I had a whole blog post written and then in classic technology form, Squarespace froze and none of it saved and I was reminded why I usually write in Google docs instead. Such is life. 

Thankfully my words are not so meaningful that anything truly important was lost. This blog is largely a journal for myself, to help me process life and remember what I was learning at the time. That being said, for the three people who do read it, my goal is to be encouraging to others as well. Otherwise I’d just have heaps of Google docs instead and never share them. So rather than call my loss of a post a wash and forget it, I’m choosing to re-write it. It’ll probably be better this time anyways. 

We’re almost one whole month into 2023 and I wanted to share about my word for the year. A lot of people have a lot of different definitions and reasons for having a word of the year. For me, it’s something I prayerfully consider as I reflect on the last year and prepare for the upcoming year. It’s a theme that I typically see emerge in the habits and rhythms and projects I hope to complete in the new year and usually, it’s a lesson God wants to teach me. 

For 2023, my word is rooted. The basic definition, of course, being: “establish deeply and firmly.”

So what does that mean? It means that in 2023, I want to be more rooted in Christ, more rooted in His word, more rooted in how He defines me so that I am firmly and deeply established into the woman He has created me to be. 

I want to be like that tree in Psalm 1, that is,

“planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.” 

We’re in a foundational year, over here. Our family, in a larger sense, is being established. Our gifts are being used in new ways and if we’re not careful, we might lose ourselves. And that is why being rooted matters so much. 

Already I have come across this concept in two books I’ve read this year. The first was in my first book of the year, Holy Hygge, which is a contender for favorite, honestly. It was a book that combined my love of God and theology with the Danish lifestyle of hygge. It was challenging and encouraging and in it, Jamie Erickson writes,

“...true contentedness is deeply connected to rootedness – to know who and whose you are.” 

And that is so key. Especially as we prepare for parenthood and we continue to heal from hurtful words spoken over us. We don’t want to walk into parenthood without a firm understanding of who and whose we are.

We want to know that we are children of God, that we are loved and that He made no mistake when He made us. I, especially, want to remember that God did not make a mistake in creating me. That I am not who others say I am. I am not a bully, I am not a jezebel (hello trauma from 2010), and I am not just a mom. I am a daughter of the Most High, I was created with passion and a desire for authenticity, I am a blonde fire-cracker who doesn’t always say the right things but does desperately love others and want the best for them. I am worth just as much outside the house as I am inside of it and my call is to honor God with my life.

That is who I am and that is who I want to remember I am when exhaustion, lies, and life come at me and try to tell me otherwise. My value is not in being a mom or a wife or doing things perfectly. My value comes from being loved by the most valuable. 

The second encounter I had was in Garden Maker by Christie Purifoy. It’s a lyrical book on gardening that my wonderful sister-in-law gave me for Christmas. It has inspired a desire to grow a flower garden this year and I recommend it if you like inspirational books both practically (gardening) and also spiritually. In it, Purifoy uses gardens and flowers and seasons as metaphors for life and in her chapter on growing things from seeds she says, 

“...the reason I place a large order for seeds every winter is because these seeds grow more than flowers. They grow a connection between me and my garden that is deeper, richer, and more complete. Seeds have rooted me in this place.” 

I think that’s such a beautiful reminder that small steps, seeds, grow into something more and they root us into things. 

I think that’s why my favorite annual “goal setting” program is Lara Casey’s PowerSheets. I love them because they aren’t really about goal setting as much as they are about creating a life of meaning and tending to the things that will lead you to the life you want to live. It’s a grace-filled program that looks at steps you can take that help you live purposefully. 

Because the reality is, I don’t want to just let life happen to me. I’ve lived that way before and it’s empty. I want to move in rhythms of grace that help me stay rooted in Christ and also put roots down towards a legacy that Adrian and I are building. 

So what does that look like in 2023? Our overarching values haven’t changed. We still want to prioritize time with Jesus, with one another, with family, with community, doing the things we love, exploring and enjoying creation. 

But we have smaller more tangible goals like using my income to solely pay the mortgage and an extra premium each month so we can be mortgage free in two years. We want to start a small garden and compost. We want to visit a new state, national park, and maybe another new country. We want to transition into our new role as parents in a positive way. We want to hike more of the 100 NH hikes and get back into running. We want to eat seasonally and continue to make our house into a home. We want to use our gifts to serve our church and community. In essence, we want to do things that bring God glory and us joy.

But for us, that starts by being rooted in Him. And by planting small seeds of rhythms that will grow into something much more as we build our family legacy.