A Word for the Year
You will often see a person pick a word for the new year. It is a word that reflects what they want to focus on that year. I didn’t choose a word last year, but I fell into one towards the end of the year. Since I only spent a few months with my word, I carried it over to 2025. My word is JOY.
I have not always been joyful the past few years. It was hard losing both of my parents in back-to-back summers. It’s hard to live so far from the family I cherish — my children and grandchildren. And then there were the hurricanes. I often allow my circumstances to influence my attitude, which is not always good.
Several things led me to my word last year. Joy kept popping up repeatedly. At some point, towards the end of summer, I started paying attention to the frequency.
The Journey to My Word
I attended the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference in May. A writer I had met at previous conferences won a major award for her Bible study Embracing Joy An 8-Week Transformational Bible Study of Habakkuk. I bought the book and began the study in June. It’s a brilliant study because it teaches about joy in the most unexpected circumstances.
Lines jumped out at me in novels I read, like In This Moment by Gabrielle Myer. I highlighted several.
- life is a gift—a unique and rare gift. And I will use the next four months to truly seek Your will for my future. I will choose to believe You have a plan and that You will fulfill that plan in my life
- but please know that you will have happiness again. I am certain.
- God doesn’t always give us what we want, He will always give us what we need.
A common theme of many blog posts I read was being content and finding joy in all circumstances, even the difficult ones. One practical takeaway that I plan to implement is keeping a Joy Journal.
Of course, the word joy is at the top of the list at Christmas. It’s in our Christmas carols, Christmas cards and decorations. Many find the joyful season strangely saddening. The key is to look back, way back, instead of looking around. The birth of Christ was incredibly joyful for the children of Israel, who had been waiting a very long time for their messiah.
Finally, the thing that influenced me the most was reading through the Bible with The Bible Recap hosted by Tara Leigh Coble. Reading through the Bible chronologically is so rewarding. Instead of jumping around reading different scriptures (there is absolutely nothing wrong with that) you see the Bible for what it is—the grand redemptive narrative.
My Word of the Year Confirmed
The Bible Recap involves reading a few chapters daily, starting from Genesis and concluding with Revelation. After you read, Tara Leigh Cobble has a brief wrap-up of what you have read. She always ends with “because he’s (God/Jesus) where the joy is”. After hearing that for about 250 days in a row, it sinks in. You realize that joy doesn’t come from circumstance, although there are certainly joyful circumstances in our lives—like new grandbabies, but genuine joy comes from a person—Jesus.
If you have never read through the Bible, I highly recommend The Bible Recap. It only takes about twenty minutes a day, unless you want to dig deeper, which you probably will. They post videos, photos, and articles to help you understand some of the more challenging passages. Sometimes I listen to the scriptures on a Bible App which helps with those hard-to-pronounce names of people and places.
It’s early 2025—not too late to begin. I believe you will benefit from this exercise. Why don’t you get started today? Here’s the link if you want to check it out.
Why Words are Important
All the things I shared about my journey to finding my word for the year circle back to words. They included words written in a Bible study, words on the pages of a book, encouraging words from friends and strangers, words on decorations, words sung in church, and The Word itself. Words are important—the words we read, the words we hear, and even the words we tell ourselves. This will be my year to focus on the word joy. Grief is real and difficult circumstances challenge so I may stumble. After all, I am only human. But I will try to focus on the bringer of genuine joy. You are welcome to join me on this journey.
Kim Wilbanks 