Sunday Inspiration: Words

With the new year approaching, it’s a good time to release what no longer adds value and make space for what’s aligned and authentic. What are you choosing to leave behind? What are you welcoming in?

January 2024: Happy New Year

Happy New Year!!

Most of December was a blur.  That month always seems to speed by like a rocket.  At least until Christmas.   That last week between Christmas and New Years seems to last as long as the entire rest of the month. It's like a black hole of time and energy.  Did anyone else live in a blur of leftovers and lost days between Christmas and now?

January is a quiet month.  For those of us in the northern hemisphere, nature is tucked in and resting in its winter slumber.  The days are shorter. January seems meant for long evenings by the fire, cozy blankets, warm beverages, and good books. It's a cozy month.

In January, we celebrate our oldest grandson's birthday. He'll be 12 this year. I'm baffled as to how that can be possible. I'm certainly not old enough to have an almost teenage grandchild. Except that, apparently, I am. 

As I said before, thanks to the cold days and long evenings -January is a good month to settle in and read some good books.  My reading list for the month includes "The Private Lives of the Tudors" by Tracy Borman, , "Divine Rivals" by Rebecca Ross and "The Turn of the Screw" by Henry James.  How's that for an eclectic blend of genres? I do like to mix it up a bit.

We're hoping that January will be the month that all the refurbishment projects on the outside of the house will finally be completed. We're still waiting on the new gutters to be installed and the trim around the front door to be done.  After that, we'll be ready to look at submitting the plans for permitting to build our new deck. Which at this point, that may wait a few months until we head into spring.

I closed up my Etsy shop at the end of last year and am still trying to figure out what my next chapter is going to look like. It may take the form of a slightly different craft business, I could return to crochet but focus exclusively on local markets and craft shows rather than online sales, or it might be something completely different.

I am skipping my usual One Word for this year in favor of a Word of the Month. This came about after last years experiment with doing both. I found that I liked the freshness of a new word to focus myself on for each month.  My word for January is Begin. More on that in another post. Stay tuned.

My goals for 2024 are:

• Work my way up to exercise/movement 5 days per week
• Health: Pay less attention to the numbers on the scale and focus more on the numbers of my lab work and how I am feeling
• Focus on crochet projects that will use up the bulk of my yarn stash instead of requiring me to purchase more
• Read at least 36 books

My goals for the month of January include:

• Reorganize my home office to be a craft/ guest room
• Purge and reorganize my dresser
• Exercise/Movement 3 days per week

What's new for you in January?

Sunday Inspiration: Next Year and Forever

 

My One Word for 2023

The end is near!  No... Not in some cryptic "person on a street corner with a sign" kind of way.  Tomorrow we'll see 2022 come to an end, and then we're moving on to 2023! 

For many people a new year means a new set of resolutions. For me it means a new word.  One word which is my focus and guide for the year. 

That word for 2033 is Explore.

Explore: to investigate, study, scrutinize, or analyze : look into, to become familiar with by testing or experimenting, to search into or travel in for the purpose of discovery.

But, here's the thing...

As I began considering the word Explore and how it might take shape in the year ahead, something didn't quite feel settled. As if something was missing. At first I thought perhaps I had the wrong word.  I kept getting clues and signals that the word for the year was Explore. Yet, that feeling of incomplete didn't go away.

Then, one morning during my quiet time, I had a thought that changed everything.  

Perhaps a year of exploration isn't meant to stop at just one word. What if each month had its own word? A new word to explore each and every month.

Suddenly, it seemed as if all the pieces had clicked into place. That idea of one word for each month felt right. It was new and different. But also exciting. 

So, my one word for 2023 isn't just one word at all. While the word for 2023 is Explore - each month of the year will also have its own word.  I am not choosing all twelve words in advance. I trust that the word for each month will come to me according to where my focus needs to be and what I need to explore each month.

Do you set resolutions or make goals for the new year? Do you set a word as a focus for the year? Or do go in without any expectations, just waiting to see what the year brings?

My One Word for 2021

Instead of making New Year resolutions, some people choose One Word for the year.  Sometimes the word seems to pick you.  Such was the case with my word for 2021.

