Several years ago, as I was coming to the end of my college career, my good friend Alex Jackson and I began choosing a word to guide each of our years. A men's breakfast at Cedar Heights Baptist Church gave us the idea, and over the years we've kept at it.
Admittedly, our practice of this has waxed and waned. At times, we've done well to check in on each other throughout the year by asking, "How's your word?" We've even included our wives and talked about our choices over dinner. I can't speak for Alex, but I wouldn't be surprised if he, like me, invited other friends into it as well.
But to be honest, I can't even remember the word I chose for 2025. Survive?
Ideally you wouldn't forget your word for the year, but it's okay if isn't always at the forefront of your mind. In fact, it might be better that it's not. Instead of exhausting yourself by attempting to force your year to fit your word, plant the word and let God give the growth. The best thing for it is to water it with prayer.
Depending on the time of year, you will interact with your word differently. At the beginning, it sets a vision (like a telescope). In the middle, it checks your progress (like a checklist). At the end, it helps you see moments that matched the theme (like a thread). Your word doesn't need to be top of mind. It just needs to bubble up every now and then. A good friend is most helpful in this.
I've failed to keep a record of all the words I've chosen since we began, but one word in particular stands out to me: Faithful. That's the word I chose at the beginning of 2021. That's where I wanted to prove myself. But by the end of the year, I realized that it wasn’t so much me who proved faithful, but God.
Choosing a word for the year is a simple habit, and I’ve enjoyed simple blessings from doing it. It has helped me see where I want to go, and it has helped me see where I’ve been.
What word would you choose as you reflect on this past year? What word would you like to choose as you look forward to the next?
As we finish this old year and begin the new, take a moment to sing All Glory Be to Christ with Grace Worship. There's no better way to do it.
Admittedly, our practice of this has waxed and waned. At times, we've done well to check in on each other throughout the year by asking, "How's your word?" We've even included our wives and talked about our choices over dinner. I can't speak for Alex, but I wouldn't be surprised if he, like me, invited other friends into it as well.
But to be honest, I can't even remember the word I chose for 2025. Survive?
Ideally you wouldn't forget your word for the year, but it's okay if isn't always at the forefront of your mind. In fact, it might be better that it's not. Instead of exhausting yourself by attempting to force your year to fit your word, plant the word and let God give the growth. The best thing for it is to water it with prayer.
Depending on the time of year, you will interact with your word differently. At the beginning, it sets a vision (like a telescope). In the middle, it checks your progress (like a checklist). At the end, it helps you see moments that matched the theme (like a thread). Your word doesn't need to be top of mind. It just needs to bubble up every now and then. A good friend is most helpful in this.
I've failed to keep a record of all the words I've chosen since we began, but one word in particular stands out to me: Faithful. That's the word I chose at the beginning of 2021. That's where I wanted to prove myself. But by the end of the year, I realized that it wasn’t so much me who proved faithful, but God.
Choosing a word for the year is a simple habit, and I’ve enjoyed simple blessings from doing it. It has helped me see where I want to go, and it has helped me see where I’ve been.
What word would you choose as you reflect on this past year? What word would you like to choose as you look forward to the next?
As we finish this old year and begin the new, take a moment to sing All Glory Be to Christ with Grace Worship. There's no better way to do it.