Last year I heard about the “My One Word” challenge on my local Christian radio station. The idea is that instead of creating a list of resolutions, which are generally broken and long-forgotten by the time February 1st rolls around, we should choose a word to focus on for the year. The originators of this idea refer to it as an ‘experiment.’ Their web site states that choosing one word “provides clarity by taking all of your big plans for life change and narrowing them down into a single thing. One word focuses on your character and creates a vision for your future.” For more information on the My One Word experiment, you may go to their web site: http://myoneword.org/.
For 2011, I chose “Delight” to be my word. The scripture I focused on was “Delight yourself also in the Lord and He shall give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4 (NKJV). The last three years have been challenging, and at times draining, as we faced the loss of my husband’s job and resulting long-term unemployment and the declining health of his parents. The pressures of life had weighed heavily on me in 2009 and 2010. I was determined to not let them steal my joy.
I did none of the suggested exercises. My total commitment to the exercise was to write two blogs about my word. Yet, whenever I found myself getting bogged down by cares of the world, ‘Delight’ would pop into my mind. Just thinking the word gave me a better perspective. It is almost impossible to say or think the word ‘Delight’ without feeling a bit ‘delightful.’
As the year drew to a close, I once again read Psalm 37 during my devotions. This time it was the 23rd verse that caught my attention. It says, “The steps of the godly are directed by the Lord. He DELIGHTS in every detail of their lives.” What a joy it brought to my heart to be reminded that God delights in me and in everything that concerns me.
I can come to God with all the details of my life and He delights in guiding me to making the best decisions and the right choices. God will direct Steve and me as we continue to search for a new home (see January 17th post). He will guide me to be the best employee I can be and Steve as he continues to seek direction regarding earning a living. God cares about our marriage, our health, and our relationships. He is delighted when I bring these things to Him and He delights in helping me. And those thoughts fill me with ‘Delight’.
I am still praying and pondering ‘My Word’ for 2012. I plan to make a decision this week.
Will you participate in the ‘My One Word’challenge this year? What ‘one word’ will you focus on in 2012?
Susan's Reflections 
I’ve bookmarked the sight – and I am contemplating and praying for my word. I am delighted’ with the idea. 🙂
Prayer. My word for the year is prayer. I am drawn to it based on the Disciple II study I am currently taking. The week we discussed prayer really spoke to me. I’ll take that and run with it. Thank you for sharing this with me.
Prayer is an excellent word. I hope that you enjoy the My One Word challenge. I am pretty sure that I am going to go with Balance. I will decide for sure this weekend. I really want a word that means “keeping the important things the important things,” but I haven’t been able to come up with a single word with that meaning.