From Word to Practice: Letting a Word Shape Your Year

Every year, I ask God for a word or a phrase.

Not as a goal or a resolution, not something I can measure or improve but rather a word to live with, remember, think about, and help me through the year.

As this year closes and another year is set to begin, the word that kept coming to me was gentle.

The word showed up quietly, repeatedly in my daily time with God, and I remember thinking, “Is gentle my word?”

At first, I wasn’t sure what to do with it. How is that a word of the year? What does gentle mean when guiding me year? Do I want that to be my word?

Then, while I was on a trip, God highlighted this word through a sweet conversation someone who I’d never met before.

The theme of that conversation stayed with me because something in me recognized, felt, and needed what she said and how it brought this word to life in a new way.

Soon after, in prayer, I felt the same word confirmed again… this time as an invitation. Gentle was definitely my word for the coming year.

Still, I didn’t know what gentle would require of me, or how it would shape the days, weeks and months.

What does a gentle year look like? How does gentleness look like in mothering, coaching, ministering? What does gentle mean in continued healing? In boundaries? In a faith that’s growing and deepening? How can I gently face the situations to come?

Instead of trying to define the word right away, I let it sit over the past month. I had to keep thinking and praying about it. And slowly, gently, it began to take shape.

I remembered Matthew 11:29 that says, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Jesus describes himself as gentle, and yet nothing about him is weak. His gentleness is strength under control. Nothing to prove. Nothing to rush. Nothing to defend. He asks us to learn from him and find rest in him.

Alongside that verse came a thought that wouldn’t leave me. Jesus’ description of gentle is the kind of faithful, loving presence that ruins you — in the best way — for anything less than that kind of tender gentleness.

In fact, I’ve fought and battled for more of that gentleness in every area of my life. I won’t settle for anything less than the gentleness of Jesus, the sure, security of his presence with me.

Once you experience Jesus’ gentle love in the midst of great pain and loss, the kind of love that rescues and restores, you really are changed. You become less willing to accept striving that costs your softness, or connection that avoids honesty, or spirituality that bypasses presence.

You become, in a quiet way, ruined for anything less than that kind of gentleness.

I didn’t want this word to stay abstract or nebulous though. I wanted something to return to when I forgot it, something concrete to keep the beauty of this gentleness a part of my days.

So instead of asking, “How do I live this perfectly?” I started asking, “What would help me remember?”

I decided to create a few small, easy-to-use resources. I wanted breath prayers, a few anchor sentences, maybe even a short rule of life with Scripture phrases to keep in mind. I wanted resources that could be reminders to come back to when the year gets full, busy, hard, and pressured.

This is where ChatGPT comes in.

I know, I know… the tension of using and incorporating AI is real. Overall, I’m not a huge fan of how much this is encroaching in on everything. But also, it’s here to stay and becoming something that you need to know how to use.

As with all of technology, use this addition with caution, wisdom, and care but don’t miss an opportunity to learn and engage in a new way.

With all of this in mind, I wanted to put ChatGPT to work to help me define and broaden this word God was giving me for the upcoming year.

I was typing, praying and planning when I realized that this process isn’t just for me. Anyone with a word for the year can do this.

You don’t need to know all the things about a word {or about ChatGPT} before you begin. You can slowly let it develop definition and action and practice.

Remember, you’re using ChatGPT as creativity generator and helpful part of brainstorming. You bring the discernment. You decide what resonates. You guide the process. This tool simply helps you put language and structure around what is already stirring inside of you.

The key is to pay attention to what brings connection to your story, not just take insight that could fit anyone. If something feels heavy or forced, it’s probably not yours.

A word for the year doesn’t need to be impressive. It doesn’t need to make sense all at once. It just needs space to form so it can help you navigate your story in beautiful, encouraging, peaceful ways.

If you have a word of the year or just a vague sense of something that could be a word, get curious.

How to use ChatGPT with your word of the year:

1} Start with your story – One of the keys to using ChatGPT in this way is to start with your own words. Type things out just as you would say them to someone else. As ChatGPT responds, answer conversationally and honestly. Tell your story, your season, your challenge. You could say, “I think my word of the year is a word like __. Can you help me dig into that word or idea?” or “I’m struggling with this idea or life circumstance. Can you help me brainstorm some words for the new year?” Remember, ChatGPT works best when you talk the way you normally would. You can write in fragments, questions, or even uncertainty. Something like, “I think my word might be __ but I’m not sure why,” is more than enough to start.

2} Wordsmith – Now, when you have some direction or specific words or a phrase, start word-smithing. I love this part. Ask ChatGPT to help you with definitions, meanings, contexts, and ways the word could be used as a word for the year. Journal and pray through this as you go.

3} Bring in Scripture – This is where you ask ChatGPT to help you find verses to go with your word. Ask for a few scriptures or a list of references to look up about that word. As you settle on one or two, tell ChatGPT to help you dig into how that can add meaning to your word concept. Ask how it can broaden the life application and help guide your year.

Pay attention – every prompt you give ChatGPT brings more ideas that he’s throwing ideas right back at you. He politely asks if you want him to do A, B, or C next. He wants to know if you like Option 1, 2, or 3. Respond! If one of his ideas seems golden or worth exploring, go with it.

4} Create Resources – ChatGPT can help you run with an idea and get really creative about how to blend your word of the year with your daily practices. For me, I wanted a few prayers, breath prayers, a Rule of Life, some anchor statements and scripture phrases to use and memorize. I wanted a journal page to walk through when I need to remember my word or put it into practice in a specific situation. I wanted a bookmark with verses, prayers, and phrases that could be in my Bible as I go through the year. Without fail, ChatGPT created them all for me. Download and Print. Amazing.

5} Interact and Edit – As resources or plans or methods are created and written, you can interact with them, edit portions, ask for something different, or wordsmith again. If something really impacts you, ask ChatGPT to develop that thought further. If something doesn’t fit you, ask ChatGPT to take it out or rewrite it. You are still the lead, the authority, the discerning factor in what you choose to keep and use.

Idea: You don’t have to do this all at once. You can come back to the conversation later, reread, and pick up where you left off.

6} Keep a running chat – I named a chat specifically for this so that I can come back to it throughout the year. I can interact with the resources, make changes, or develop something new as specifics of the year play out before me. Your understanding of your word and how it applies will deepen throughout the year. You can revise prayers, swap verses, or let go of practices that no longer fit.

7} Bring it to coaching – This is something we can go over and refine in coaching. Either through looking back over this year, brainstorming for the new year, or word-smithing together, coaching is also a great way to develop your word of the year. It’s worth saying this clearly: while tools like ChatGPT can be helpful for reflection and resource-building, there is real value in bringing your word for the year into a coaching session. A coach can listen for what’s underneath the word, notice patterns you might miss, and help you stay honest and involved in the process.

There’s something powerful about being witnessed as you process an idea, asked thoughtful questions, and having space held for you as the word unfolds in real time.

So, as you ponder and reflect, what words come to the surface? As you move from having a word to putting it into practice, how can you hold and remember this word?

What kinds of resources could be helpful as you utilize your word and navigate your year?

Have you ever thought to use ChatGPT like this?