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 word for this year is WISDOM. I was at a loss as to what word would be given to me when I found a site on FACEBOOK, The invitation was something like “What word describes your new year”. I decided to check the link, and it immediately I got the response “Analyzing your profile”. After a few spins of a couple of dots, the word WISDOM appeared. I didn’t read carefully the explanation; I was just happy to have a word.
My word for 2016 is “Well.” I need to grow into “all is well” and remember, “You are my daughter; with you I am well pleased” (gender variation of Luke 3:22).
My word is IGNITE. I am called to be a light in the world.
The word that has evolved for me is REBIRTH. It first came to me as ‘renewal’ while walking slowly, thoughtfully through the woods. In the midst of winter the tree buds were beginning to swell with renewal for the coming summer. That was the beginning of the journey with my word. This year will be a time to honor my own gifts and to nurture them bringing a rebirth of a deeper self.
My 2016 word is walk. Halek in Hebrew and peripateo in Greek. This walking will involve physical walks, walking towards new ways of ministry for me, walking with intention, blessing, awareness, and courage.
My word for 2016 is GRIEF.
EMBRACE
Evolve
Metamorphic
Be
Reach
Allow
Center
Enlighten
Life is full of distractions. If we wait for “the right time” or a “better time” or heaven forbid “a less complicated time” we became stagnant and old “before our time.” This year I commit to embracing it all “at the time.”
I have chosen the word portage. In canoeing terms, it is when you pick up your boat and carry it overhead across land or an obstacle.
I plan to use this as a metaphor for my current spiritual travels. I see a lot of possibilities!
I have the blessing of having two words–and I have been unable to discern which is “the word.” And so I will share them both with you. One is “Ask” in the context of inquiring ‘what is being asked of me…and may I hear the guidance necessary to fulfill the ask. Another is “Grace” both as a verb–to be graced during the journey of life as well as my own offering of grace when in situations/interactions that require (or ask) for it. My humanness would feel more relaxed if I had “accomplished” being found by one word, and too, I look for the blessing in having two.
I would like to choose the word “Peace”. I need this to replace the worry and fear I have for ceertain people and circumstances currently in my life. But I am open to any other word that ould come to me.