Let’s talk about choosing One Word for the coming year.
2019 is just over a month away, but if you’ve been reading this blog for awhile, then you know that I gave up New Year’s resolutions thirteen years ago. All my good intentions — the “I wills” and the “I won’ts” — faded so quickly, and I always misplaced my list of resolutions before January was over.
Instead, I choose One Word and focus on it for 365 days. Doing so changes my perspective. My heart. My actions.
Before I tell you the One Word I selected for 2019, here’s a quick recap of my One Words for the past 13 years.
- 2006: gratitude – I kept a gratitude journal and found my “glass-half-empty” attitude revolutionized.
- 2007: simplify – A severe illness turned this word into survival. I embraced simpler things in ways I never imagined.
- 2008: content – as in “be content with such things as you have” (Hebrews 13:5) I bought a lot less that year!
- 2009 & 2010: forgiveness – I had a lot to learn and unlearn about forgiveness.
- 2011: hope – I clung to this word when life hurt or when my heart ached for others who were hurting.
- 2012: trust – During a year of change, I faced doubting versus trusting — and chose to trust.
- 2013: confidence – I set my heart and mind on “not throwing away my confidence.” (Hebrews 10:35-36)
- 2014: think – I anchored my thinking to truth more and more, rather than letting my thoughts go wandering around in doubts and lies.
- 2015: collaborate – “to work jointly on an activity, especially to produce or create something.” I focused on collaborating with God in my writing life.
- 2016: prosper – to act wisely, as in “And David was acting wisely (prospering) in all his ways for the LORD was with him.” (1 Samuel 18:14) This word stayed with me as I confronted a lot of major (and minor) decisions.
- 2017: inheritance – Psalm 16:5-6 talks about having a “delightful inheritance.” To be honest, I wasn’t as intentional about my One Word as I’ve been in the past. Life was just one challenge after another. But God continued to show me the word again and again in small ways … and I was encouraged that there’s more to this life than the here and now.
- 2018: kind – Ephesians 4:32a encourages us to “Be kind to one another.” This past year, I started each week with a quote on kindness, sharing it on Instagram and Facebook, and looking for opportunities to be compassionate and kind.
My One Word for 2019 is anchor. “Anchor” harkens back to my 2014 word “think,” where I anchored my thoughts to the truth. This year, I struggled to settle on my One Word. Originally, I thought of “mind-full” — concentrating on what I filled my mind with. And then I remembered how I focused on my anchor verses earlier this year, and the word “anchor” rose to the surface. ((No pun intended.)
And when I saw the illustration I posted with this blog by my oh-so-creative friend, Amy Kirk, I knew I’d found my visual for the coming year. To see more of Amy’s creations, follow her on Instagram, and visit her Etsy shop, AhniArt.
In Your Words: I’d love to know if you’ve selected One Word for 2019 — and what it is. Or if you prefer to do resolutions, tell me why!
In Others' Words: My One Word for 2019 http://bit.ly/2KE0FEo #OneWord #2019 Share on X
'I am secured by your grace as I sail across this stormy sea.' Quote from a prayer in The Valley of Vision http://bit.ly/2KE0FEo #anchor #security Share on X
Comments 19
‘Anchor’ is a good one.
In a life that’s gone completely ghastly, where mere pain would be a boon, I guess my One Word is a prayer that metaphorically flips the bird to fate. I am SO out of options, and so out of hope.
“Lord, make me fast and accurate. Let my aim be true and my hand faster than those who would seek to destroy me. Grant me victory over my foes and those that wish to harm me and mine. Let not my last thought be “If I only had my rifle”; and Lord if today is truly the day that You call me home, let me die in a pile of empty brass.”
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Andrew: That prayer so reflects your heart. And if I had to distill it down to one word, that word would be “courage.”
And yes, courage reflects your heart, too.
Fitting.
Praying for you, friend.
Haven’t picked one yet but thinking about it . Depression has been quite the enemy this past year so your mind-full is on the radar. I’ll know when it hits me in my mind ….full. lol
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Mary: Depression is such a heavy mental weight to carry around. You are in my prayers. Let me know when you settle on a word for 2019.
Seeing the progression of your words is an impacting blessing. Good policy. I’m writing from enjoying Tel Aviv and Israel in perfect weather. As I begin to choose a word, I think it’s going to focus around the concepts of perfect, ideal, blessing, something that our gift-giving God overwhelms us with.
