Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Allie Pleiter on One Words



Every year, I ask God to send me one word to serve as my focus for the year.  Lots of people I know do this—especially writer-types who know the power of words. There's even a book on the subject.  

Some years I know right off why I got the word God gave me.  Other years, I have to muck around for a while until it surfaces.  Last year, my word took a fair amount of mucking and was unusual; I received both spellings of COMPLIMENT/COMPLEMENT as my word for the year.  I spent the year exploring the partnerships in my life and how they complement each other, and I tried to offer praise—compliments—wherever I could and squelch my judgmental tendencies.

This year my word jumped right out at me:  UNIQUE.  I can’t really explain the process other than I ask God to send it and keep my eyes open.  I always know when I’ve found it, but I don’t always know how I got there.

Once I do find it, I start exploring.  That means everything from Pinterest searches to dictionary and thesaurus look-ups, bible verse searches, movies and songs, even t-shirts.  When my radar goes “live” for that word, it seems to be everywhere.


By the end of the year, I always know why God gave it to me.  I can trace the path of my lessons back through the months and see how the concept colored my life and my growth. If you haven’t tried this, I encourage you to give it a whirl.   

If this is something you’ve done, what is your word for 2015?  

I hope you find my latest Love Inspired release unique and entertaining as well.  SMALL-TOWN FIREMAN is the last book in the Gordon Falls series.

2 comments:

Jennifer said...

I have never picked a word for the year to focus on but I do try to pray more and set a goal for reading the Bible in a year.
I hope you had a blessed Christmas Allie and I hope you have a unique New Year!

Shirley said...

This idea of one word is something that I have just contemplated for the last year or two. It really opens up a new facet of my walk with God.
BTW I just finished Small Town Fireman. Loved it.