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Give Me a Word 2016: 7th Annual Abbey Giveaway

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:

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!

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.

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712 Responses

  1. My word for this year is expectation. The word expectation can be a daunting word if one is striving to meet it or if a person has come to expect something to occur that they no longer desire to. However, expectation can also be source of hope and great joy. Expectations offer promise, of something new arriving. Those who have truly inspired me in my life have had positive expectations in my ability to reach my potential. I can also feel the full experience of surrender when I release certain expectations of others, events, or that which is no longer fulfilling. Upholding expectations and releasing them can both be a blessing. Expectation is powerful. It is all in what we do with it.

  2. My word for today is attentive listening. While taking a walk listen to the sounds of nature- just the sound of a gentle breeze is refreshing.

  3. Pingback: Who knows what is really essential?  | Sandy Reynolds

  4. After reading the following quote last night the word ‘perserverance’ chose me. It says: Watch how the waves refuses to stop kissing the shore no matter how many times it is sent away’.
    And this will be my gift to myself when I soon walk through.the door of 2016. To embrace the joy that will come my way , to accept the challanges and to persevere and not to allow those challanges to stand in my way and to continue to kiss the beauty of life.

  5. My word is open. I am experiencing a lot of change, which I knew would happen after getting married a little over a year ago at the age of 59! Also I feel there is a tendency to fear people coming to Europe in need (I am in the UK) and I can get caught up in this. Most of the refugees are fleeing from the very people we fear! And above all being open to God.

  7. My word for 2016 is ‘Refining.’ I turn 25 tomorrow (woohoo!) and am entering a stage where I’m making choices rather than reacting. After reading the definitions I had some mixed feelings about the word, but overall it is an intention that fell into my lap.

  8. My word is HOPE…which encompasses more that I have words to express. It is at this moment….my center….my grounding….my all…which is both thrilling and frightening…the eternal paradox of faith.

  9. My word is gentleness. As I have explored new awakenings in my spirit, I am feeling gentle toward others with whom I have had disagreements or been hurt by in the recent past. Additionay, I see a great need for all people to exhibit gentleness toward one another in our world at this time of conflict and fear.

  10. My word is Joy – the pink candle – and I have resistance to it because my mother is quite ill and may not be with us this Christmas. However, she is a joy and ultimately she is a divine joy to us now as we appreciate all that she is, so instead of being ‘down’ today, I want to share the mystery of joy and to step into it knowing that sorrow is its sister. But Joy is the word that has chosen me.
    Thanks