This will be my 10th year of having a word for the year, rather than resolutions. I heard about this idea of choosing a word to focus on for the next year during my first year living as a missionary in Honduras, and it has since become an annual practice.

If you are not familiar with it, the way I go about “choosing” my word, is towards the end of the year, I begin praying and paying close attention to words or ideas that seem to come up repeatedly. Usually it doesn’t take long for the Lord to grab my attention with a topic He wants me to focus on for the next year.

Usually the word is some sort of challenge or area He wants me to work on. This past year my word was gratitude. I felt like the Holy Spirit wanted me to be more intentional about giving thanks, so over the course of this year I kept a gratitude journal where I wrote down something I was thankful for every day, and I memorized and meditated on (through verse mapping) 30 verses on giving thanks.

For 2024, I feel like the word He has given me is surrender, along with Matthew 16:24, “Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” I’m expecting this lesson to be a lot more challenging than “gratitude,” but I also know the Lord will be faithful to walk with me through everything I need to surrender this year.

I’d love to know if you have a word for next year, or if you’re thinking about one now that you’ve read this! Leave me a comment and let me know what you come up with!