In 2015, I ditched New Year’s resolutions because I never stuck to them. I’d set grand goals in January, follow through until mid-February or so, and then give up on the whole idea and drift through the rest of the year. Sound familiar?
I was looking for another way to frame my year that didn’t involve the resolution list. That’s when I found “One Word 365”. I first learned about One Word from my childhood friend, Alece, the founder of One Word 365. Their slogan is: “Choose just one word. Go where it takes you. Be who it makes you.”
As they explain:
Forget New Year’s resolutions. Scrap that long list of goals you won’t remember a few weeks from now! Choose just one word. One word you can focus on every day, all year long… One word that sums up who you want to be or how you want to live. It will take intentionality and commitment, but if you let it, your one word will shape not only your year, but also you. It will become the compass that directs your decisions and guides your steps.
I started this practice a few years ago, and, Friend, I have seen God move in ways I never expected!
You can visit all of my words over the past years and grab a handy guide on how to choose your One Word HERE.
LOOKING BACK OVER YOUR ONE WORD.
In June, I begin thinking and praying about my One Word for the next year, keeping it at the forefront of my mind through the summer and into the fall. Then, each October, I start reviewing my current One Word. I go back through my daily journals to see where God moved through the One Word. I pray to discern what the Lord wants me to remember going forward. I journal the big ways the One Word showed up in my life, work, family, home, and relationship with Jesus.
What I always find is that the greatest lessons aren’t the ones I anticipated in January.
For example, when I started this practice in 2015, my One Word was Perfection. My verse was Matthew 5:48: “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”
In 2015, my whole world fell apart. I hoped for a perfect, Instagram-worthy life where all the puzzle pieces fit into place. I began to realize that my understanding of perfection looked very different from what God was teaching me in Matthew 5:48! I wanted to control perfection. I wanted to control the circumstances that shaped a life that looked the way I thought it should. Instead, God began to dismantle the things I built my life around. That included all the idols, wants, and desires I created, replacing them with what looked like Him.
And again, in 2020, I felt called to Fearless, encouraged by 2 Timothy 1:6-7. My word for 2019 (Renew) showed me that fear still had a hold on my life. In 2020, I learned to live fearlessly through His power, love, and wisdom. As the year unfolded, little did I know how much I would need His strength to live fearlessly in 2020!
In 2025, my word was Beauty, and it turned out like NOTHING I expected.
I have learned to love the twists and turns God shows me through the words I choose over the year.
For me, the greater revelation of the One Word usually begins in the summer, and by the fall,
I am leaning into what God has shown me.
Over the past eleven years, I have learned to be soft and moldable in this practice. If you come into your One Word journey with rigid expectations, you won’t learn much. But if you come in with a mind and heart that are soft, ready to be molded by the Master Potter (Jeremiah 18), you will be amazed at what God can do through just One Word.
HOW DO YOU REVIEW YOUR ONE WORD
If you’ve never practiced One Word, start here.
But if you’ve been doing this practice over the years, consider a review.
Look anywhere you capture memories, and see where the One Word was at work
Revisit your Inscribe the Word journals
Read through your prayer journals
Consult with your daily journal or weekly planner
Go through your phone’s camera roll
You could even ask your trusted friends or co-workers, your spouse or children, and your neighbors and friends at church whether they’ve noticed a change in you as you’ve lived this One Word.
And then use these five questions to help you review and reflect on that word:
Why did I choose this word?
What One Verse did I choose? (See this article for how to choose your one verse for the year)
What was I hoping this word would reveal?
What did God actually teach me? Did it differ from my expectations?
How will I take those lessons into the new year & into the rest of my life?
For me, those five questions center me and give me a framework for my One Word for the Year.
MEANING THROUGH THE YEARS.
I think one of the most important parts of this reflection is that your ONE WORD doesn’t stop being meaningful on December 31st or when the seasons and calendars change. It’s not like you put it in a drawer and move on to the new shiny word for the year. The whole purpose of One Word is to allow that word to transform you through the power of the Holy Spirit.
These words become part of who you are and how you continue walking with Jesus, being changed into His image day by day and year by year.
I am still praying about my 2027 Word of the Year.
I think I have it, but I am waiting for the Lord to confirm it, as only He can.
If you’ve been practicing One Word this year, I hope you’ll take time to review the word before moving on to the next. Before you turn the page, look back and remember the lessons as you consider how the Lord is shaping your heart.
You may discover that those unexpected lessons are the very reason why the Holy Spirit led you to your One Word in the first place.
Grace & Peace,
ERIKA
Share your One Words and Reflections in the comments below.
We’d love to hear and grow from your testimony!