Good-Bye 2009 With Gratitude and a Sigh of Relief

Since I am away from my own laptop over the holidays, I will close out this year without a picture. I wrote in my journal this morning that 2009 was a year of testings. Then I picked up the book I have been reading by Amy Carmichael each morning and she was quoting Job 23:10-"When I am tested, I will come forth as gold."

At the onset of this year, I knew it was a year in which my thinking would need to shift. My word was "New Wineskins." I have found this to be true. I look at my life differently. I need time to ponder the hows of this before I write about it.

I am grateful for my family's health and blessings this year, when so many lost so much. I am grateful for God's word, my mainstay. I am grateful for my Yada Prayer Sisters, whom I don't know what I 'd do without. I am grateful for my home and my husband and the blog sisters who encouraged me over the past few months.

It is with a mixture of gratitude and a sigh of relief for new beginnings that I say Good-Bye 2009.

Corners of My Heart

Throughout the last few years, I have added things I love to little spaces and corners of my home. This dress form was one of my delightful discoveries at TJ Max. The scarf has a lot of meaning to me. God gave me a picture for the ladies' conference I spoke at in the spring and it had to do with a scarf for every woman. That's for another post.
The point is that my heart is filled with love for my home and it is sometimes hard to leave it for a length of time. But there is something else that holds a larger claim to my heart- my family. Thus bags are packed and all is nearly ready for hubby and I to leave for the holidays. So blogging sisters I will be taking a break until the New Year, unless an opportunity arises for a quick blog hello.
Have a blessed holiday season.

Smiling

Every year I tape the cards we receive over the archway leading from my kitchen. They used to fill this side and the other side facing the kitchen as well as the inner doorposts. I fear another handwritten tradition is slowly dying.
A great new tradition, however, is emerging. We got several picture cards of families this year. I do love opening these!
I am smiling this morning as I post this pic. A cozy fire is going as you can see, my art room has actually been used this season, along with a few of the supplies that you see hanging over the door. I am finishing up my last project today.
And I just taped up a bunch of new Christmas cards that came in the mail :)
Life is good.

Christmas Delights

What are the things that delight you during the holiday season? I love the lights, which you already know by now. Getting together with family, finding the perfect gift, hearing from a far-away friend, new pictures of the granchildren, Silent Night, nostalgia, and Christmas movies top my list. I'm sure I'm forgetting something :)

Here are a few of my Christmas movies:

• Sleepless in Seattle
• The Christmas Shoes
• Borrowed Hearts
• While You Were Sleeping
• A Season for Miracles
• Christmas in Canaan- added this year.
• And I love this movie but don't know the name. It's like a Wonderful Life only the female version with Marlo Thomas and I've only seen it air twice in many years.

KaileenElise inspires more delights. Check out her blog on my list of blogs visited.

Today's Believe

Yesterday's BELIEVE hangs on my wall. Today's BELIEVE was a gift from one of the women in my prayer group. When I went into my photos to look for something to post, this blurry pic stood out to me.
Sometimes our faith feels a bit unsteady and things are unclear, but just because the clouds have moved in, it doesn't mean the sun isn't in the same place. Once the storm passes, the sun will shine again.
Two words...Hold On.

Dare to Believe

I had a lot of busy work to do yesterday so I moved everything I could into my living room. I spent the day accomplishing many tasks while going through a ton of Christian programming that I had DVR'd in 2009. I must say it was a day of refreshing and I was able to make space on my DVR.

Today I have computer work to do. Gotta love a laptop and wireless internet. I have 11 hours of Joel Osteen (the full hour with worship music) to go through. I may not be giving it my full attention, but a few minutes ago I did hear Joel say, "Dare to Believe."

I was a bit low on my faith before yesterday, but there is something about a quiet day with few phone calls and many encouraging words to build up one's hope once again.

Messy Attitude=Stress

I've been reading some information about the ph balance in our bodies, so I decided to try a few new veggies and fruits. I read that adding Bok Choy( I had to ask at the grocery store what it was) to a fruit smoothie would add alkaline balance to my diet. I'm a tea and muffin kinda gal for breakfast, but determined to try something new.

