Those of you who regularly read the Word of the Week (WOW) are probably thinking, “Did she forget that she already gave us a new word on Monday?” Actually, no. It just occurs to me that so many of you enjoy the WOW blog post on Monday that perhaps I should start a new feature discussing a single word and its ramifications for our world. Lofty aspiration, hunh? Yeah, it scares me, too, but here goes nothin’!

I chose “absolute” for today, because it’s a word that is not used as frequently as it once was. Even with advanced technology and increased knowledge from research, there are few absolutes in our world. One hundred years ago, most people in the U.S. went to church on Sunday, cheating in school was virtually unheard of, and most people were virgins on their wedding night. (Yes, I went there.) Today none of that is something we can take for granted, along with a lot of other things that used to be absolute.

Book Club Update: I read the first page of Jon Acuff’s Start and burst out laughing for a full minute. I don’t do that often. Have you started laughing yet? If not, go here to, of course, Start! 

Compassion Counseling Center Update: We now have 9 clients, but I would love for us to have even more clients, so please keep praying that we will find the people who need our help. We have dealt with abuse, self-injury, relationship difficulties, and new school adjustment issues just to name a few. We are also about to offer our first group for premarital counseling!

Good morning, Word Lovers! Last week’s WOW was crepitate. Merriam-Webster says that the definition of crepitate is to make a crackling sound. If that’s the case, then my joints crepitate all the time. (This WOW may become a new regular in my vocabulary!)

This week’s WOW is solatium. Here are my guesses for it: