How to Embrace instead of Brace for 2025.
January 13th, 2025
For a few years now, I’ve chose to greet the new year by honing in on a word. Sometimes it might even be a phrase. This helps me stay focused, encouraged and centered as the year unfolds. Kind of like a New Year’s resolution, but not. Because it’s more intentional.
For me, putting a word to where I’m going is the key to getting there. Maybe you’ll find it helpful, too.
Wondering how to get started? Here’s what works for me:
Remember
I pour through my journals of the past year and jot down the highlights.
- What moved me?
- What did I accomplish?
- Where did I travel?
- How did my word from the previous year keep me on track?
- What new word or theme was reoccurring throughout the year?
If you don’t journal, just go from memory.
Reflect
I sit with the year’s highlights for a bit. Ponder them. Then, at some point without overthinking it, I write out a quick “big picture” summary of my year. For me, writing and reading it helps me process.
Dwell
I let God in on my plans. I want his take, even more than my own, on where this new year is calling me. So I simply do what God invites us to do—dwell with Him. Spending time in His Word, prayer and silence.
Hold on loosely
This combination of remembering, reflecting and dwelling, over the course of a few sittings, brings a word or phrase shimmering before me. When I discover my word, I remind myself not to hold on too tightly and force it into being. I give it back to God and ask him to bless and carry it for me. My word is a guidepost, a reminder for me throughout the year how God is working in my life to not necessarily give me everything I want, but to grow, protect and help me find peace and purpose in my life.
For 2024, my word was believe. Interesting, because it’s a word I held close in the days of trying to get Mend on the Move off the ground.
One morning in early 2024, I stumbled upon this verse from Genesis 15:6.
Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
What set Abram (this is before he became Abraham) apart was he not only believed God, but he acted on his belief. Without even knowing where he was going, Abram set out to an unknown land as God directed him.
I felt strongly that God needed me to believe as Abraham did. And so I set out for what I
believed God had placed on my heart to do—to diligently do the work required for the next leg of my writing journey. Soon after I chose believe, I discovered that a writer friend had the same word for 2024, and she had just recently signed a contract for her first book to be published. I took this as a sign that maybe I was on the right track, too. It seemed throughout the year whenever I would get weary or discouraged, the word believe seemed to pop up in my daily reading, a conversation, or even visually. It was the compass point that helped direct me to writing conferences, making contacts in the publishing world, finishing my book proposal after several edits, hiring a writing coach and a marketing professional. (just to name a few).
This year, several words kept popping on my radar. But I came upon this scripture, which
seemed to capsulize what was at the core of all of them.
All my longings lie open before you, O’ Lord; my sighing is not hidden from you. Psalm 38:9
2024 was a transitional year. A year of repurposing. I was trying to find my way in many areas of my life, yet the year concluded with unanswered longings.
Longing to know what my future as a writer might look like and where all my efforts were
leading.
Longing for an intimate faith community for my husband and I to do life with beyond church activities.
Longing to know when or where we would we settle next as we contemplated downsizing?
As I wait in expectation for my longings to be revealed, I caution myself that fulfilled longings are not my ultimate source of happiness. I am always striving to grow and improve my life, but I hold on loosely, knowing my true longing has already been met through my repurposed life with Jesus.
The others will fall into place under his care and my perseverance in trusting and acting on it.
If you care to share, I’d be thrilled to learn about your word and hopes for the new year.
May it be a year of fulfilled expectations!