My One Word for 2013 is…

Brevity is a good thing.

It’s good when you’re listening to a sermon. Or sitting through a school recital. And it’s really good when you’re giving a lecture to your kids.

I like brevity. Short. Targeted. To the point.

That’s why I was intrigued by a book I recently picked up, My One Word. The book was born from a sermon series in 2005 from North Carolina pastor Mike Ashcraft, who encouraged his congregation to avoid New Year’s Resolutions for a year and instead focus on a single word that would guide their year.

That sermon became a movement.

And that movement became a book.

About one word.

So I’ve been thinking about “my one word” for 2013.

And, candidly, I didn’t need to think much. I already have one word.

“Oggi.”

It’s Italian. I fancy myself as living in Rome someday. And I’ve long had a love of all things Italian. Including their language.

That’s why I have tattooed on my right ankle a simple, Italian word.

“Oggi.”

It means “today.”

It’s a reminder that no matter what life throws my way or what heaviness I may be feeling, I still have my “today.” It’s mine to own and define. I may be passing through a valley and I may be weighted by some unknown slump that seems to be sticking to the soles of my feet.

But there still is value to discover in my every today.

My todays are mine. And I chose how to live them. And my word reminds me to live my days with zest. Italian zest.

So what’s your one word?