Word of the year 2020
Several years ago, I chose a word for the year rather than a New Year’s resolution. Some years, the words come easy and others are void. Anyway, the practice is always meaningful, even if I don’t follow through with all my commitments.
Things are not always as they appear
People believe things about me that aren’t necessarily true. Everyone thinks I am always busy, but really I’m restless. So this whole, “Be still,” stuff is super hard for me, even though I know it’s necessary. Of course, there’s that entire year of forced stillness where I experienced God’s presence in incredible ways, which is another story altogether.
“Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10 (NLT)
What I’m doing
Honestly, I’d always rather do something, ANYTHING, other than be still. In many cases, it’s just the opposite of what the Bible tells us to do. Instead of doing, this year I’m going to try being.
My word for 2020 is
BE
Be is the opposite of do, but I’m a lot better at doing.
Nothing brings me more pleasure than marking things off my to-do list. Max Lucado recommends making a to-be list in his book, “Because of Bethlehem.” Maybe that will help.
What I’m not going to do
Warren Weirsbe wrote 50 books in his “Be” series. At first, I thought I could read one each week, but I only have one of them and I don’t know exactly where it is. Besides, that’s a little ambitious for me right now, especially if I’m trying to stop doing. See how quickly I fall into that trap? Good grief.
“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him…” Psalm 37:7 (ESV)
What do I want to be?
I want to be fruity. Did I just hear you laugh? Okay, fine, I get it; I’m already fruity, but this is different. I want to BE filled with the fruit of the Spirit.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control…” Galatians 5:22, 23 (ESV)
Couldn’t we could all stand to be a little more loving, full of joy and peace, be patient, kind, good, faithful and gentle? And yes, being self-controlled is a good idea too. There are a lot of BE’s in scripture, and several of them go right along with what people shared on my Facebook page. Here is the beginning of my TO-BE list:
be content
be courageous
be transformed
be grateful
be obedient
be devoted
be hopeful
What do you want to be? Believe me, I’ve been things I didn’t want to be – broken, devastated, unforgiving and bitter. Listen y’all, as I looked back through the links in this post, I realized how much pain I’ve been through and I survived.
Now to BE.
If you need word ideas this year, visit my FaceBook page where I asked people to share their 2020 word. There are some amazing ideas, and besides, I’d love fot you to follow me there if you don’t already. Click here
Share your word for 2020. I’d love to hear it.
What is your word of the year for 2020? #wordoftheyear #2020 #2020word Click To Tweet
