Word(s)

By Pastor Paul Gauche

Today’s Word: ‘Word(s)’ as in… what’s your One Word for the year 2020?

On New Year’s Day, my small group convened for our Third Annual One Word Reveal Party. For a couple of hours, nine of us gathered for dinner and a conversation to reveal our “One Word” for 2020. Having done this twice before, each of us is getting pretty good at discerning the “one word” which helps us get clarity about the more essential questions simmering in our lives:

• “Who are we?”
• “What are we doing here?”
• “Where are we going?”
• “How will we get there?”

Here’s how we do this: each of us chooses a word. Or, as I like to say, “a word chooses each of us.” This one word becomes a primary lens through which we live each day. For instance, my word for 2020 is “Clarity” as in… this will be a year of seeking clarity in the seven primary areas of my life as I explore what it means be a spirited, creative, connected, fully present human being with a call to be grateful and generous while living as a missional child of God.

I’m confident that by the end of 2020, I will experience greater clarity in every area of my life. By the end of New Year’s Day, we’d had a marvelous conversation about leaning into a year of Spirited life together. Knowing each other’s word will help each of us bring our best God-breathed selves to each day, to each moment, and to each other. By pursuing strategies for living into words like “Opportunity,” “Explore,” “Stretch,” “Vivid,” “Congruence,” “Health,” “Accomplish,” “ Ownership,” “Gratitude,” and “Joy,” we’re better able to create more life and aliveness all around us.

All of this, of course, raises some questions. If you were to choose one word that focuses on what you hope to experience in the next year, what would it be? How does that one word bring clarity to your relationships? How does it illuminate your spirited life? How does it create more gratitude, generosity and mission within you? What’s your one word?

#100days50words

#storiesfortheseasons

Paul Gauche is the Pastor of Life Transitions at Prince of Peace. His posts are part of his #100days50works project, where be blogs about a different word each day. You can follow his project on Instagram (@pgauche), or on his blog, Thriving Rhythms.