Have you spotted new inspiration for the new year?

Happy New Year!

Lord,
May 2020 give us peace, love, joy, restoration, and stillness to know your grace and presence.
In Christ,
Amen

may the New Year bring PEACE to ALL

surrender old ways and look forward to the future

Surrender to what is.
Let go of what was.
Have faith in what will be.

anonymous

year end/new year

It has been a year of reflection, abiding, and getting on. After years of caregiving parents, I have had an entire year with none of those responsibilities: doctor appointments,  counting pills, doing finances, feeding, household maintenance, etc. if you have done this you know the list.

I have found that I am still in transition. I am tired. I hurt. I am getting over my first illness since, only a cold, but it seems like such a big deal. I'm trying to get my own life on track and organized. Actually, I don't know if it will ever happen but I'm trying. Losing a parent is much like any major loss in life. It takes time. It takes effort. It takes "want to".

Every year I choose a word to focus on, not a resolution but one word, that can help me stay on some kind of track to get things in perspective and working better. This year was ABIDE. it was a good word. I stayed close to God, his word, and my own much needed space.

For the New Year I have chosen SURRENDER. Some one asked me if that wasn't just giving up. It is a little bit of that but so much more. A few years back the word was RELEASE, very similar to surrender. I am just beginning to learn and hope to share more along the way but "to surrender" we must be willing to let go of anything that keeps us from being static and move forward to be the very best we can be, live the life we want to live and find the joy and peace in every single day.

So as we breathe into this new year, let's surrender anything that holds us back and keeps us from growing into an even better US.

abiding in a new place

a brand new year, a brand new challenge…ABIDING in God sounds so simple, especially with current circumstances, no parents to care for, reasonably healthy husband, son, daughter-in-law and self, but it is not.

I will not give up. God is my abode.

I will not quit. God is my catapult.

I will not stop trusting. God is my protector.

I will not ignore. God is point of focus.

I will not fail. God is my success.

 

God is with me even when I don’t seek his presence. That is my comfort and that is my place of peace, joy, hope, love, and faith.

 

Here I lay it all out for God. This is what I strive for in the next three hundred sixty three days.

Terry – hope, health, peace and tranquility.

Matthew – purpose, peace, confidence, mended relationships, health, strength of God’s almighty power.

Molly – health, family, work, life, contentment with all

Opal – health and meds for Alzheimer, peace, calm mind

Wayne – health, understanding, encouragement, assistance

Rosie – health, music opportunities

Marvin – health

Betty U – health and happiness

Buck – health and peace of mind and body

Gail – health, pain free, strength

Carolyn – health, peace, strength, healing heart

Betty H – health, pain free, peace

Camille – health, breathing, family, retirement choices

Debbie – family, health, peace, joy

Phipps – health, peace, understanding, supportive

Tracy – health and happiness

Church – unity and God driven, Scripture believing

World – peace and back to God for all things

Ann Ballard – health and family

Myra Martin – cancer, healing, life

Diane O – healing, pain free, happy

Betty J – health, peace, happy, daughter

Janice C – health, family

Shirley G – health, peace, happy

Pastor Noel – time conscious, scripture driven

Me – health, joy, family peace

 

{computer just slid off couch- shut down but seems ok THANK YOU GOD!}

 

Abiding in power to keep on keeping on

Second day of January, a brand new year, a brand new challenge….ABIDING in God sounds so simple, especially with current circumstances but it is not.

I will not give up.

I will not quit.

I will not stop trusting.

I will not ignore.

I will not fail.

God is with me even when I don’t seek his presence. That is my comfort and that is my place of peace, joy, hope, love and faith.

the best gift

is Y O U

I asked for and received BE THE GIFT by Ann Voskamp. if you haven't discovered her, find he on the web now. She has awesome thoughts for you.

 

You can find your balance!

Year in Year out reflections

(cleaned out scraps and front of fridge)

 

 

Three hundred sixty five days ago, I would not be able to imagine I could have been here now. I was so tired, weary, and fearful. I had an unhappy son who was becoming more and more anxious and depressed. I had a mother deep in the throes of Alzheimers. I was feeling all the aging issues start to take over my entire body and life. Plus I was doing all the things you do as a wife and mother. Fill in the details.

 

Here on the edge of two thousand eighteen, I am in awe. I am amazed. I am curious. Yes, I am also a little apprehensive. I made through some tough stuff. I can make it through more but I do wonder what more must I endure? Have I even broken the surface of what I will have to withstand? My Sunday school class has three recent widows. They had children to spend Christmas with. They have lost grandchildren, parents and siblings but they say losing a spouse is harder. I fear this. My husband is truly part of my very soul. We are one. I’ve learned I’m strong but do I want to know how strong? No.

 

-=-=--

 

Also as I look at a way to make 2018 the best year yet, I consider all the clutter in life. My mind stays cluttered with fears and issues I just don’t know how to keep dealing with. My body is cluttered with foods I should not eat and habits I should not have. My soul is filled to the brim with all that happened to me and may happen to me. My home is too cluttered. I save too much. Even my digital files are spilling over.

