ERICA DUNOMES

Are you a person who takes time at the end of every year to seek one word for the new year to come? If so, how has that gone for you? Were you successful? I truly hope so. I look forward to seeing you share your 0ne word with me. Here is my one word for 2023.

Before I go there, I want to say that, since jumping on the one word train many years ago, I’ve come to find that there is something truly special about this practice. Would you like for me to share why with you? I don’t mind if I do.

Here are four reasons why I believe the “One Word” practice is so special:

• First, it creates a hunger in you to seek after it. It is not something that just comes.
  
• Second, it creates the space for you to be intentional. You plan to find your one word.
  
• Third, you have to posture your heart for it. You open yourself up by way of adjusting your mental and spiritual attitude.
  
• Fourth, it’s a practice that teaches you to patiently wait on and listen for the voice of God. There’s an expectation to hear from God that seeking it creates.
  

The driving force is the focus it brings and the direction it gives. One word is a word that helps you center everything you do around it. You can look at it as your vision creator. It sparks your imagination from within, and forces you to ask the question, “How can I bring or see this to come to pass in my life?”

Something special, right?

My one word this year: Different.

Towards the close of 2022, as I took the challenge to turn down the noise, it was revealed to me that I had what my husband likes to call a La-La Land mindset when it came to certain areas of my life.

That’s the mindset where I believed that things pertaining to certain areas of my life would change while I sat back and did nothing. And I must admit that this was true. I really did think this way. So, for a period of time, because of this mindset, I ran from responsibility in those areas. My mission for 2023 is to own up to and take responsibility to be and do different.

What will that look like?

To be different is to be altered. To alter something is to change it or make it different. Transform it. Let’s be honest, no-one can expect to be different while continuing to stay the same. Change must take place. Why? Well, change done in the right way leads to growth. It’s funny because growth was my one word last year.

Frankly, I believe life in God is all about change. As sons and daughters of God, we are all predestined for change. Growth. Different. To be different for God is to be set apart for Him.

But know that the Lord has set apart for Himself him who is godly; The Lord will hear when I call to Him. ~Psalms‬ ‭4‬:‭3‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

The Hebrew word for set apart in the Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, pertaining to this verse, is pâlâh (paw-law). It means to put a difference. Show. With that being said, it is my belief that the life of every Believer is to show forth the difference God comes to make in their lives. This difference is to be literal and figurative.

God is after something. The will of God for all of mankind is for us to have a relationship with Him and to grow into full maturity in Christ. This is what glorifies Him, which is to be the ultimate purpose for you and me.

For my life to glorify God is all that I have ever wanted since giving my life to His Son. Take a look at these lyrics from one of my favorite worship songs by a handsome gentleman named Micah Tyler:

Friend, these lyrics perfectly sum up the cry of my heart right now. To be set apart. To be changed. To…be…different. My confession is that 2023 is the year for me to do that. The keys words that matter in all of this are these: “‘til ALL of me is gone…”.

Here are some practical steps that I plan to take to be different:

1. I will take full responsibility for the outcome of my previous actions.

2. I will continue to renew my mind daily with the Word of God.

3. I will take captive every thought that leads to la-la land thinking.

4. I will address every area of my life that needs to see different one step at a time, one solution at a time.

Unrecognizable is what I desire to be. So what do you desire for 2023?

Thinking of taking on the one word practice?

Last year, I came across a powerful acronym from the Bible that helped me discover my one word for 2022. I loved using it so much that I’ve decided to keep applying it every year from now on. Curious to know what that acronym is? Look into it here.

But wait! For those of you who already have your one word for the year, don’t forget to share it with me in the comments below.