Back to My One Little Word - Embrace

I plunged into the One Little Word...

First assignment...think about how you will focus on your word each month...

Again, my word for 2013 is embrace.

Scrapping materials courtesy of Coppercurls Designs, and Katie Pertiet.

January - My focus is going to be on the variety of meanings of embrace and ponder how I can implement them in this coming year.

February - My focus is on embracing my health (emotional, physical, spiritual, mental)

March - My focus is on embracing my faith.  March is also the month of Easter.

April - My focus is on embracing others:  my husband, my children, my grandchildren, my friends, strangers, patients/families, co-workers, friends, neighbors.

May - My focus is on embracing who I am.  This process has already started evolving...more to come.

June - My focus is on embracing moments, although I'm thinking about changing it to "the ordinary."

July - My focus is on embracing change.  Change is hard, necessary, and inevitable.

August - My focus is on embracing difficulty...the key to growth.

September - My focus is on embracing discipline, in all areas, but my first thought was on spiritual disciplines.

October - My focus is on embracing gratitude...with extra intention.

November - My focus is on embracing my creativity.  To see it as not a hobby or luxury, but a necessity for me to breathe.

December - My focus is on embracing the work required in creativity - to show up - as well as the work that I do as my calling, as well as all the mundane tasks and responsibilities we all have as part of life.

What a year it will be...regardless...I will embrace 2013!

Finding God...Finding a Miracle

My work week was short due to the New Year's holiday...

But it required the energy of six weeks packed into three days...

But I was witness to the hand of God in the midst of loss...a miracle.

Working with a family whose little one is dependent on technology for sustaining life, some very chaotic circumstances brought him into a hospital stay before Christmas.  The circumstances catapulting the admission were confusing and hard to understand.  Why?  Why now?

Returning to work this past Wednesday, I learned that the apartment directly above the family's apartment caught on fire in the early morning hours.  All the units are uninhabitable.  On top of everything else, now this?

And yet, somehow, God knew...and this child was in the hospital...at the right place...at the right time.  And God used the chaos...something God knew all about...and used it in a very redeeming way.

So what may appear as a dark, stormy time in our lives that makes no sense, if we will ask God and take the time to seek, we will see that He is in the middle of it all...holding us close to His heart.

A Blank Page

January 1, 2013...

Admit it...there's something daunting about the first day of a new year...

I came across a quote from Brad Paisley:

Tomorrow is the first blank page of a 365 page book.  Write a good one.
 

I started a brand new journal for a brand new year...and on the first entry page was a quote by Alexander Stoddard:

What we feel, think, and do this moment influences both our present and the future in ways we may never know.  Begin.  Start right where you are.  Consider your possibilities and find inspiration...to add more meaning and zest to your life.
 

In yesterday's post I mentioned my word for the year is embrace.  Before I can move onto 2013, I must embrace all the days of 2012.  That means all the days...the hard ones, the sad ones, the mundane ones, the painful ones, the celebratory ones, the vacation ones, the stressful ones, the days that seemed to never end...

Every moment of my life is to be embraced...if I truly believe that all of it, all is grace. 

Lord, may I take the lessons learned from my failures, my shortcomings, my searchings...and apply them to this year as I continue to aim to be conformed into Your image...and not to suit my own agenda.

 

As 2012 Closes...

As 2012 has less than one hour left, I cannot help but reflect on the last 365 days...while others choose different ways to transition from the old to the new year.

One thing I discovered in 2012...

...the value of community of those who pursue a slower pace of life, who take the time to see, who take time to be present, who create with passion, and who thrive on their personal self-expression...

...finding them through several e-courses from Kim Klassen.  They have encouraged me, inspired me, understood me, and have become dear, kindred spirits.  They have taught me so much...

...and they are priceless to me.  True gifts from God.

And so have the courses been gifts as well...as I begin new ones as last year's classes come to a close.

One is called "One Little Word" with Ali Edwards.

It's about choosing one word to focus on in 2013...with intention.

And my word is...

You will learn more about this in the coming days...