 

It is time to let go of STUFF. I do not need half the stuff I own. I can’t wear all my clothes. I don’t use all the things I have. I can’t possibly live long enough to use all I have. My art has evolved to use all things in mixed media and that has certainly made me save too much. My husband is a hoarder as well so I’m afraid my son has a problem someday. It was difficult to clean out my parent’s house. I’m ashamed to say we own two full houses and two barns too.

 

Therefore, I must turn to my word for the year—abide. I must abide in Christ and Him in me. I must allow him to handle my stuff and help me start letting go of stuff. I must allow God to clean my crevices, physical and spiritual. I must turn to God to be my life coach, only he can truly make my life space tidy.

Looking forward

Slept fitfully again. Little done today. Trying to just stay semi organized, straightened up, and calm. Got very nervous first thing this morning. Terry’s gone to Fernwood and Matthew and Molly may or may not be heading to Dillard Georgia for a two night anniversary trip. I know it was Satan putting doubt in my mind. He does that too often. I also found myself worried that something was going to happen. I prayed Jesus blood on them and fought the demons off. I must find a way to never allow Satan’s doubts and fears to rob me a single moment’s joy. He wants nothing but bad for me. He is the only one who can take my spirit from me and rob my soul of the life Jesus wants me to have. Lord, I will trust you and your divine power over me and my family. You are my hope for all things. I will not let the enemy ambush me. You will not let the enemy trap me.

 

Today is a new day. Every minute is a new opportunity to abide in Christ and to allow God to be the only force in my life that rules. I will fight to maintain the holy spirit in every sinew of my being. I cannot live any kind of happiness while simultaneously letting Satan take charge. He only has his own interest in mind. There is no hope other than through God. This I vow, I promise to trust God, abide in his love and live by his commands.

 

Life sorts itself out through God’s word. I will read it, live it, and believe every word of it for my remaining days. I have wasted too much time I can never recover. Life is uncertain to us. We are to trust God for his daily mercies and appreciate all we have as abundant blessings undeserved. Mercifully, we receive and gratefully we must share. Giving from our abundance is God’s reason for giving us much.

 

I am reading Ann Voskamp’s Be the Gift. She expresses so much of what I feel and need to do. I just finished reading Liz Gilbert’s Big Magic. She pointed out the inner critic’s voice and how it can kill our creative value. That critic is Satan in my mind. I will only listen to God and the good he has to tell me and direct me.

Another valuable lesson came from Max Lucado’s Anxious for Nothing. I must let God be my center and my answer in every situation. God wants only good for me.

 

Lord, Matthew and molly are heading on their trip. Keep them safe. Keep them well. Keep them happy. Take care of Terry and help him get healthier and strong. Take care of me and help me get strong and healthy too. help Lisa heal from her surgeries. Give her and Stacey understanding hearts to accept Matthew’s words heal a relationship for a lifetime. I also ask your blessings and strength for a country of Christians, a world of Christians who can lead us into a better light. Help everyone realize that YOU are ALL our country needs for better days. Heal our church and unite us to be serving you and your commands, not men. In Christ’s name Amen.

 

All of 2017, I focused on determination. I was determined to get through whatever came my way. I have thus far. I have four days left. I pray for God’s continued assistance. I made it through things I thought never possible.

1.      Mom’s health and death

2.      Matthew’s depression and anxiety

3.      Terry’s unhappiness about lost goals

4.      Molly’s family’s needs

5.      My own attempt to make some kind of difference and support through my art

 

I have been blessed more than I could ever ask. I have been able to bless others. I have found determination to be my friend. It has shown me inner strength. It has taught my perseverance. It has given me grace from God.

 

I have chosen my word for 2018. ABIDE. I will abide in Christ and his will for my life. He will abide in me and guide my way. By staying his will and presence, I can find a life of true belief and understanding. So often we grow up thinking life is about me, me, me but it is not. Life is about everyone. Life is about knowing God and witnessing to others, bringing them to Christ. Life is for sharing our resources and love and kindness. Life is for living in a compassionate way that helps others learn what their own life mission is.

 

God gave me creativity and a joy for utilizing it to lift me and others. By sharing my cards, words, and images I make people smile, feel favored, and know they are remembered. That’s all people really want or need. True, they often seem to want money, fame, and possessions but that is not what they need and deep down they know too. People like to hear their name and know they are being heard. Folks want to know that what they say and do matters to someone. We all want to know that we are here for a purpose. This is accomplished if we each take time to listen, appreciate, and show gratitude and empathy.

 

Goodness comes from and through God.

Hope grows by trusting and believing in God.

Faith expands through studying God’s word and sharing it.

Love spreads through a hurting world by saying it and showing it.

Peace heals that same hurting world when we maintain it.

 

 ...so as I walk into 2018…I will abide in a God who never fails me, a Christ who always loves me, and a Holy Spirit who never leaves my heart.

 

declutter your mind and your space for a

HAPPIER NEW YEAR AND YOU!

end of year thoughts

Endings are terrible.

Finishing isn’t always positive.

Leaving is sad.

Goodbyes are difficult.

Change is hard.

Accept the challenges as gifts of grace, mercy and strength.