Share your Word for 2015
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 Tuesday, January 6, 2015 and you are automatically entered for the prize drawing (prizes listed below).
A free 12-day online mini-retreat to help your word choose you. . .
As in past years, 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. Even if you participated last year, you are more than welcome to register again.
Sign up here and you can start your mini-retreat today. Once you subscribe you will receive the first email within an hour and then one email each day for 12 days. Your information will never be shared or sold.
Win a Prize – Random Drawing Giveaway on January 6th!
I am delighted to offer some wonderful gifts from the Abbey and friends and supporters of the Abbey’s work:
- One space in the upcoming online Abbey retreat Illuminating the Way: Epiphany and New Year Retreat with Monks, Mystics, & Archetypes (a fabulous way to begin the year!)
- A copy of Dana Reynolds‘ fabulous gold medal winning novel Ink and Honey
- A 6-week self study course from Dana Reynolds: Your Sacred Life Artisan’s Book of Wonderment
- A New Year Sacred Reading from the Ronna Detrick (let a woman from scripture accompany you into the new year!)
- A copy Betsey Beckman’s fabulous dance of The Creation on DVD (be inspired to dance into the new year)
- A copy of As I Lay Pondering from Kayce Hughlett (a wonderful book of daily reflections to accompany you into the new year)
- A 2015 calendar from Stacy Wills featuring her alcohol ink paintings (be blessed with Stacy’s stunning images each month)
- A copy of Richard Bruxvoort Colligan’s new album Love Stands With, with songs based on justice-oriented Psalms (be moved by powerful music to inspire your heart to prophetic action in the coming year)
- 4 people will win a copy of Sick and You Cared for Me: Homilies and Reflections for Cycle B with one reflection by Christine, plus also Richard Rohr, Rob Bell, Jan Richardson, and many more!
- 4 people will win their choice of self-study online classes from the 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 to receive ongoing inspiration in your in-box. Share the love with others and invite them to participate. Then stay tuned – on January 6th I will announce the prize winners!
If this is your first time commenting at the Abbey, or you are including a link, your comment will need to be approved before appearing, which usually takes less than 24 hours.
804 Responses
My word for this year is Boldness.
This year, I wanted to my word to have a real connection to my life, not just a random strength or virtue I felt I should obtain or focus on. Without a doubt, last year’s week in the wilds of Alaska for a writers’ retreat was a pivotal experience, one that continues to bear fruit.
I wanted to stoke the creative and spiritual fires that were lit there, so my word for 2015 is “Adventure.” I plan to travel again this year ~ both to remote physical places, and to the inner landscapes of my heart and psyche.
Here’s to an epic 2015!
My word is TURN, as in “To everything (turn, turn, turn)…there is a season (turn, turn, turn) and a time to every purpose under heaven.” 2015 will be a year of external changes to reflect many years of internal change. These changes involve land, so TURN (as in turning up the soil and turning up life) seems apt. ?
Compassionate persistence
my word…(which I struggled with because it sounded boring!) is BALANCE. The more I have thought about it, the more I realsie how important it is…and how it is not boring. I watched my horses play and gallop over some rough terrain…full of life and vigour….and balance!
Your right Polly. Balance is so important and not boring. I like your image of a horse. I see it easily in my mind!
My word for 2015 is: Emerge.
I lost my father in December to heart failure, following a 20 year struggle with very serious health issues. His funeral was December 27th. My mother, who had been his primary caregiver until her own struggle with cancer overcame her, died 18 months before dad. She was (and remains) my hero. For the past 3 years or so, my primary focus has been caring for my parents. Being in the world without them now is new territory. It will be interesting to see how life unfolds in 2015.
My word for 2015 is “play”. I want to play more. Have more fun. Start playing the piano again…..learn to “play” in many ways….ways I don’t even know or understand yet……just play…
Well I have struggles…a phrase had grabbed me which I love and still feel is very significant …however a single word kept niggling BALANCE. I ignored it because it seemed….boring! But it has demanded I give my attention to it in all sorts of ways and the more I have pondered the more I can see how important it is for me. So…balance it is!
My “word” is the phrase “Step Out.” It has been coming to me during the Christmas season. God had called me to serve as a Spiritual Director but to do that I have to step out and let people know about it. God is calling me past my comfort zone for sure.
My word for this year is “gentle.”
I feel a longing for gentle movement for my body and soul. Not a forced discipline, but rather a flowing gentle progression to find the sacred spot for more wholeness. I tend to over compensate and have started to realize that when I let my heart be open and my mind aware that I glide more into a position of living healthy and wholeheartedly. Fear is a constant in my life, but when I release into a gentle humble approach the fears seem to disapate and creative thinking and problem solving lead the way.