Some Words I’d Rather Not Hear From The Lord

I know quite a number of folks who annually ask the Lord to give them a word (or words) that might act as a point of spiritual focus for them during the New Year.

Maybe I’m just a chicken, but I hesitate to wonder too much what the coming year might hold. And with my generalized anxiety disorder never more than marginally managed, I gotta tell you that some of the words God might possibly utter—should I ever become brave enough to ask—scare the Xanax out of me.

I mean, is the expectation that God is always going to give the recipient a simple and easily understood word? LIke Joy? I don’t think there’s much quibbling to be done on the meaning of Joy, is there? Apart from it being the name of a popular dishwashing liquid, of course, which could ostensibly mean that God wants me to improve my domestic habits starting today. Otherwise, if I got the word Joy from the Lord for 2008, I’d be thrilled.

But what if, instead, He switched it up a bit? What if I asked and received the word Serenity? At first blush, Serenity has some components of Joy, with a generous portion of Peace and Acceptance thrown in. I think I could embrace a word like Serenity, except…oh-oh. If you frequent the same Wal-Mart aisles I do, you’ll recall that Serenity is shelved hip-to-hip with Depends.

What if the Lord gave me the word Serenity and it ended up meaning that my New Year of Dependence had just begun? Doesn’t that qualify as too much information? Honestly, I’d just as soon He surprise me.

I’m not sure if, after the request for a word of direction or theme is made, the answer always comes in the form of a Biblical word or not. But before considering asking for a word myself, I decided to survey the Good Book to see what some of the possible outcomes might be.

I easily encountered dozens of words I hope never to receive as my word of the year, including but not limited to Famine, Peril, Wasting Disease, Drought, Deceit, Desolation and Vermin. And, while this is merely my personal preference, I could also live contentedly for the rest of my natural life without God blessing me with the word Abishag.

It occurs to me that I’m not very good at discerning the exact spelling God may have in mind if He brings a word to the forefront of my consciousness. What if I think I’ve heard the word Sow—as in “Whatever a man sows, this he shall also reap”—and I automatically believe this means I’m to plant a garden even though my thumbs are both obviously purple? I could be starving this time next year when I finally come to the conclusion He might have been saying Sew.

Or perhaps, if He were in an even more ominous mood, Soooo….

I could go on and on with the “o” sounds here, but I’ll spare you most of them. You know the alphabet as well as I do, after all. I will warn you about a couple, just because I feel I owe you as much since you’ve read this far.

The word Dough, when taken as a theme for the year 2008, is particularly problematic. I could take it to mean we’d be making oodles of money, or that I should concentrate on my bread-baking skills. On the other hand, what if it meant we’d go broke and I’d become gluten-intolerant? And then there’s that pesky alternate spelling problem again: Doh!

I wouldn’t be too concerned to adopt the word Whoa!—especially if it meant “Whoa! Slow down and enjoy life…” or, even better, “Whoa, BABY!”

But, trust me, I’d take all the Serenity in the world if only I didn’t end up with Woe.

Posted by Katy on 01/01/08 at 07:31 PM

Fallible Comments...

Here's a good word: Contentment

From there, it's a hop and skip up to serenity, and perhaps someday, joy. I tend to aim a little lower than joy. It's just the cynic in me!

Peace,
Suzan
Posted by Suzan Robertson on 01/01/08 at 08:11 PM
Suzan--Contentment is a fantastic word! How does that Scripture go? "Contentment with godliness is great gain?" Or is it "Godliness with contentment is great gain"? Either way, one could do much worse than to have Contentment as the word for 2008.
Posted by Katy on 01/01/08 at 08:19 PM
Hi there, Katy. . . great post! When I saw the word "dough," it immediately made me think of our movie project and Mary and I losing lots of "dough," which then brought to mind that you have already said we can move into your house once we're out of "dough." Which, of course, will lead to a decided lack of serenity and plenty of. . . well. . . "woe."

Steve
Posted by Stephen Pruitt on 01/01/08 at 08:27 PM
Steve--See what I mean? The word dough, if adopted for 2008, could EASILY mean The Great And Awesome Year Of The Raymonds' Wealth Redistribution!!! And you and Mary must not have heard what I said when you asked to move into our basement....."WHOA!!!" :)
Posted by Katy on 01/01/08 at 08:39 PM
LOL, Katy.