So I put my fruit, chocolate almond milk and a leaf of bok choy in my new blender, which I haven't used much since I bought it. Pushed smoothie. So far so good. Then I turned the blender cup to take it off the base, only it turned wrong and when I picked it up the smoothie remained on the base, the cupboard and on everything in vicinity.

Muttering, no, exclaiming my complaint, I tried again- after cleaning up my mess and securing the bottom of the blender cup. Ahhh, success. I poured the rich, tasty drink into a glass and began to enjoy it while I cut up veggies for my crockpot. Reaching for the cutting board, my arm hit the glass containing my smoothie. It tipped over, depositing half of the contents down the side of my cupboard and onto the floor before I could right it. I rescued half because of it's thick, slow-moving texture.

By this time, I was not in a good mood. Having many food sensitivities, I began to question my new choice for breakfast. Then I said, "Is this the way this day is going to go?"
A quiet answer crept into my mind from a CD I'd listened to the day before. Joyce Meyer was saying how sometimes it's our attitude toward things that cause stress in our lives.
Whoa, wait a minute. It's only a drink, not a major crisis. As I cleaned up the mess for the second time, I began to clean up the mess in my thoughts as well.

While I lay on the table having a massage yesterday ( because I have been having much trouble with my neck and shoulders), the therapist made a comment about how the smallest things can be an irritation when we have a problem in our back.
The smallest thing can be an irritation when we have a problem in our attitudes. Let me change that- my attitude. Time for an adjustment.

A Quiet Sunday Afternoon

The phone is unplugged, hubby napping in the recliner, Christmas lights sparkling in the window, Runaway Bride on TV, and my address book before me - my Sunday afternoon as I worked on Christmas cards.

I know some are giving up this tradition but I am not willing to do so. Nothing fancy but inside many, will be tucked a personal letter. It may be the only time of year we connect.

Here are a few examples:

A grade school friend living in Colorado, who tracked me down several years ago. She is not a computer person and we may only write a couple times a year, Christmas being one of them. She will tuck in a picture of her horses .

The family we met camping in Bar Harbor probably 10 years ago. They live in Switzerland. Every year I recieve a card with pictures of their family and I send one in return.

A friend who lives in my home state but 4 hours away. We can't seem to get together personally so once a year we catch up with our letter inside the Christmas card.

My cards are written, some sealed, others awaiting the handwritten letter I will place lovingly inside for one more year.

2010 Vision Map

Over the Thanksgiving weekend, I took some time to play. It has been years since I made a life map. It used to be a regular part of my life. Recently, I got inspired by the collages we did for the Joy Diet.

They used to be called Life Maps. Now I think they are called vision boards or dream boards. I'm not sure so I called mine a Vision Map.

I simply got a pile of magazines, a poster board, scissors and a gluestick. I turned off my head and went throught the pages cutting out pics and words that jumped out or connected with me. Ouila'. A vision map is born.

I love mine. This may sound strange, but I put it on the wall in my closet. This bedroom closet was never properly finished, thus no clothes hang in it. The closet contains a stand with an extra quilt for cold nights, a hamper, and vitamins (because it is a cool, dry place). I open the closet several times a day and my Vision Map is there to inspire me!

I must give a bit of credit to my daughter. She used to hang her past maps or artwork in her closet, so it caused me to think outside the box.

Sharing Christmas Projects

I've been working on a Christmas scrapbooking project over the last few weeks. Two weeks ago I went to a friends house to work on mine while she worked on hers. The sun was shining and inspiration was flowing as we shared ideas.

Today another friend came over with her bags full of pictures and pages and ideas. We diligently scrapped the afternoon away. At 6:00 we both gave up as weariness overtook us. This creativity on demand can be tiring. :)

I'd love to show you the results but my family might be peeking. After completing the 3rd album, I want to go back and change the first one now. The only problem with that is it needs to go postal soon. Is it always like this? Never completely satisfied? I know in writing classed they told us to rewrite, rewrite, rewrite. It's a bit more difficult to do this with scrappin. But where there's a will, there's a way!