My Word of the Year: Refresh

“I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.” (Jeremiah 31:25)

Each year, I choose a word for the year. For over a decade, instead of creating resolutions that I know I won’t keep, I’ve chosen a word to focus on throughout the year. The only time I haven’t chosen a word was last year. I was never able to settle on one that seemed right, and before I knew it, the year had moved along, and it seemed like it was too late to choose one.

That’s not the case this year. This year, my word came to me just as the calendar turned to 2025. That word is refresh. According to the online dictionary, refresh means “give new strength or energy to.” Continue reading “My Word of the Year: Refresh”

Renew: My Word of the Year

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Mt 11:28-30 NIV).

It’s been many years since I created New Year’s resolutions. Instead, through much prayer and research, I choose a word for the year. Over the years, I’ve chosen words such as “trust,” “focus,” and “compassion.” For the last two years, my word was “bold.” I kept a journal of instances where I could see God moving boldly in my life. Throughout it all, he used the word to push me out of my comfort zone so that I depended more on him and less on others. Continue reading “Renew: My Word of the Year”