As one of those who asks and receives, I was LOL at your post. My first experience was a year of Endurance. Trust me, that wasn't my favorite year. It was just like it sounded. The next year was Victory. I thought that sounded like a great improvement. Trouble was, what He wanted to teach me was that my victory is in Him, not in circumstances.

I'll be sharing on my blog how the first day of 2008 was a sweet one for my year of Intimacy and Devotion. Hope to get it posted tonight.

Robin
Posted by Robin on 01/01/08 at 11:28 PM
Robin--I am SO glad you laughed at my goofiness! I very much respect my friends who "ask and receive" (Mary DeMuth is another) but I couldn't resist having a bit of fun with it.

Now, if anyone wants to read Robin's post about New Years's Day, click on her name! Robin is a wonderful author with a lovely blog. You will enjoy it!
Posted by Katy on 01/02/08 at 01:59 PM
")
This was such a wonderful perspective. I always thought that I was somehow missing the memo when it came to "words." Why didn't I have one? How could I miss something so plain and obvious for me? Did I? Was I worthy of a word...or wasn't I?

This gives me freedom to stop worrying. And goodness knows I don't need the xanax scared out of me...
Posted by tina on 01/02/08 at 05:25 PM
Very funny. Especially loved the Depends and Serenity, though it does depend on how much serenity you can stand and all that....

I've never heard of asking for a word. Interesting concept, but one I doubt I'll follow for many of the same reasons you mention.
Posted by Anne on 01/08/08 at 10:00 PM

