Build relationships. Build skills. Build bridges. Build.

“The old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

Eating donuts hanging from a string, faces crusted in powdered sugar and frosting, is our family’s unique New Year’s Day tradition. The kids think it’s hilariously fun as their teeth chomp at the spinning donut, peals of laughter echoing from the kitchen. What’s more, the tradition is also meaningful, accompanied by our New Year’s Day chant: “In the year 2015, let this be our goal: to focus on the donut, instead of on the hole.” This means being mindful of the good things in life, tuning in to those aspirations and inspirations that make us more fully alive to our potential, to one another and to God. To begin a new year is, in a sense, to be born anew. It’s to turn away from the past and toward fresh hopes and dreams. “The old things have passed away; behold, new things have come” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

            For several years now, friends and I have chosen thematic words to define our lives at this turn of the calendar year. Some of our words have been “YES” and “COMMIT.” My word for 2013 was “BOLD,” and almost had a prophetic effect as circumstances required not a small bit of gumption. Last year’s was “SYNERGY” and powerfully defined the relationships and opportunities yielded in that year of radical growth and change. And as we turn the corner to 2015, I’m pondering a new word, spoken to me in that liminal state between sleep and waking early one morning. This new word is “BUILD.”

Build relationships. Build skills. Build bridges. Build.

            This year, I’m helping the kids choose thematic words, too. Experience tells me words have a way of becoming enfleshed and actualized. Incarnate. We began the school year with the words “SPEAK” and “JOY,” and I’ve watched as the kids embodied them. My third grade daughter speaks up more often and raises her hand in class. My first grade son has adjusted, after the initial jolt out of a lazy summer, to full-day school with a joy for learning.

            Do you need a word to enliven and refresh you in 2015? Do you wish to bestow a word of blessing on your children? Words embraced become living and active, subtle and utterly profound. Game changers. What words would you choose to define your new year?

            I think of biblical figures and the words they might have heeded:

            Moses, impeded by his stutter, could have used reminders that he was EQUIPPED, EMPOWERED.

            Joseph, betrayed and accused, might have clung to OVERCOME, FAVOR, FORGIVE.

            And Martha, the perpetually preoccupied (parents, who can’t relate to dear Martha?) might have learned something from meditating on the word, PRESENCE.

            I challenge you to pick a word-of-the-year. One word to be your North Star, helping you orient your life with deeper clarity and intention. Write it on your bathroom mirror. Make it the password on your mobile device. Chisel it into a necklace and wear it near your heart. Then, do the same for your children. Bestow the blessing of a word aptly spoken, and see what new blessings come of it.

Faith & Family writer Wendy Connelly, mother of two, is a graduate student at Saint Paul School of Theology, and the director of community outreach at a church in Leawood.