Some of my online friends have chosen (or discovered) their “word for the year.” Others seek out a Bible verse of the year. I knew one lady who spent the closing months of each year praying for a verse for each of her loved ones for the year to come.

Me, I’m usually scrambling to keep up with the close of a year, with no time to think about the one to come until it’s been here for a week or so. As I’ve been going through my “learning journal” from 2015, summing up what I need to take forward into the days ahead, I surprised myself by discovering one word that applied to each thing:

These attributes would take lifetimes to develop, but they’re things I’ve felt nudged to be more intentional about. Not in a rigid or formulaic manner, but through paying attention, being present to what’s going on around me. Through anchoring my spirit first in worship, and surrendering to God’s leading in each day. What I really want is to grow in the practice of His presence: worship that affects all I do.

Clearly, this isn’t a measurable goal or one I’ll ever “master”. But we’re each invited to grow nearer to God, and I’d like to be more intentional about it.

What about you? Do you choose a word, phrase or verse for the year? For the month? Do you look back, look ahead, or just press on?