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Personal blog of christian writer & fallible mom Katy McKenna Raymond in Kansas City, Missouri Katy is represented by Greg Johnson at WordServe Literary Read more Katy at LateBoomer.net Follow Katy on Twitter Follow Katy on Facebook 123 Recent Posts Try Becoming Brenda Starr Off Beat Scattered That’s It So I’ve Finally Signed With An Agent. Now What? The Spoon Sciatica Sweetheart A Woman’s Train of Thought Has No Caboose However much we own, we are all still living on borrowed time After all, when restaurants shrink portions, they don’t shrink prices. As with everything in life, balance is key. Slow down, you move too fast… Yeah, I know. I have issues. Search Advanced Search Syndicate Login E me at katy @ ngenius.com	Some Words I’d Rather Not Hear From The Lord I know quite a number of folks who annually ask the Lord to give them a word (or words) that might act as a point of spiritual focus for them during the New Year. Maybe I’m just a chicken, but I hesitate to wonder too much what the coming year might hold. And with my generalized anxiety disorder never more than marginally managed, I gotta tell you that some of the words God might possibly utter—should I ever become brave enough to ask—scare the Xanax out of me. I mean, is the expectation that God is always going to give the recipient a simple and easily understood word? LIke Joy? I don’t think there’s much quibbling to be done on the meaning of Joy, is there? Apart from it being the name of a popular dishwashing liquid, of course, which could ostensibly mean that God wants me to improve my domestic habits starting today. Otherwise, if I got the word Joy from the Lord for 2008, I’d be thrilled. But what if, instead, He switched it up a bit? What if I asked and received the word Serenity? At first blush, Serenity has some components of Joy, with a generous portion of Peace and Acceptance thrown in. I think I could embrace a word like Serenity, except…oh-oh. If you frequent the same Wal-Mart aisles I do, you’ll recall that Serenity is shelved hip-to-hip with Depends. What if the Lord gave me the word Serenity and it ended up meaning that my New Year of Dependence had just begun? Doesn’t that qualify as too much information? Honestly, I’d just as soon He surprise me. I’m not sure if, after the request for a word of direction or theme is made, the answer always comes in the form of a Biblical word or not. But before considering asking for a word myself, I decided to survey the Good Book to see what some of the possible outcomes might be. I easily encountered dozens of words I hope never to receive as my word of the year, including but not limited to Famine, Peril, Wasting Disease, Drought, Deceit, Desolation and Vermin. And, while this is merely my personal preference, I could also live contentedly for the rest of my natural life without God blessing me with the word Abishag. It occurs to me that I’m not very good at discerning the exact spelling God may have in mind if He brings a word to the forefront of my consciousness. What if I think I’ve heard the word Sow—as in “Whatever a man sows, this he shall also reap”—and I automatically believe this means I’m to plant a garden even though my thumbs are both obviously purple? I could be starving this time next year when I finally come to the conclusion He might have been saying Sew. Or perhaps, if He were in an even more ominous mood, Soooo…. I could go on and on with the “o” sounds here, but I’ll spare you most of them. You know the alphabet as well as I do, after all. I will warn you about a couple, just because I feel I owe you as much since you’ve read this far. The word Dough, when taken as a theme for the year 2008, is particularly problematic. I could take it to mean we’d be making oodles of money, or that I should concentrate on my bread-baking skills. On the other hand, what if it meant we’d go broke and I’d become gluten-intolerant? And then there’s that pesky alternate spelling problem again: Doh! I wouldn’t be too concerned to adopt the word Whoa!—especially if it meant “Whoa! Slow down and enjoy life…” or, even better, “Whoa, BABY!” But, trust me, I’d take all the Serenity in the world if only I didn’t end up with Woe. Posted by Katy on 01/01/08 at 07:31 PM Fallible Comments... Here's a good word: Contentment From there, it's a hop and skip up to serenity, and perhaps someday, joy. I tend to aim a little lower than joy. It's just the cynic in me! Peace, Suzan Posted by Suzan Robertson on 01/01/08 at 08:11 PM Suzan--Contentment is a fantastic word! How does that Scripture go? "Contentment with godliness is great gain?" Or is it "Godliness with contentment is great gain"? Either way, one could do much worse than to have Contentment as the word for 2008. Posted by Katy on 01/01/08 at 08:19 PM Hi there, Katy. . . great post! When I saw the word "dough," it immediately made me think of our movie project and Mary and I losing lots of "dough," which then brought to mind that you have already said we can move into your house once we're out of "dough." Which, of course, will lead to a decided lack of serenity and plenty of. . . well. . . "woe." Steve Posted by Stephen Pruitt on 01/01/08 at 08:27 PM Steve--See what I mean? The word dough, if adopted for 2008, could EASILY mean The Great And Awesome Year Of The Raymonds' Wealth Redistribution!!! And you and Mary must not have heard what I said when you asked to move into our basement....."WHOA!!!" :) Posted by Katy on 01/01/08 at 08:39 PM LOL, Katy. As one of those who asks and receives, I was LOL at your post. My first experience was a year of Endurance. Trust me, that wasn't my favorite year. It was just like it sounded. The next year was Victory. I thought that sounded like a great improvement. Trouble was, what He wanted to teach me was that my victory is in Him, not in circumstances. I'll be sharing on my blog how the first day of 2008 was a sweet one for my year of Intimacy and Devotion. Hope to get it posted tonight. Robin Posted by Robin on 01/01/08 at 11:28 PM Robin--I am SO glad you laughed at my goofiness! I very much respect my friends who "ask and receive" (Mary DeMuth is another) but I couldn't resist having a bit of fun with it. Now, if anyone wants to read Robin's post about New Years's Day, click on her name! Robin is a wonderful author with a lovely blog. You will enjoy it! Posted by Katy on 01/02/08 at 01:59 PM ") This was such a wonderful perspective. I always thought that I was somehow missing the memo when it came to "words." Why didn't I have one? How could I miss something so plain and obvious for me? Did I? Was I worthy of a word...or wasn't I? This gives me freedom to stop worrying. And goodness knows I don't need the xanax scared out of me... Posted by tina on 01/02/08 at 05:25 PM Very funny. Especially loved the Depends and Serenity, though it does depend on how much serenity you can stand and all that.... I've never heard of asking for a word. Interesting concept, but one I doubt I'll follow for many of the same reasons you mention. Posted by Anne on 01/08/08 at 10:00 PM Page 1 of 1 pages Commenting is not available in this weblog entry. Next entry: Following In His Path Previous entry: The Troubles << Back to main


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Some Words I’d Rather Not Hear From The Lord

Personal blog of christian
writer & fallible mom
Katy McKenna Raymond
in Kansas City, Missouri