One Word for 2023

Lantern Row Newsletter | January 2023 | www.rynejungling.com

One Word for 2023

Suddenly the 4th of January became the 6th and I guess I hadn’t yet sent this out! Oh well! Here’s to not making myself feel bad for missing a completely arbitrary deadline in 2023! 

Now onto the content you actually opened this email for:

I haven’t made any New Years' resolutions over the past few years. Like many others, my track record on New Years’ resolutions isn’t great. The typical process goes something like this: 

1. Make a decision of something that I’d like to do better in the new year on December 31st

2. Try my best to do that thing for the first week of January

3. Forget to do that thing on January 8th or 9th

4. Instead of choosing to accept that missing one day is reason enough to stop doing the thing all together

So I haven’t made any resolutions for the past few years, and I’ve really enjoyed it. But there is value in the new opportunities that come in the new year.  What I have done instead has been much more fruitful - choosing a Verse and Word of the year. 

Unlike a resolution, I’ve actually tried to make sure I am thinking about my Verse and Word throughout the year. Moving from a task or checkbox to focusing on one verse of scripture and/or a specific word has helped me to eliminate the “didn’t do it today so I’m going to give up” mentality.  

One Word is a process that I first learned about through Harvey Trapp, the former leader of the Friday morning Bible Study I’ve been attending. Harvey would take some time during the month of December to introduce us to the Verse and Word process. He often warned us about the implications of choosing a Verse and Word, "Think carefully and prayerfully about your verse and word; if your word is patience, God will give you plenty of opportunities to practice it."

His wisdom has been on point on more than one occasion. When Anders died in 2019, I was only a few days into the verse I’d chosen from 2 Chronicles 20:12 which says, “O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” - 2 Chronicles 20:12 (ESV) (Read the crazy circumstances that led to that verse on this blog post) That verse coincided with my word for 2019 of Speak-Life. 

I know, I cheated with my One Word and added a hyphen, but, God was using that word to remind me that in the coming year, my family would be powerless on our own against the great hordes coming against us. Our only power was to fix our eyes on Jesus and Speak-Life in the midst of the storm.

The idea of One Word comes from a number of different places but I’ve found it to be a powerful force in my life. You can hear motivational speaker and author Jon Gordon talk about the power of One Word in this YouTube video or read about One Word in this PDF. If you’d rather this to Jon Gordon in a podcast interview, here’s that resource for you as well.

Here’s the thing I love the most about choosing a word for the year - you don’t need to start on January 1st! If you’ve never chosen a word for the year, stop what you’re doing and read the PDF or watch the YouTube video. 

When I was speaking with a good friend of mine last week, he rifted on the Word of the Year idea with a phrase. I LOVE IT so much! Like the Word of the Year, if you miss a day with a phrase, that’s ok, keep living tomorrow with your phrase or word at the front of your mind and you’ll be great.

My 2023 Verse of the Year: 

“whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” - 1 John 2:6

I’m borrowing this verse from one of our pastors but I want to do exactly what I am called to do as a follower of Jesus, walk as Jesus walked. Treat others the way Jesus would treat them. Love in big way. See people that are normally not noticed.

My 2023 Word of the Year:

Courage

In order to walk in the way Jesus walked, I’m going to need the courage to take those steps that I haven’t taken in the past. I’m going to need the courage to hold out a hand that I didn’t normally extend and to sit down with someone I’d normally walk by. 

So now I’ve shared my Verse of the Year and Word of the Year.

Is this something that’s appealing to you?

Might you give this Word and/or Verse of the Year practice a shot?

Or do you already do something similar?

If so, reply to this email or comment below and share what you’ve chosen for 2023.

Remember the words of my friend Harvey:

"Think carefully and prayerfully about your verse and word; if your word is patience, God will give you plenty of opportunities to practice it." - Harvey Trapp

Recommendation:

This recommendation is from a few months ago but it is so good, that I think it makes sense for you to consider reading it as you begin a new year. 

Soundtracks: The Surprising Solution to Overthinking by Jon Acuff

I’ve been following Jon Acuff for years. He’s a talented writer and speaker. He’s smart and funny. He’s goal-driven and likes to talk about how much of a goal-nerd he is. I’ve listened to interviews and watched videos. For Christmas, Rachel got me his latest book, Soundtracks: The Surprising Solution to Overthinking. 

What. A. Read.

The key premise of the book is that people that overthink (and that’s nearly all of us - literally, he even conducted a survey that proves it) are telling themselves soundtracks that are faulty. We all have soundtracks but broken soundtracks don’t move us forward. The solution - fix the soundtrack. And for that solution, you’ve got to check out the book - or stop me and ask me to talk about it, because I love the message he shares.

If you need to replace some broken soundtracks in your life (like I’ve been working on doing for the past few months) then grab a copy today!

Scripture Verse: 

2023 Verse of the Year: “whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” - 1 John 2:6

Favorite Posts:

It is an honor for me that you take the time to read this email. If there is something in this that you think others would benefit from, feel free to forward it to them.