When Five Plus Seven Does Not Equal Twelve

Where has the time gone?  I cannot believe this is the 28th anniversary of my 29th birthday (smile)!

But it does go by so fast!  I'm taking Becky Higgins' 12-week course, Project Real Life.  The first two weeks have focused on two of the principles from Stephen Covey's best-seller, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.

• Begin with the end in mind.
• Put first things first.

When I think of the end in mind...I think of eternity and what impact will my life have on eternity.  I think about the kind of legacy I leave my children and grandchildren.  When I reflect on this...my priorities come clear.

And while they may become clear, keeping our priorities in check, i.e., putting first things first, is a daily challenge.  So many distractions compete for my attention.  And sometimes the tyranny of what is urgent can be disguised as what is most important.  Often it is not.

I think of Christ's advice in the promise of Matthew 6:33,

Seek first the kingdom of God's and His righteousness, and all these things
shall be added unto you. (ESV)

I think it is pretty clear where my first priority should be and that will influence the rest.

Making an Attempt ~ Making Brushes

They used to talk about "the blue screen of death" when your computer monitor would just show a blue bank screen if you had your PC on when a buried virus was set to activate.  Well...I had the failure of an external hard drive...four years of photographs!

Did I have it backed up?  Of course...but I hadn't backed it up for 5 months...and off to The Disk Docktor it went.  So with limited access to photos, I want to show you a few of the brushes I made in my class with Kim Klassen using my Wacom Bamboo tablet.

A year ago I read Susan Cain's Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That is Always Talking...coupled with my Ali Edward's class of One Little Word 2013...my word was "embrace."

So in honor of embracing my introversion in 2013...I made a brush set with "introvert" words.

Introverts re-energize by stepping away and spending significant time in solitude.

We are most "active" in our inner life...

Our minds are very active...even if we are quiet.

Does the saying "still waters run deep" come to mind?

Very little is done without forethought...at least the important things.  We have intention...

We love to reflect and process experiences...

And in our authenticity...we embrace who we really are.

A Verse and A Word

The Bible app "YouVersion" challenged its users to choose one verse as a focus verse for 2014.  I chose I Peter 5:6-7...

Several things pointed me to this verse...giving me specific direction for focus:

• Just be humble...don't worry about impressing or appeasing.  Who am I anyway?
• God's timing is perfect...and in His time (not mine)...He will exalt me FOR HIS NAME'S SAKE (which should be my only concern).
• Worry and anxiety is pride that basically states God cannot handle it or is unconcerned, so I must figure it out.
• And that through the next 365 days, I am under His care.

Stay tuned and I'll refer to practical ways I'm applying this verse in the coming year.

I'm also doing Ali Edwards' One Little Word...where the challenge is to focus on one word as you travel over the next 365 days.  Last year my word was embrace.

My word for 2014 is "pursue."  Where will this take me?  Can't wait to see!

Thanking God today for these images found on my New Year's Day walk!

Ringing out and Ringing In - with Joy

This is the day when many reflect on the past 365 days...evaluating, recalling, even comparing them.  And I, like them, have done the same.

In church on Sunday, we were challenged with Psalm 90...a focus on time and the fact that at its best, life is brief. I was challenged by one particular verse...

"Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom." v. 12

So when I look back at 2013, as most years, it has been a mix.  I gained two incredible colleagues who have been kindred spirits, my daughter and her family moved back close by, Edster and I have found a home church, I have reunited with some great friends, I continued to do meaningful work at the hospital, and I have experienced growth spiritually and creatively this year.

But Caleb has also had his struggles and times when my advocacy has felt futile, my mother went on to heaven in August after her decade-plus with Alzheimers, a gallbladder surgery, and after Christmas, I was hit with a hurt I did not see coming. And the Lord gave me another quote:

"Those things that hurt, instruct." - Ben Franklin

And what I realize is, no matter what 2014 brings...there will be joy.  It may be mingled with other things, but if I view my life from God's perspective, I will be grateful...and gratitude is the gateway to joy.

Sometimes gaining that heart of wisdom comes from the instruction provided by pain...sometimes there is no other way.

My job is to focus on the things that God deems important.  So much in life that concerns us really does not matter in the long run.

I commit 2014 to you, Lord.  Continue to conform me to be more like you as I allow you to love on me the whole year through.

Taking a Moment...

Long lay the world...in sin...

'til He appeared

and the soul felt its worth...

Do you feel that thrill of hope?  Wishing you and yours the most blessed of Christmases.

A Facebook Christmas Story

I have been giving this a lot of thought this year...having a lot of downtime to heal and perusing Facebook and Pinterest looking at all the Christmas photos and festivities.  But something's missing...

Where are the photos of the mother with her children celebrating Christmas in a homeless a shelter?

Where are the photos of the young man who made a grievous choice that has landed him in prison for Christmas this year?

Where are the photos of the lonely and aged who can no longer keep up with the pace of life and exist alone?

Where are the photos of those spending their last Christmas in a hospital or in hospice enduring a terminal illness?

Where are the photos of the spouse and children braced for violence after a parent's drinking binge that will surely come this Christmas?

Where are the photos of those with severe disabilities who seem invisible...forgotten...and their families providing intensive care even on Christmas?

Or those of parents holding their child at his end of life on Christmas Eve?

And many others...

And as I think of those whose photos are not going to make the Facebook Christmas Story...

Facebook is NOT life...it is NOT a true representation of life.  Life is messy and hurts and is to be embraced in the high notes and low notes until we experience eternal life.

Jesus came in the non-threatening form of a baby in a feeding trough for all of us...especially for those we will never see on the Facebook Christmas Story.

EXCEPT FOR THE GRACE OF GOD, go I.  Trust me...

Let's enjoy and be grateful for all we have...celebrate the JOY of this season...

But let's also prayerfully remember and serve those this Christmas whose circumstances will go unnoticed.

A Few Festive Photos

Well...I have been knocked into the slowest of slow lanes recovering from gallbladder surgery...but my pal, Kim, has been cheering me up with her recent brushes she offered in the Test Kitchen and other fun places.

In the corner of the eat-in kitchen...I set up a very simple branch in an oversized glass brandy snifter and some sand.  A simple decorative touch...

I made this little brush by combining the words with the sprigs Kim provided.

And made this with Kim's vine heart brush and text overlay.

And what's not to love about Kim's "jingle all the way" brush?

So, although I'm laid up...amazing how you can create with your feet up, letting your nail polish dry, and a laptop nearby.

Thank you to all who have encouraged me this week with your texts and prayers!