For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1

Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

A couple of years ago, I read a book entitled “My One Word” by Mike Ashcraft and Rachel Olsen. The concept of the book was very simple. Instead of making a long list of New Year’s resolutions that are not kept and are quickly forgotten, choose one word to define your year. One word is easy to remember. One word is something we can check in with every day.

This will be the third year that I’ve used one word to define both my personal life and also the life of the community in which I serve. Our community word in 2018 was “engaged”. “Engaged” focused on moving people from being “active” to being “engaged” or more involved in things. For example, instead of focusing on just being in church, we wanted people to focus on worshipping, on being engaged in what was going on in the service. Instead of just being members on our roster, we wanted people to focus on being engaged in ministries of the church.

In 2019, the word for our community was “Blessed” focused on gratitude and generosity. If we see ourselves as blessed, we will feel more grateful for what we have. And if we see our things—our time, our talent, our money, our very life—as gifts from God, rather than personal possessions or accomplishments, it will be more easy to share these gifts with others.

“Time” is the word for 2020 for a couple of reasons. First, we are about to enter a new decade, a period of time we only get to do a few times in our lives. We may get 80 or 90 opportunities to begin a new year, but we will only have 8 or 9 opportunities to begin a new decade. The beginning of a new decade is a good time to set some long term goals, or at least write some down, and then see how we do on them in ten years. Second, more important than our long vision of time is a more immediate sense of time. What are we doing today, even in this moment, to use our time wisely. Do we make the most of our time each day? Do we look for opportunities to learn, serve, and grow in our time today?

My personal word for 2018 was “Faithful” and my goal was to be more faithful, in the sense of being more committed to several things—faith, family, health, ministry, friends, etc. In 2019, my personal word was “today,” with the idea of keeping focus on the things in front of me without getting too far ahead. Instead of letting anxiety of the future rob me of present joy and focus, “today” got me more attentive to the opportunities and challenges of today, without getting overwhelming in thinking about the future.

For 2020, my word is “Renew.” As I do every year, there is a Bible verse that corresponds to my word, which is Psalm 51:10: Create in me a clean heart O God, and RENEW a right spirit within me. It is not only important to pick one word but to also pick a Bible verse that will help guide your development in relation to the word you have chosen. The word “renew” reminds me of how we renew library books. When you renew a book, you don’t get a new one, but you get a new “lease” on the book. There is no way to get a new life, we have only the life we have. But we can renew ourselves in our lives at any time. We can change, recommit, reinvest, recover, and lots of other types of renewal. Psalm 51:10 captures a desire to first and foremost recommit to God and to faith, to shore up things I can and should be doing better, starting with prayer, Scripture reading, service to others, discipline and overall trust in God. There is always room to inject some renewal into faith, family, and ministry.

Not only can you choose a personal word, you can choose a word for your family. Ask everyone for input. You can choose a word at your job with your office or your department, or with any “team” you belong to. I’ve given three examples of a personal word and of a team (our parish functioning as a team) word. The possibilities are limitless, so choose a word for 2020 and go!

There are a few hours left of 2019 and of the 2010s. While it is natural to look back and reflect on what kind of year and what kind of decade we had, it is important to look forward to the next year and the next decade. However, even more important than a look ahead, is to stay present. Make it a goal to serve someone TODAY. Make it a goal to learn something TODAY. Make it a goal to pray and read Scripture TODAY. And as the hours of 2019 will soon come to an end, choose a word to define your 2020 TODAY. Choose a word, choose a Bible verse, and write down some thoughts about your word. Write the word and verse down in several places where you will see them—on a nightstand, the refrigerator, your desk at work. And make it a goal to check in with your word for each day of 2020.

For those who are going to stay up past midnight tonight, regardless of what you do at midnight, set aside a few moments as soon as you can after the new year begins, to thank God in prayer for bringing you to a new year, and this year, into a new decade.

As we finish 2019 and enter into 2020, I want to thank you for being part of the Prayer Team. Thank you for your encouragement and for your prayers. Most of all, I thank God for another year of life, of family, of ministry, and of inspiration to keep writing. I wish you a Happy and healthy New Year 2020 and a blessed decade of the 2020s.

You the Creator and the Lord of ages, o God of all, truly transcending all essence, we earnestly entreat that You will bless the year, and O tender-loving Lord, in Your infinite mercy, only Master, save us all who worship and serve You, O our redeemer, and who cry with fear, “For all Your servants, make fruitful the coming year.” (Kontakion of the Indiction, Trans. by Fr. Seraphim Dedes)

These readings are under copyright and is used by permission. All rights reserved. These works may not be further reproduced, in print or on other websites or in any other form, without the prior written authorization of the copyright holder: Reading © Holy Transfiguration Monastery – Brookline, MA, Apolytikion of Abbot Marcellus © Narthex Press, Kontakion of Abbot Marcellus © Holy Transfiguration Monastery – Brookline, MA.

The Revised Standard Version of the Bible is copyrighted 1946, 1952, 1971, and 1973 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. and used by permission. From the Online Chapel of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.