I love it when my word for the next year comes to me early - usually in the late fall sometime. That's what happened this year.  Around the end of October or the beginning of November, my One Word for 2021 first became known to me.  

The word that presented itself was "Challenge"

My initial reaction?  "Oh - NO, thank you." After the year that 2020 turned out to be, the last thing I wanted was more challenges in my life!  I mean, c'mon! Give a gal a break already! Amiright?  How about "calm"?  Or "peace"?

The word kept coming up.  Everywhere I turned there seemed to be a new sign pointing me in that direction. I wasn't going to be easily convinced though.  I thought about it.  A lot.  I prayed about it.  A LOT.  I kept asking God over and over to give me another word for 2020.  An easier word. Any. Other. Word.  

But as week after week passed and we moved closer to the end of the year, Challenge persisted in its campaign to become the One Word for 2021.  It weighed on my mind.  It began to create a hazy image of what a year of Challenge might look like. Surprisingly, it wasn't necessarily bad.

So...  I surrendered to the word.  And that's how "Challenge" became my One Word for 2021.  

2021 will be a year for me to challenge myself.  A challenge to let go of all the baggage from 2020 and move forward to whatever the future holds for me. To try new things.  To stretch outside the cozy little comfort zone that all the uncertainty of the past year inspired me to create for myself.  It will be a year for challenging myself to create new routines and habits and let go of ones that I have outgrown. To try new things.  To have new experiences.  A year for growth and renewal.

Do you set resolutions or select a word or phrase to guide you through the year?  Tell me about it in the comments!

My One Word: Intentional

A new year.  Days spread out before us like blank pages.  How will we fill them as they unfold?  What will our life look like once the next  twelve months haves passed us by?

We can't know what the future holds.  But we hope it's something good.  In order to try to fulfill that sense of promise which comes with fresh beginnings, some people choose to set goals or intentions.  They make new year's resolutions.

I personally select one word each year to provide focus and guidance for the year ahead.  It's not a new idea.  A quick search of  "one word" or "my one word" will show you a list of websites promoting the idea as well as plenty of other bloggers talking about their own word for the year.

In order for the concept of one word to work, you have to commit to it.  You have to soak yourself in it over the course of the year.  You have to make it part of your daily life and be intentional about it. 

And that last sentence brings us to what seems a good place to introduce my One Word for the year:

(I know... "intentional" is a sort of buzz word right now.  Right up there with "self-care" and "mindfulness".  But you know what?  That's OK.)

So, what does "intentional" mean?

in·ten·tion·al

/inˈten(t)SH(ə)n(ə)l/

adjective

adjective: intentional

1. done on purpose; deliberate.

   
   

In a nutshell, it's about making plans with the purpose of attaining specific end goal.  

I often find myself drifting through the days, following a routine and doing certain activities - not because they're actually fulfilling a purpose or accomplishing much of anything, but just because that's what I've gotten used to doing them or just to fill time.  But I no longer want to just drift through.  I want to do things on purpose.  With intention.

I want to be more intentional about:

How I spend my time.  Not mindlessly spending time watching tv or wasting away hours doing things that I don't care about or that don't enhance my life or the life of people around me in some way. 

Pursuing my relationship with God.  Seeking His will and His purpose for my life.  Spending more time in prayer listening for His voice and guidance.  And learning to be silent and still to hear His voice.

My relationships with others  Focusing on my loved ones and making sure they know that I love and appreciate them.

My health  Continuing my weight loss journey and taking time to care for myself.  I only have one body and I have to take care of it if I expect it to carry me well into the future.

My words.  Thinking before I speak.  Writing more.   

My work.  Not letting my Etsy shop glide along on cruise control, but taking new and deliberate steps to improve it. 

As I live this year of "Intentional", I want to make the hours I have each day really count.  When I create my To-Do list, I want to view it as opportunities to serve others and to worship God.  

Do you have a word for the year, or do you make resolutions?  Share yours in the comments!

Happy New Year!

Sunday Inspiration: What It Brings

Happy New Year!

Sunday Inspiration: Better Things Ahead

Shiny and New

The list maker in me loves the start of a new year.  Leaving the past behind.  A fresh start.  All shiny and new.   Full of promise.

