At myoneword.org, readers are encouraged to ditch the long list of new year’s resolutions and instead choose one word to focus on all year long, one word to inspire you, one word that encapsulates the character you want to have.

I’ve chosen grace.

There are so many reasons:

1) I need so much grace from God.  Every single day.

2) I need to give myself grace.  I’m a perfectionist, and I can be very hard on myself.  This year, I want to give myself more grace.  This is not the same thing as allowing myself to slack off.  Instead, it’s practicing kindness and generosity toward myself, especially in my writing.

3) I desperately want to grow in extending grace to others.  I have been shown such an abundance of undeserved favor; I want to turn that around and show that to others.

2014, I hope and pray, will be a year full of black and white and also so many shades of gray, which help me to be more gracious, to value mercy from others and offer it freely, and to wield generosity as best as I can.

Original image from weheartit.com, edited at picmonkey.com.