SHARE YOUR WORD FOR 2016
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 January 6, 2016 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.
Subscribe to our email newsletter and you will receive a link to start your mini-retreat today. Your information will never be shared or sold. (If you are already subscribed to the newsletter, look for the link in today’s email).
WIN A PRIZE – RANDOM DRAWING GIVEAWAY ON JANUARY 6TH!
We are delighted to offer some wonderful gifts from the Abbey:
- One signed copy each of Soul of a Pilgrim, Eyes of the Heart, The Artist’s Rule, and Water, Wind, Earth, and Fire.
- One space in Sacred Seasons: A Yearlong Journey through the Celtic Wheel of the Year
- 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 we will announce the prize winners!
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712 Responses
My image for my word ” Opportunity”
(This is, perhaps, a duplicate post – I’m not so sure that my first one completed.)
The word that seems to have chosen me is Hope.
I am – have been – a resilient person, who always seems to re-center on hope. And yet, we seem to be facing ‘hopeless’. The challenge will be to continue to recenter in Hope, even in the face of what seems hopeless.
Thank you.
The mountains themselves
Invite me to consider
Stability. Word.
SHOUT to the Lord All the earth let us sing! I woke up singing today, with the words of every shout song I know;The Isley Brothers, the Beatles, James Brown, Tears for Fear. Must be time to open up and shout for joy!
My word is SMALL. Pope Francis calls us to do small acts of mercy and charity. My word poem is: Smiling Makes All Life Livable.
Sometimes my outer demeanor transforms my inner. Smiling has that affect. Blessings, Karen
My word for 2016 is “courage”. – a challenge to myself and a reminder to trust in life as it unfolds.
My word for 2016 will be LOVE, and my daily practice will be to create a LOVE Jar for a dozen friends and loved ones. Starting now and throughout 2016 I am daily filling jars with 365 positive thoughts, photos, jokes, Bible verses, poems, and sayings. I will give these LOVE Jars as gifts for Christmas 2016 with the suggestion that friends pull out one a day throughout 2017 so they feel loved every day. This way LOVE will pass on for the next two years.
Root
My dream is to root deeply into life and community this year. Thanks for holding space for me to consider this!
My word is Center- a word with many meanings that I look forward to exploring more fully.
My word – Authentic (Absolute Unity To Heaven Earth Nature Tirelessly Inviting Christ). My word is a reminder for me to be true to self/Self.