Everybody encounters temptation. Yes, everyone. No one is immune, including Jesus. If He was tested, then so can we. At the core of every trial we face resides a question that exposes our heart: Can God be trusted? Our ability to withstand and walk in faith hinges on our confidence in God.

Growing up, our family participated in a local charity road race every summer. We'd race around town, going from clue to clue, hoping to get to the finish line the fastest…

During my time in the corporate world, our office had a weekend retreat focused on team dynamics and morale. To break the tension from numerous meetings throughout the day, our bosses set up an evening of laser tag to blow off some steam…

What is pride? It's hard to define, but we all recognize it when we see it. Okay, that statement is only partially true. Even though it's easy for us to acknowledge it in those around us, we often remain blind to the pride that resides in our hearts…

I'll admit it: I'm a planner. You would see what I mean if you saw my Google calendar. I love to organize my day into color-coded, predictable blocks of time. I love the sense of control I get from planning—admittedly, I get my peace from thinking I "know" what's ahead. I want to know precisely what I can expect each and every day. Unfortunately, however, I'm not omniscient.

Today has been a beautiful day! It was hard, but I resisted the urge to drop a "so far" at the end of that sentence. With no magic mirror shedding light on what lies ahead, the "so far" tagline protects me from potential disappointment and the world's ugliness washing away the glimpses of beauty I'm experiencing.

As I stood amidst a sea of runners packed in the starting corral like sardines, my nerves were getting the better of me. All those months of training lead up to this moment - my first attempt at running a half marathon. Slow and steady might not win the race, but it would allow me to cross the finish line and check this achievement off my bucket list…

I'm a bit absent-minded. I lose things frequently, most often my car keys and sandals. The other day it was my glasses, which is a big problem because I'm blind without them. After a good half hour of searching, I gave up and threw on my "emergency" pair. 

For the majority of the years I have participated in My One Word, my selections centered on my battle against the debilitating anxiety that has plagued me for most of my life. Peace. Focus. Vision. Steadfast. Rest. Trust. Each word was deeply rooted in my effort to fight through the challenges that the force of anxiety presented. Each year brought a new word that challenged and inspired my perspective about what walking with God could look like. Keenly aware that anxiety will always attempt to surface, I have discovered a refreshed level of hope in, and love for, my Savior through this process.

I guess sometimes I am just slow to learn! I have been doing My One Word for many years and usually do a good job of remembering the word throughout the year, and I do try to interact with the word and keep it in front of me as much as possible. As I go through the process of picking my word, I would usually focus on characteristics that I feel like I was lacking in and that God would want me to change about myself.

This year I will be receiving my 17th word. I say receiving because they have been God’s grace in my life. The not-so-well-concealed secret of My One Word is that they pile up. My word ‘Relish’ (2014) was a 365-day adventure in seeing and experiencing God’s goodness, much like tasting a fine wine — savoring the bouquet and all the flavor notes. This is something I want to practice forever. I’m still challenged by my word ‘Speck’ (2011), which confronted my tendency (and an ever-present cultural expectation) to judge others inside and outside the Church.

I have been choosing a word every year since 2011. In seasons, I have struggled to stick with my word consistently throughout the year. Some years have been easier than others to focus on my word and to see what God is teaching me through that lens. I often choose my word with an idea of how I hope to grow throughout the year, and every year, God reveals something completely different than I expected. So, as I prepared to choose a word last year, I don’t know why I expected anything different.

My One Word for 2022 was IMAGINATION. It has been my favorite. This word has helped me to both remember what it is like to just dream and think and wonder, but also to consider things beyond what I already know. To imagine what it would be like to be up in the clouds, to imagine what it took to dream up Hei Hei (you have to watch Moana!), or to imagine what it would have been like to hear Jesus' invitation to follow.

I’m not a fan of January. It’s the onset of the winter doldrums for me, the holidays no longer a distraction to soften the dreary weather and short days. And I don’t think I’m alone. Almost two weeks ago was January 16th, a.k.a. “Blue Monday.”

After quite a bit of reflection and journaling, I landed on Horizon as My One Word for 2022. I caught an image of the place where heaven and earth intersect and the beauty that’s on full display with this meeting. I thought of sunrises and how it seems to begin at one point and suddenly the whole sky is on fire with beauty as the light extends along the horizon. This horizon line extends, wrapping beyond my field of vision. It struck me deeply, how life with God changes the way I see everything and extends outward into my relationship with others – beyond what I could ever imagine.

Just as Jesus began His ministry, word had spread that He might be the promised Messiah. The Savior of the world all of the prophets had foretold had arrived, and at the sermon on the mount, Jesus' first and longest recorded teaching, this promised Messiah doesn't incite a revolution; He instead subverts conventional wisdom and introduces the great paradox of the kingdom of God.

I believe it is safe to say that we have all struggled with "My One Word" at some point. In the four years that I have been choosing a word, I've always ended the year by saying, "I wish I would have done more." So, I began asking, "What am I missing?"

Does it feel like 2020 was ten years ago to anyone else? There is a New York Times Article entitled, "2020 Events: Yes, These All Really Happened In The Year From Hell." There is even a movie called "2020: The Dumpster Fire." People were running out of toilet paper in March and buying 2020 toilet paper ornaments for their Christmas trees.

Emotions well up within me that are difficult to articulate when I reflect on the past year. There's a mixture of gratitude, sorrow, joy, heartache, humility, grief, love, disappointment, and resolve. Friends who know the challenges I've faced often ask, "How did you get through all the pain and suffering?"

As a perpetual daydreamer, I have a hard time being present. If you’ve seen “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” (I’m talking specifically of the classic Danny Kaye flick from 1947, though I also enjoyed the more recent Ben Stiller remake), you know the joy and headache that comes from a brain continually bouncing from one thing to the next. In the movie, it’s hard to distinguish between fantasy and reality as Walter bounces back and forth; his interpretation of his world is whimsical and nonsensical. While he may be able to endure mundane moments more than most, it isn’t because he’s actually there. In fact, he is generally anywhere but the present.