Share your Word for 2014
In ancient times, wise men and women fled out into the desert to find a place where they could be fully present to God and to their own inner struggles at work within them. The desert became a place to enter into the refiner’s fire and be stripped down to one’s holy essence. The desert was a threshold place where you emerged different than when you entered.
Many people followed these ammas and abbas, seeking their wisdom and guidance for a meaningful life. One tradition was to ask for a word – this word or phrase would be something on which to ponder for many days, weeks, months, sometimes a whole lifetime. This practice is connected to lectio divina, where we approach the sacred texts with the same request – “give me a word” we ask – something to nourish me, challenge me, a word I can wrestle with and grow into. The word which chooses us has the potential to transform us.
- What is your word for the year ahead? A word which contains within it a seed of invitation to cross a new threshold in your life?
Share your word in the comments section below by Monday, January 6, 2014 and you are automatically entered for the prize drawing (prizes listed below). Last year we had 840 people share!
A free 12-day online mini-retreat to help your word choose you. . .
This year I am offering all Abbey newsletter subscribers a gift: a free 12-day online mini-retreat with a suggested practice for each day to help your word choose you and to deepen into your word once it has found you.
Sign up here and you can start your mini-retreat today. Once you subscribe you will receive a confirmation email with access to the mini-retreat content (and you are free to unsubscribe at any time). If you are already a subscriber, the invitation will be in this week’s email newsletter.
Win a Prize – Random Drawing Giveaway on January 6th!
I am delighted to offer some wonderful gifts from the Abbey:
- 4 people will win a signed copy of Eyes of the Heart: Photography as Christian Contemplative Practice (mailed directly from me in Ireland to you, anywhere in the world)
- 4 people will win a copy of Naked and You Clothed Me: Homilies and Reflections for Cycle A with two reflections by Christine, plus also Richard Rohr, Rob Bell, Jan Richardson, Fr. James Martin, SJ, and many more!
- 4 people will win their choice of self-study online classes from following: Creative Flourishing in the Heart of the Desert: A Self-Study Online Retreat with St. Hildegard of Bingen, Soul of a Pilgrim: An Online Art Retreat, Seasons of the Soul, Lectio Divina: The Sacred Art of Reading the World, or Eyes of the Heart: Photography as a Contemplative Practice.
So please share your word (and it would be wonderful to include a sentence about what it means for you) with us below. Subscribe to the Abbey newsletter for your free gift. Share the love with others and invite them to participate. Then stay tuned – on January 6th I will announce the prize winners!
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680 Responses
My word is “rest.”
I will rest my weary body when it is tired and worn.
My soul, I rest with You.
My fears, I will lay to rest.
I rest and will be renewed.
DECIDE
I have danced around this word for years – picking words that might branch off to a decision – but this year is different – It is the DECIDE year- the decision that is not second guessed – the decision that is held tight until time of release – and it is the decison that stays for a time before branching off into other realms – there is a focus and stability within it – a deep thought – a yearning desire —–
My word for this year is Commitment.
The word truly chose me; it is “glistening.” The snow does not glisten without light, & I can’t “glisten” without the Light! The word has the added benefit of another word within: “listen in,” as in listening in to God a little more closely, & in many ways. These are truly my greatest desires for this new year.
So many words have been tugging at me, but not one alone rang true. Finally my eyes welled up at the word “DANCE”. A single word that brought together all that has been calling to me–community, compassion, transcendence, music, freedom, intuition, fire, joy, yearning. So now I wait, longing to see where that word will lead me.
So many words have been tugging at me, but not one alone rang true. Finally my eyes welled up at the word “DANCE”. A single word that brought together all that has been calling to me–community, compassion, transcendence, music, freedom, intuition, yearning. So now I wait, longing to see where that word will lead me.
My word for 2014 is Yoga-Play and it is about opening myself to a journey of exploration, deepening, experimentation, presence, love, lightness and body wisdom.
These past few days i have been aware of elements in my life suddenly exhibiting relationships i had not seen in the past. It seems more evident to me that nothing exists but in relationship. More and more i feel the word ‘relationship’ has claimed me and feel less alone and more at ease pondering this word.
The word that has found me is Surrender (to the Divine, and let it lead me).
COURAGE.
for the unbidden winds that keep blowing, for the mysteries that overwhelm, for the Still Small Voice that bids me walk through new doors with trust and confidence.
COURAGE.