My friend Connie persuaded me to to choose a word for last year that would guide my thinking and behavior, and although I was reluctant to do so at first (there are so many words!), I finally settled on YES. Isn’t that a great word? Earlier this week she reminded me that it was time to choose a new word and told me that her word for 2008 is COURAGE. “What’s yours?” she asked…and then asked again. After reading the query for the third time, I’ve settled on one.
It’s BELIEVE. I had been toying with courage, but I didn’t want to steal Connie’s word. Faith seemed good, and so did peace, love, and persistence. Then a couple of seemingly insignificant things happened that helped me zero in on believe. I gave a friend the choice of which scented coaster he wanted as a belated Christmas gift, and he said something like, “Oh, definitely the one that has “Believe” on it. As I handed it over, the word struck me with its power. Then this morning, I took the wrapping off of my new gratitude journal, and inside of it were written the words “imagine, believe, create, and inspire,” and that did it. Believe became my word right then.
Why is it so important? Because we must believe that we can make things happen. We must have confidence and courage to make our dreams become reality, and believing in ourselves is essential. We must also believe that we have a loving Heavenly Father who cares about us and wants us to succeed. We must believe that He is always a whisper away and will help us in all worthy endeavors.
I hope Connie likes my word and that I can use it as a mantra of sorts this year. What about you? What’s a word you can adopt to help you live a more effective life this year?
mom's musings 
My word would be patience, but Im scared to really admit that. Why? Because I dont want things to crop up to be patient about!
My word would be FAITH. Our church is in the midst of a relocation project and we are still looking for new property, so we are holding onto our FAITH that God has a “promised land” for us! Thanks for reminding me to consider where God is calling us to grow!
How did YES impact you in 2007? Was it effective in keeping your vision in front of your eyes?
If I had to pick a word, it would be BELOVED.
Chuckle, chuckle….maybe my word should be persistance.
Believe is an excellent word!!! I really wanted you on board for this again as it was fun sharing this adventure with you.
Pesistentillusiion (nice name), Yes impacted me in many ways at many times. For instance, remembering it forced me to take an extra trip to the mountains instead of spending another Satuday in the same old safe routines (shopping and going to a movie), take a course (CPT 101) for credit instead of auditng it, and start a blog. These might seem like little things, but they add up (with others) to develop an overall change in perspective. And yes, it was effective in keeping the vision in front of my eyes MOST OF THE TIME.
Ah, BELOVED. Good one. Are you using it to refer to all of our fellow (and sister) human beings?
Michelle, I like patience. I’ve had to remind myself more times than I can count that patience is a virtue, especially when I was at an earlier stage of life (yours).
Bill, faith is an excellent word. Recently I was reading something about prayer, and the idea was so simple and yet so profound at the same time. The writer was writing about how we must have faith (whether a little or a lot) when we pray, or otherwise we wouldn’t do it. I thought, “You know, that’s so true. Why do we bother to pray unless we have faith in the first place?”
Connie, courage and believe are like sister words or cousins or something. If you believe, it will give you courage, right?
What a great idea. I am going to think of a word too. Yes, Michelle be careful what word you pick and be prepared. Last year I had a phrase “I can do hard things”. A lot of hard things came my way but I can do them now. And this phrase has just become a part of me and who I am. I think this word idea will do the same thing. I might write it on my blog. Thanks for the idea Jayne.
Hey mom….your word should be blog….seriously already!
Last year I did something similar. I chose BE THERE from Elder Hales talk in the April 2007 general conference. That last paragraph or two of his talk include some of the most important lessons you will ever hear from the pulpit.
I use BELOVED because it is the word that most immediately taps how I feel about my spouse, my beloved, and then I can channel that love to anyone.
Laressa, I’ll be watching and waiting to see your word. I really like the “I can do hard things” theme (wasn’t it a YW’s theme last year) and enjoyed your lesson on it a month or so ago.
Michelle, let’s remind her of how much COURAGE it take to write blog and put your thoughts out there for everyone in cyberspace to read.
Dave, I’m going to look this talk up just as soon as I finish the other computer “stuff” I have in mind. One of the things that I really love about the church is that it’s a day-to-day living that offers practical advice on just about any topic from budgeting to scripture study. Doing one’s best, getting an education, and setting goals are all things that are actually taught and encouraged right along with the spiritual things like prayer.
What a great post–and a great idea. I will have to give that some thought. Thanks for visiting my blog.
Yvonne, I’ll be looking for your word…and checking out your blog again too.
My word is perseverance! It sounds like a big word but that is what I need this year! Thanks again for the idea. You have inspired so many of my friends on the blog to do the same thing.
I like it! I read about it on your blog last night and made a couple of comments. With your perseverance, Connie’s courage, Michelle’s patience, and my “believe,” we can accomplish wonders in our lives! I can’t wait to read about the words others have chosen.
You are getting way too much credit for this idea!!! I saw it first (LOL) And enough Michelle and Jayne with the blog thing. One day, my friends, one day…
Hey, I gave you credit from the beginning. It’s not that I don’t know the value of words and how they can move and inspire us, but I was having a bit of difficulty settling on one. After your encouragement, however, I focused in one the one that I think is the best for me this year.
The blog: If not now, then when?
Maybe my word should be Eventually…How did I know one of you would say “if not now, when”??!!
Turn about is fairplay, I nagged you about the word you get to nag me about the blog.
P.S. I so love my friends!
Eventually??? Not good enough. Come up with a name and go from there.
My word would be Clear. In 2007 I felt somewhat fuzzy about most of my life. For 2008, I want to stay in tuned and remain Clear.
I like it. Once you determine what you want, maybe you can focus on it like a laser and not be distracted. What has brought about this change of focus? Guess I need to check out your blog and find out for myself.