Beginning Monday, June 16 and running for two weeks, I’ll be posting a “one word devotional.”

This idea came to me years ago when I was working at a daycare. My co-workers and I had tried several times to have devotions while the children were napping. But of course, there was never a time when all the kids slept for the whole nap time. We couldn’t really focus and rarely completed a lesson. So, I suggested we have one “word for the day” to think on and then share throughout the day our thoughts and experiences related to that particular word. It turned out to be a great exercise.

Particularly interesting to me was how “deep” such a simple approach to devotions could go. The continual focus on one single word offered great opportunities for application throughout the day. It revealed areas in which we might not be living out the principles behind the word or not feeling its impact in our lives to the fullest. It brought to mind Scriptures that we shared with one another. We also thought of times when the word had ministered to us and we shared those stories, too. We often set goals related to the word at hand and then held each other accountable to those goals.

Sometimes we were comforted. Sometimes challenged. Always, we were blessed by our interactions with the word and with each other. I am looking forward to having this kind of devotional experience again, with you.

Since I will only be posting the one word at the beginning of the day, with no commentary, the devotional experience will actually come in our follow-up discussions and postings. So, join me Monday for the word of the day and feel free to share your thoughts and reactions to that word as the day progresses.