Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God. This is how the holy women of old made themselves beautiful.
1 Peter 3:3-5
Have you chosen your Word of the Year for 2025? If you haven’t, you still have time. Sometimes, it takes several weeks into the new year to reflect on where you are in life and gain clarity about the direction you want to go.
At the beginning of the year, I met with a group of amazing women to help them choose and make their word intentional. I mentioned how surprised I was with the familiar word that the Lord placed on my heart.
Having a word is a simplistic but transformative practice to reference throughout the year that evolves with you.
Amy Pigott in her article, How Choosing My Word of the Year, "Flourish", Transformed My Intentions for 2025 talks about how your word “quietly weaves its way into your life”. She wrote: When I choose a word, it becomes a lens through which I see my days. It’s there in the small decisions, whether to hit snooze or step into a brisk morning walk. It whispers to me in the quiet moments and cheers me on in the loud ones.
Excited about making my word visible, I purchased a custom bracelet as no other word had captured my heart.
Choosing a Word of the Year is an invitation to step into the person you’re becoming. Your word should do two things: 1) capture your heart and 2) challenge you outside your comfort zone.
My Word of the Year is certainly pushing me outside my comfort zone as it holds space for my becoming and for what makes me beautiful to God. Aligning my word with a verse or passage of Scripture is what I customarily do each year to be a lamp for my feet and a light on my path (Psalm 119:105).
This year, my word is Beautiful.
Although this ministry is Becoming More Beautiful, I sensed God was leading me into a deeper, more personal journey of significant growth in ways more beautiful than I could have ever imagined or expected.
Depending on the translation of the Bible, ‘beauty’ or ‘beautiful’ is mentioned at least 45 times. One passage of Scripture resonated with me and leaped off the page as soon as I read it.
1 Peter 3:3-5 says: Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God. This is how the holy women of old made themselves beautiful.
What a powerful verse, I so feel this—“This is how the holy women of old made themselves beautiful”. In a culture that equates beautiful with everything except a gentle and quiet spirit, this unfading beauty is precious to God and of great worth in his sight.
A gentle and quiet spirit is perceived to mean that a woman is shy and passive with not much to say; a description that I certainly don’t fit. We all can be a woman with a gentle and quiet spirit because it is not about our personality but about our spirit—our inner self.
In rethinking what a gentle and quiet spirit is, I am learning that these qualities require humility and submission to the Lord and are not for the faint of heart. Here are my thoughts of what a woman with a gentle and quiet spirit is:
A woman with a gentle and quiet spirit is a woman whose faith reflects her trust and hope in the Lord. She is a woman who is listening for what God wants to speak to her heart. She is a woman whose emphasis is on her inner adornment that is imperishable. She is a woman who is self-controlled whose words and actions are not unbecoming.
A woman with a gentle and quiet spirit is set apart and becoming more like Jesus. She is a woman who prays and doesn’t give into fears. She is a woman who is not anxious and sets boundaries to protect her peace. She is a woman who is confident and authentically who God created her to be. She is a woman who surrenders her plans and desires to God.
A woman with a gentle and quiet spirit is a woman with a welcoming and calm disposition who listens more than she lectures but is a woman who speaks the truth in love. She is a woman who filters the noise and distractions of the culture by being still in God’s presence. She is a woman who is not stressed out or worried. She is a woman whose focus is on what is eternal and not what is temporal as she awaits the return of Jesus.
A Word of the Year is not about perfection, but about progress. A Word of the Year is a filter for your decisions and a beautiful and exciting way to hold yourself accountable. A Word of the Year is an amazing tool to help you have your best year yet and grow in your relationship with Jesus.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for how you exemplified a gentle and quiet spirit. I am grateful for your leading me to my word and the passage of Scripture that is life changing. Cultivating a gentle and quiet spirit is how the holy women of old made themselves beautiful and it is how I want to be made beautiful too.