2023 Word of the Year: map
I created a printable for you, one you can use to invite curiosity into a word of the year for yourself. When I start feeling a soul nudge to a specific word(s) for the next year, this printable is where I start. It starts like a match to a candle, a small flame to illuminate where God is leading me to confess, repent, deconstruction, reconstruct with His truth, grow, strengthen, prepare for next steps, further growth.
Learning a process that works for me has taken more than a decade. It’s been worth every courageous effort.
Each year, I pause and look back. Not a long drawn out self-loathing; more of a soft contemplative reflection. What did the past year really truly down in the osteo foundation look like, feel like. Most years flow seasonal to me, a mundane holy with foundational anchor moments suspended entwined rotation and revolution.
Wintering hibernation, a quiet growth revival with Jesus. A holy hibernation.
Spring peace, coming forth from quiet holy growth revival few eyes ever saw.
Summer heat, gritty places and spaces that can feel like drought if we’ve refused watering grace.
Autumn, sacred moments of awe, we understand the holy grace in it all. That there has always been grace. Where we’re called to shine, bright lights on a hill. Always autumn. Calling all those who will hear to hear Him. Word permeates words. Wheat separates from chaff. And God calls us to Word.
The first time I learned of naming, claiming, opening hands to receive a “word of the year” didn’t feel particularly holy. I bitterly called 2010 “parched earthly hell.” The lesson that year was that God doesn’t want me miserable, but evil is alive on earth and delights if we live lives of earthly hell, enfolding upon ourselves in loathing, brittles lives. And walking out of earthly hell takes one faith-clutched step at a time. I’m not particularly proud of needing to walk out that journey, but God is faithful-I never walked it alone.
Journey with me through these words, feel how far a simple word shares the root stories we believe.Watch how God used words in these years to heal my parched soul.
2010-parched
2011-dissect
2012-shatter
2013-shelter
2014-peace
2015-habits
2016-redeemed
2017-snow
2018-embrace
2019-envision masked
2020-chasing holy
2021-branch
2022-permission
2023-map
Start where you are-progress over perfection.
Each year, each season a gift God has called us to walk through, with Him.
When I look back, it’s easier to see the ways God used honest to goodness marrow building words to strengthen and lovingly lead to each next step. Yes, I would have felt more confident along the way if each step was a guarantee for the life I wanted. Those words above, the ones that sound harsh? Those years were ash rising, marrow words, rebuilding dry bones. It requires steps of faithful courage to take one leap at a time, never fully knowing what the outcome will be decades later.
But, this. These marrow words grew courage.
And, this. Courage is fuel for confidence. Courage comes first.
So, if you have a word that keeps pulsing up from the marrow depths of your soul, a word you can’t shake, one that burdens begging foundation building, let that one word be the word you go to the Word courage hunting, wrestling, clutching, praying, shaking the heavens for answers. Let God define that word to you daily.
This year’s word is map. I have all sorts of thoughts what it might mean; what I’ve learned, though, is if God has placed this word on my heart, He has a richer, more brilliant definition than I’d ever imagine. He gently details the word season to season, unfolding it at a pace He has individually equipped.
And that’s where this printable comes in. This is the first part of the process I’ve utilized for over a decade to shift from parched in 2010 to permission in 2022.
I start with just learning what the technical dictionary level definition means, what type of word is this(noun, verb, adjective, etc). What are synonyms and even antonyms for this word? Where did this word originate/country of origin? What did it mean/how was it used originally? Doing this is fairly quick and gives a barebones place to start. If this is all you get done the first time you sit with this page, be okay with that. A word that will likely be a huge theme for an entire year doesn’t need to be completed at tornado speed. Progress over perfection. Slowly work through the page, bit by bit; I try to get mine completed within a week.
On the bottom two squares, you’ll notice there are four circles in the corners. Pick four highlighter colors, highlight each circle a different color. While this first printable will not be addressing time audits, start utilizing the different colors to train your brain what these colors mean. Little by little, it will become second nature to you. Each time we use them on the printables, we are teaching our brain what they mean without needing to overthink.
These highlighter colors will be used throughout the printables this year as it gives a speedy visual cue with less overall effort(a work smarter, not harder approach).
My recommendation would be to choose your highlighter/pen colors as follows:
Color 1: green(your GO color) Green will correspond to critical needs in your life: spiritual health/peace and also physical rest/sleep needs. When we get these areas prioritized and healthy, it has a HUGE positive impact in other areas in our lives! It offers clarity, better overall mood, better decision making skills.
Color 2: red/orange(your red flag areas. We will get to these in a few weeks, but anticipate identifying energy robbers in your life. These are areas that deplete your joy. Examples of these could include fear, resentment, negative attitudes, mess/clutter, junk food, unhealed trauma, life boundary issues, entertainment/cheap dopamine choices, even dehydration.)
Color 3: your favorite color(mine is blue here). This is your mother culture color. Start gathering ideas of interest for creative pursuits and prepare to seek practical ways to include these in your weekly life.
Color 4: yellow(this color is super easy to spot on your time audit sheets and will be used frequently). Yellow is a flexible color, the one I call the VOLUME color. It helps us visually see what areas on our schedules are getting too much volume/which ones need more volume. While color 1(green) addresses physical rest, color 4 addresses physical health. Color 4 will likely feel the most time consuming-you aren’t imagining this. This is the reason we get colors one through three healthy first. It allows us to be able to think with great clarity through the volume areas of our lives.
For now, just pick your colors and color in the four corners of each square. Ruminate over the word of the year this week, pray to God to keep you sensitive to His leading, ask for wisdom, and get super excited. God always shows His presence-we just have to take the time to notice. Small action steps done consistently feel life breathing, because they are.
FREE Word of the Year printable can be found (HERE)- no strings attached, just a New Year gifting from me to you.
When you are ready for the next printable in this series, it can be found HERE.
Photography via Unsplash and goDaddyStudios
