin helped me choose this word as a reminder that I was right where God wanted me to be. My main intention for 2014 was to choose to be rooted in my decisions and in my God. Following His plans and making the best decisions for my future, so that I can be my best and my happiest. I chose this word because I was going to be making a decision about where I was going to find a job and live following college.
Blog Posts: Rooted (A Couple Years Later)
What I learned: Making the decision to stay in the same city felt like being planted in the same pot with new soil and fresh rain. I realized that we had already built a foundation and friendships, we just needed to change our mindset that this was “home”. Finding and getting involved in a community church as opposed to a church through our college made a big difference in that.
Adventure – 2015
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Bible Verse: Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9 (NIV)
But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Ruth 1:9 (NIV)
Intention: I chose adventure knowing that Kevin and I were going to be getting married and moving in together. I wanted to focus on trying new things (like cooking, hosting, owning my own business) and being happy with not immediately being good at them.
What I learned: Kevin surprised me with our honeymoon destination and I think that really opened my eyes to the idea of being spontaneous and not needing to be in control of every single thing. In the first year of marriage and living together, you really have a lot to figure out – sometimes being adventurous meant cooking new meals and it also meant having a car breakdown two hours away from home and having to figure out buying one in a pinch without it seeming like we were in a pinch.
Nourish – 2016
Bible Verse: For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer. If you point these things out to the brothers and sisters, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished on the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. 1 Timothy 4:4-6 (NIV)
Intention: I was looking for a more peaceful and relaxing word to encompass a lot of the goals I had in the realm of self-care. I wanted to slow down and make time for myself and the things that God wanted me to make priorities in my life.
Blog Posts: The Year of Nourish | The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up | January Prompts | A Nourishing 2016 (Traveler’s Notebook Flip Thru)
What I learned: By the end of the year, the term self-care felt over used as an excuse not to do hard things, which wasn’t my intention. I am proud of the way that I scheduled (yes, actually scheduled on my calendar) time in for myself and grew as a person during this year.
Thrive – 2017
Bible Verse: They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do. Psalm 1:3 (NLT)
Intention: My intention with thrive was to live intentionally and outside of my comfort zone. I kept thinking “thrive, not just survive” and I think that came from the feeling that life was flying by me. For the first time, I felt the settle in of routine without new classes, the excitement of getting engaged and married, new house, new jobs, etc.
Blog Posts: The Year of Thriving | Thriving in the Garden
What I learned: I feel like one of the easiest traps to fall into is the one of discontentment, which is what I was trying to fight. I know that I personally am often looking toward exciting events, weekends, and the next thing without actually living in the moment. I did some learning on how to be content with what I have – capsule wardrobes and minimalism – and I think for me I realized that to some degree, I’ll always be longing for something more because I was made for eternity, and glory with God.
Connect – 2018
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Bible Verse: You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you in a dry and parched land where there is no water. Psalm 63:1 (NIV)
Intention: My goal was to prioritize my connection with God and take action to work on relationships in my life, including my relationship with myself and the things I’m putting in/on my body.
Blog Posts: The Year of Connect
What I learned: Connection has felt like a fairly passive word for me, because it came a lot easier than expected. I feel like this year has solidified a lot of friendships I’ve made over the past couple years and was easily transferrable to my job as well, in the way that I invested in co-workers and formed partnerships. As far as connecting with myself, I did a lot of research on the Enneagram (I’m an eight) and that’s been really eye opening to my motivation and certain parts of my personality that felt misunderstood, even by me.
I’m hoping to finish the year strong with connect and really glean every possible thing I can from it at this moment. At the beginning of 2019, I’ll be sharing my new word of the year, which is already all picked out. Any guesses as to what it might be?