...but tonight I'll say, "goodbye, dear 2012...and the many gifts you brought me...and not without pain..."

and wish all of you a 2013 filled with the very best God has...

...to receive with a thankful heart...

..and take heart that there is joy in our journey through 2013!

Out Early...Out Clickin'

Okay, I'll admit it...while I have this really great job and enjoy the work I do...

I do have certain days...where my gratitude level slips a little...

Like yesterday...oh maaaaaaaaan...a fresh, new snowstorm...on a workday, no less...

My hands were shaking...quivering...where's my camera?  I need a fix!  But I'm at work...

But then there was a gift...

We were let go early to get home safely...which I did...then Edster and I, with camera in hand...went cruisin...

I thought I'd show you some snippets from my fix!

A delightful yellow home nestled on a farm...still decorated for Christmas...

Snowing at the reservoir...

An old vintage barn in Randolph Township...

A snow covered country road next to a brilliant red barn...

A seasonal, snowy Christmas wreath with red ribbons blowing with the snow...

A small, remote creek beginning to freeze...

And a long, elegant arm of a "woman" in her long white evening gloves.

So...it was a surprise.  And though I would have been fine to have stuck it out all day, it was incredible to photograph the first significant snowfall of the season.

And I am grateful!

Christmas and the Gift Unexpected

Merry Christmas!  What a beautiful time of year!  The Christmas season can be such a mix of emotions:  remembering Christmases past with fond memories but also with misty eyes as loved ones have gone to be with Jesus...no longer with us.  Or those who are ill.  And those who are hurting, are alone, or are unloved. 

And yet it is the one time when the world stops, and we have pause to remember the Greatest Gift given...Jesus, our Savior.  And that all overflows into an unbelievable outpouring of gratitude...not for the presents under the tree...but for the basics...the important stuff...family, friends, love, a roof over our heads, food on the table, freedom to read the Bible in our home without fear...even just being able to read, to see, to hear, to feel, to smell, to touch...the list is endless...we are so blessed!

 

 

And I think about how Harry toasted George in It's A Wonderful Life...saying "To the richest man in the world!"

 





And aren't we all?  But actually, my Christmas was made for me yesterday, by an UNEXPECTED gift!

Edster and I went to spend time with my son, Caleb, who has severe autism and is non-verbal.  We picked him up at his group home, which is about 10 minutes from us.  We always take him out for a while...he loves double cheeseburgers from McDonald's. 

Now, Caleb is not known for being still and sitting down for long periods of time.  He's been a pacing pinball since his youngest days.  But yesterday, he took my hand and pulled me into his room.  He laid on his bed putting his comforter over him.  He wanted me to snuggle up to him and lay with him.  I had an hour of precious moments stroking his face and singing in his ear...reminding me of when he was little.

This Kodak moment was an UNEXPECTED gift to me from him for Christmas...or maybe I was his gift, too!

But like Mary, who pondered all these things in her heart at Jesus' birth, I will hold on to this gift forever...

Gifts Given ~ Receiving One Unexpected

December is the busiest month in my work at a children's hospital.  Christmas, children, hospital...what a combination...and we go all out to ensure our patients/families (admitted or at home) have a Merry Christmas...in addition to our day-in/day-out routine (although this job has no routine!).

As it has been so busy and hectic, my writing consistency has limped a little...and I appreciate the patience of my readers. (Mea culpa!)

I used my photography as Christmas gifts to my colleagues in pediatric palliative care who labor and sacrifice to make life better for those with chronic/complex medical conditions.

I made two sets of notecards...using 4x6 photos developed by Mpix, photomount cards and envelopes from Cheap Joes, and stationery boxes from U-Line...all internet ordered...easy peasy deluxe!!!!!  (Right up my alley!)

Set One:  Sunflowers - These were from the 100-plus volunteers from stray sunflower seeds from the bird feeders this summer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Set Two:  Cuppas (Inspired from Kim Klassen's Beyond Layers class Day 46.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the gift I received...unexpected????  I'll share in my next post...(teaser)!

Merry Christmas to all of you...and wishing you a year full of gratitude in 2013!