Word for the Year: April Meet-Up

Our Word for the Year group recently had our second meet-up of the year to check in on our progress with having a special word selected to guide and direct our year.

Rather than meeting up at church, like we did in January, one of our members Mindy hosted us in her home.  A total of eight women participated, and we enjoyed snacks and conversation as we shared about our experiences with our words.

Our group members' words include:  commitment, contentment, dis-CONNECT, reconnect, and vulnerability, We talked about how helpful our words have been, how much attention we have paying to them, and whether keeping our word in mind over the months is having a positive impact on our year.

Then we brought out the art supplies!

I brought a stack of full-page illustrations from magazines, calendars, and catalogs, and we used them to create a full-page visual aid to remind us of our word for the next few months.  We could use the page to define our word, collect quotations about our word, reflect on how our word is helping us--however we wanted to use the space.

When we finished, we each shared our illustrated pages, and talked about where we might put them so that they can continue to remind us of our commitment to our word for the rest of the year.

Here's a little gallery walk through the pages, so you can read our thoughts more clearly:

We are continuing our commitment to emailing our partners with an inspiring or encouraging word at least once a month.  And we will continue to receive prompts over the months to engage with our words through writing or projects.  Those who are interested may journal to keep a record of their experiences and feelings over the course of the year so that they can track their progress toward their goals.

Our next meet-up will take place in July, so we can fellowship face-to-face again, and continue to encourage one another with this year-long experiment.

In closing, I leave you with this inspiration, given to each of us as a gift by our Word for the Year partner, Blaire: