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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 is PHOENIX, in 2000 this was spoken over me that I would be like a Phoenix rising from the ashes. It is for me a welcoming of the resurrection of Christ and a receiving of this miracle within and without my daily life into 2016 and beyond.

  2. Less a shimmer than a determined showing up, Breathe is the word that has chosen to companion me throughout 2016. There is the practical matter of breathing, mine often disturbed by allergies and beyond: I want to Breathe. There is the component of awareness, of noticing as I inhale, not just breath but blessings, ideas, et al; the exhale aside from it’s health benefits is a reminder not to horde what comes but to Breathe it out to others. Amen.

  3. Perseverance is in the forefront- keep going in spite of obstacles knowing that God is always traveling with us.

  5. My word arrived as I drifted off to sleep last night. WONDER. I will keep my eyes open for all the WONDER. I will let my mind rest in WONDERing when I feel anxious, as a return to curiosity. I will recieve WONDERfull messages, teachings, and truths. I will touch in daily with all the WONDER in the world….

  6. The word “smallness” chose me a couple of days ago during a homily at mass. I have shortened it to small. I am unable to do great things but am only asked to do small things whenever I can wherever I am.

  7. The word that has chosen me is ‘simplicity’. When I reflect on the foundation of my strength in the Lord, the simplicity, the sheer beauty of the simplicity provides unshakable stability. Christ’s message of love is simple. Our mandate to be Christ’s body, his hands and feet, sharing his love in the world, is simple. When my monkey mind starts to throw up excuses, or tangle itself in ‘what-ifs’, the simplicity of being Christ’s love in the world instantly brings clarity, focus, and peace to me.

    I have a favorite candle, it is very large, like it was created by filling a large bowl with buttery, cream colored wax. It has 5 wicks, and has been well-tended so that the interior wax has been hollowed out. When I light the candle now, you see this beautiful radiant-yet-mellow golden light. It is quiet bright but still very soft due to the thickness of the wax. It is this word ‘simplicity’, and that quality of light that I picture when I need centering. I am simply called to shine Christ’s beautiful light into the world, a beautiful, warm, radiant glow – not showy our loud, just simply shining.

  9. Accompaniment: I desire to be especially aware of how I am accompanied by the Holy One on my inward and outward journeys. And to recognize when and with whom I might accompany another in 2016.

  10. My Word for 2016 is: “Fear ye not, stand still ,and see the salvation of the Lord” Exodus 14, 13
    For me this Word that the Lord gave me doing Lectio and a contemplative walk and prophetic art journaling is a beautiful promise for the new year, the Lord especifically is telling me that is not going to depend on me but in Him, who is my salvation, and also this is His name: Yeshua, God save.