It's that same part of me who adores a brand new box of crayons with the fresh points lined up in a row.  A new notebook or journal full of empty pages waiting to be filled.  Opening a new book for the first time and feeling the spine give just a little.

As I sat yesterday, sipping my coffee and soaking up the first morning of 2015 - I came across this verse:

Lamentations 3:22-23

And that's when it occurred to me.  With Jesus, every day is like New Year's Day!!

A new beginning.  A fresh start.  What ever happened before is in the past.  All your mistakes, missteps, mess ups, and sin..those were then.

THIS.  This is now. You can give all of it over to him and He will wash it all away.  Giving you a clean slate.  A fresh start. However far you fell yesterday - today is a new beginning.

His grace and mercy never run out.  Never dry up.  Never get tired.  Never give up on you.

They are new every morning.  Every. Single. Morning.

Every day.  Every hour. Every minute.

You can find me connecting at these Blog Hops and Link Ups

A New Spirit of Gratitude: Happy New Year - 2013!

I AM THANKFUL FOR:

• Time spent with my sisters
• Laughing over shared memories
• Private jokes
• Words With Friends
• A husband willing to tolerate an extended visit from most of my crazy family
• Relaxing while someone else cooks for the whole gang
• New Years kiss at midnight
• The fresh start of a new year

Goals for 2013

This year rather than the typical "resolutions" I usually make, I am preferring to call them "personal goals". And here they are for inquiring minds -

My Personal Goals for 2013:

1. Continue developing a spirit of gratitude for the many gifts God gives me
2. Love, honor, and encourage those around me.
3. Improve my health through diet and exercise
4. Foster my creative side with writing, crafts, and DIY projects.

Reality Hiatus

hi·a·tus noun \hī-ˈā-təs\

1a : a break in or as if in a material object : gap b : a gap or passage in an anatomical part or organ

2a : an interruption in time or continuity : break; especially : a period when something (as a program or activity) is suspended or interrupted  
I'm taking a break.  

As I prepare for the arrival of my sisters and their families today, and all the fun, laughter, madness, and chaos they will bring to my household for the following days - I realize that writing for my blog will be very low on the priority list.  As a result, I have decided to break until the new year arrives.  

No fears.  I will be back as 2013 begins.  With just as much to say as ever.   

Happy New Year.  Be safe.  Be blessed.  See you soon!

Beginnings

Happy New Year 2012!  January 1 is always a time for new beginnings.  Maybe this year more than usual.  In 2012, January 1 is...

A new year.

A new month.

A new week.

I've always loved beginnings.  Fresh starts.  Like...

The first day of school. 

A fresh new box of crayons (which, btw, is still a favorite thing of mine - even though I am no longer a school girl). 

That first night's rest on clean or new sheets. 

New pens. 

New socks - especially comfy, fuzzy ones.

Being the first person to squeeze on a new tube of toothpaste. 

Beginnings - big or small - can be refreshing and exciting.  So.. here's to the beginning of 2012.  And all the fresh, new beginnings it holds in store for us all!

More Than Expected

2011 was a year of highs and lows.  A year of surprises.  As I look back over my list of resolutions for last year I am surprised at how many I accomplished to some degree, and how many there are where I completely missed my mark.  But considering the year as I whole, I honestly have to say that I am in a much better place personally than I was this time last year.

Looking ahead, I want 2012 to be the year of "MORE".  And with that thought, I make my new list of resolutions, to experience MORE.

In 2012 I will enjoy MORE of every day and every experience.

In 2012 I will continue to make The Man of the House, our marriage, and our family MORE of a priority.

In 2012 I will read MORE.

In 2012 I will blog MORE.

In 2012 I will learn MORE.

In 2012 I will do MORE to improve my health.

That's it.  Short and simple.  MORE in 2012...

How Is It December Already?

Really?  How did this happen?  How can it be December already?  Wasn't it just Halloween?  Thanksgiving?  Even the 4th of July doesn't seem that long ago.  I feel like I've missed some time somewhere along the way.

Yet, here we are.  December first.  The last month of 2011.  Only twenty-four days until Christmas.  Thirty days until 2012, a whole new year. 

Time is flying past so quickly!  In the words of Ferris Bueller:  "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."