What's the Word?

Every year around this time, I hear people talk about their word of the year. The practice has become so common that fellow authors, including my publisher, have developed full training programs on choosing your word of the year.

I usually choose a word to serve as my focus, filter, and guide for the year to come. So it caught me by surprise this morning when I was on a Zoom with fellow writers that when asked what my word of the year was, I didn’t have an answer. We are a few days into the new year, and I haven’t really sat down to think through what my intentions are for the year ahead.

My mind has been so cluttered with all of the holiday preparations, family needs, potty training my youngest, all.the.things, that I haven’t paused to reflect on my own needs and desires.

So it got me thinking…“What’s the word?’

John tells us about THE Word, Jesus.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it…

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth…

(John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”) Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.”

See, JESUS, is the Word. And what does the Word represent? Grace, truth, relationship, glory, light, life… the list goes on.

I always want Jesus to be my focus. And just as Jesus did, I want to make the Father known. So, choosing a word for myself this year includes looking to Jesus. Observing who He is. Getting to know Him more deeply. Rooting myself in the hope that only He can offer.

With all that in mind, my word of the year is PRESENCE.

I want to abide in the presence of God.

I want to declare His presence among us.

I want to be more present with my family.

PRESENCE brings with it many gifts:

• God’s presence through the Holy Spirit. (John 14:16-17Acts 1:8)

• The promise God will never leave us. (Joshua 1:9; Deut. 31:8))

• Fullness of joy (Ps. 16:11)

• Rest (Matt. 11:28)

• Peace (Ps. 16:11; John 14:27)

• Protection (Ps. 3:3)

• Refuge (Ps. 91:1-2)

• Strength (Is. 41:10)

• Freedom (2 Cor. 3:17)

• Love (1 John 4:16)

As I step into this new year, I’m releasing the pressure to have everything figured out. I’m loosening my grip on productivity, clarity, and perfectly curated intentions. Instead, I’m choosing presence—with God, with the people I love, and with the life unfolding right in front of me.

Because when I look back, the moments that mattered most weren’t the busiest or most accomplished ones. They were the moments where I was fully there. Listening. Noticing. Abiding. And isn’t that where God so often meets us—not in the rush, but in the stillness?

So maybe the question for this year isn’t just What’s your word?
Maybe it’s Where is your attention?
What are you present to?
And who are you allowing to shape your days?

For me, the answer keeps coming back to the same place: Jesus—the Word made flesh, dwelling among us, inviting us into a life rooted not in striving, but in relationship.

My prayer for this year is simple: that we would notice His nearness, trust His promises, and rest in the truth that His presence is already with us…now and always.