Friday, January 01, 2010

My 2010 Word and Verse of the Year - Wholeheartedly, Col. 3:23

A couple of years ago I came across the idea of picking a word or phrase as inspiration for the year.  I'm thinking it may have been from Ali Edwards One Little Word idea.  She says "I began a tradition of chosing one word for myself each January - a word that I can focus on, mediate on, and reflect upon as I go about my daily life." I liked the idea and enjoyed reading about other people's "word of the year", but I didn't really pick one for myself.

Last year I tried to pick a word but I didn't really settle on one.  I was thinking along the line of purposely, purposeful, etc. I tried to find a verse to go with my word but couldn't settle on a verse either.  I wanted to try to be more purposeful in what I did. Even though I didn't really settle on a word the idea was there often and I found it did help me to be more focused.  I didn't always succeed but I was more successful than I would have been if I hadn't thought about it at all.

This year I have decided on a word.  My word is wholeheartedly.  I really need to work on my attitude, especially when it comes to many of my responsibilities.  I want to work "wholeheartedly" at what I do instead of just doing things half-heartedly.

My Word for the Year was actually inspired by a verse that I have decided to make my Verse for the Year - Colossians 3:23 "Whatever you do, work at it wholeheartedly as though you were doing it for the Lord and not merely for people." ISV  I like how this page shows how the verse is translated in different versions of the Bible.  I especially like the Douay-Rheims Bible "do it from the heart" and the Weymouth New Testament "let your hearts be in your work".

So, that's my goal for the year - to let my heart be in my work and do things from my heart.

Do you have a Word for the Year?  I'd love to hear about it.  By the way - Happy New Year!