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Dee: I love where God is leading you for your 2019 One Word, and I also love envisioning you in Israel. Enjoy every moment!
I’ve been praying about my One Word for a while, on and off, but during my pastor’s message a couple of weeks ago, he kept repeating the word, “harvest.” Every time he said it, it sounded like the auditory version of bold, all caps, if that makes any sense.
The logical verse for that word would be Luke 10:2, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few…” but Psalm 126:5 speaks to me, “Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy.” It’ll be interesting to see what God has in store for 2019.
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Angie: What you shared made complete sense to me. I’m excited to see what God has in store for you in 2019. “Harvest” has so much promise in it.
My One Word for 2019 would be “Wait”. There are so many things in my life right now that are only questions without answers, and yet I want to control everything myself. I have to learn to slow down and surrender to God. Patience has never been my strong suit: I pray that I may grow in this character trait as we move into the new year.
“Anchor” is a good one: that word pretty much summarizes everything the Lord has been leading me through this past year, 2018.
He wants us to look to Him for everything, and to live our lives on His foundation.
I’ll be praying for you all as we start 2019 together Angela, Delores, Beth, Mary, and Andrew!!
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Odelia: I’ve had my waiting seasons, too. And I’ve learned that just because I don’t see anything happening, that doesn’t mean God isn’t working, that He isn’t accomplishing something in my life and in my favor. Sometimes waiting is a good time for abiding. For trusting. For praying … And I’m praying for you, too, Odelia.
Still trying to choose. This will be year 5. This year is Light and I am enjoying the Christmas lights tonight. And reading Things I never told you. And I find myself wanting to pray for the characters. Thanks for being mind full of your words.
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Hi, Mary: “Light.” What a wonderful word to focus on for a year. And 5 years on choosing One Word. Brava! 🙂
Thank you, too, for your encouragement about Things I Never Told You. Sometimes as I write, I pray for my characters, too. One of the prayers is, “If these characters were real people, what would they need to know about you, God?”
The word that keeps catching my attention for the last week or so has been ‘Adore.’
Funnily enough, for the last two years my words have come from Christmas songs – 2017 was ‘Worth’ from O Holy Night (perfect for the year I turned 30!), and 2018 was ‘Glory,’ which was adapted from the word gloria in Angels We Have Heard On High. ‘Adore’ (or, maybe, Adoration), is, of course from O Come All Ye Faithful.
Other words that have bounced around my brain are: Focus, Grace, and Prosper, all of which seem to fit this stage of my life.
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Jodie: How special that your One Words have come from Christmas songs. I love that! 🙂
I took a quiz from Dayspring….and the 2019 is HOPE….from the quiz. I was not thinking hope as I answered the questions…but now I understand why…Hope for my niece who has Epilepsy, for my friend who needs a pancreas and kidney transplant. The hope God gives us every day.
I’m fairly new to the One Word movement as this will be my third year to focus on just one word. My word for 2017 was Present, as in to be present in the moment. I was constantly going a mile a minute and was forgetting to enjoy the process rather than the product. For 2018 I focused on my Health, mostly my physical health but I was surprised at how my mental health improved when I began to take care of my body. The word that I have found myself repeating over and over recently and really just decided on last night is Consistency. It’s like I’m really just learning my lessons from 2017’s Present and now I want to be Consistent in the good things in my life. I want to consistently seek out God and the good in others. I want to consistently forgive as I have been forgiven. And I want to consistently be present in my life and my family’s lives while maintaining healthy physical and mental health.
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Consistency — sounds like an excellent One Word for 2019. Each year, you seem to be building on the previous year’s word, which ensures focused forward motion. Thanks for sharing, Jerri. 🙂
I am struggling for my 2019 word. They usually come through so loud and clear, but not now. I’ve known before Thanksgiving some other times, and I am still praying about it this year. Getting older, turning 70 last year was hard on me, so I am thinking my physical limitations make me feel without purpose…but that was my word last year! Breathing issues with no apparent cause made me wonder if “breath” might be good….I guess I’ll know when I am suppose to know.
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Jan: I know we can trust God to give us our One Word for each year. The timing can seem “off” to us — delayed — but when the word shows up, we’ll know. Rest. Waiting is hard — but God is doing something in your life even when you can’t see it. Praying for you.