Abjure

Studying vocabulary is something most people haven't done since high school. And yet, words are wonderful, powerful, and advance our communication ability in so many ways. Being a pastor, most of my time is spent writing sermons for my congregation, but I also spend a fair amount of time writing adventures for The One Ring roleplaying game along with additional rules and helps for players of the game. It brings me great joy!

When I write, I keep a tab on my internet browser open to www.thesaurus.com. It's one of my favorite sites. Writing in the world of J.R.R. Tolkien is extra challenging though - if you really want your stories to sound like the professor's, you've got to learn his words...but that is a subject for another post.

Write Well, Speak Well, 2005 Houghton Mifflin

Last year, I was yard-saling with my wife and I stumbled across a vocabulary book for 25 cents. "You can't go wrong" for that price, so I picked it up. (I first heard that saying from my father-in-law and it has proven true.) Today, I want to share a word from the book: abjure.

abjure

1. To recant solemnly; renounce or repudiate: Here and now, I abjure my violent temper. 2. To renounce under oath; forswear: The prisoner abjured his previous state. 

RELATED WORDS:
noun - abjuration
noun - abjurer

We all make mistakes, but one of the hardest things to do is abjure them. Mom first taught us how to say, "I'm sorry," but it has proven to be a tough lesson. Yet, when we renounce our poor behaviors or attitudes with sincerity of heart, it can unlock the door of our isolation chamber and restore the relationships we should have been enjoying all along.

I want to be an abjurer and practice abjuration even in the little things. So, to all that I've ever been off-putting, I abjure my egotism and impatience. I pray to do better the next time we communicate.