Tag Archive | reflection

Rethinking Fresh Starts

Jan1
Reading Time: 3 minutes

I’m not a New Year’s resolution kind of gal. God leads and I follow. I recognize I cannot reach any goal without Him. If I set a “start date” that is my own, for example, “On January 1st I will eat no more sugar,” I’ll sabatog myself. Maybe that’s just me. I’m trying to get over my all-or-nothing mentality.

I’ve been working out for weeks already. I didn’t wait for January 2nd.

I’ve been drinking more water, and less soda, for months with the use of an app on my phone to remind me. What a difference that has made in my life! I sleep longer at night which I would never have expected.

My foot was giving me pain so I didn’t wait until the new year to start seeing a doctor or getting physical therapy. I had met my deductible for 2023 so I wanted to get as much of that done while it was fully paid for before January 1st. I’m practical!

We don’t need a date on a calendar to motivate us to do good things for ourselves or others. We are called to live that way every day.

Not that this can’t be a time for reflection. Here are some possible questions to ask yourself:

  • How did I grow in 2023? What lessons did God teach me during this year?
  • Where do I see a need for growth in 2024? Realize God is often gentle and slow in helping us make those changes–for our own good.
  • What would you like to do differently in 2024? List the practical steps to get there. I find a big goal is paralyzing. I need to break it down into smaller steps if I hope to achieve anything worthwhile.
  • What do you do well? Go ahead, Brag on yourself to yourself. Instead of only looking at things that need improvement, what are you already doing that you can be grateful for? This was eye opening for me when I did it a few months ago after seeing a therapist who said “I don’t think you give yourself enough credit for the good things you do.” So go ahead, acknowledge what you do well. Yes, even if you make your bed every morning – write it down! Did you clean up the kitchen last night and get the dishwasher running before hitting the sack? Write it down. Did you manage to keep your kids fed and clothed? (I know it sounds silly but this is an accomplishment!). Write it down! See how many good things you already are doing! Seeing success will help motivate you in whatever other goals you set for yourself.

Accountability can be helpful. Or tracking your progress. I put in my app every glass of water I drink. It’s validating to see the number go up every day and I can smile when I reach my goal. I make a list every morning of tasks I’d like to try to accomplish and cross those off as I do them. If I do something else – I add it and cross it off. It motivates me to keep moving.

  • What about your pace of life? I’ve tried to have a healthy margin in my life. Like words on the pages of a book – that blank space is calming. When you have room to move into the margin on those occassions when life throws you a curve ball, it helps. Some days I can be very productive and then sometimes the next day I need to do more resting. Reading. A hobby. Lunch with a friend or a phone call to someone I care about. Life isn’t all about getting tasks done. A former pastor of mine said: “Tasks aren’t about getting things done–they are about  getting people done.” So how are my tasks helping me to grow? Over the years I’ve learned that a slow day, with less to check off, is not me being lazy, but is just as important as the busy days. I’m getting “me” done. Time for my brain to unwind as well as my body, is important.

Happy New Year. It’s a new chapter in your life and while God is ultimately writing your story, He does give you the pen. Make your story one you would want to read on December 31, 2024.

The Struggle for Silence

Oct30
Reading Time: 3 minutes

I’m spoiled in that with no kids in the home anymore, so my days can be very quiet. You can hear the keys as I type on my laptop and the windchimes on my porch. But it wasn’t always this way.

I’m one of those who needs space to think. Peace. Quiet. Solitude. I used to have to do this early in the morning before my kids arose. Sometimes one of them, usually my daughter, would soon rise to follow just because she wanted to be close to me. She’s an adult now and living elsewhere.

I’m OK with the quiet. Sometimes I do like noise, maybe music while I fold laundry or work in the kitchen preparing dinner, although sometimes I’ll have the news on then so I can get a feel for what’s happening in the world. Very rarely do I play music while I write and if I do, it’s more likely to be instrumental or classical.

But my day, if possible, starts with solitude. It may only be thirty minutes or an hour – depending on my mood and what I’m reading. I read the Bible, focus on who God says He is and journal my dreams, life, prayers, whatever strikes my fancy. I have a note pad nearby to write down things that pop into my head that I want to pay attention to at some point but am I afraid I’ll forget. Sometimes I read a short passage of a book. Right now I’m working v-e-r-y slowly through The Treasury of the Psalms (Vol 1) by Charles H. Spurgeon. So rich in content and I’m working to savor what I’m learning. Sometimes I’ll read other books too that help me to grow.

There are few variations on this depending on circumstances. If I do it later in the day, or in a different location, I’m fine with that.

Solitude allows time to process life. Feel the emotions I didn’t have time to really focus on in the moment. Dream. Pray.

The quiet is not a boring place but can be extremely full and exciting–it can also be calming to my spirit. I’ve been thinking more about this lately as it’s come up in the small group that meets in our home. I’ve been encouraging them to find time for silence. My husband, Ben, finds it when he drives and spends that time going through a long prayer list. He’s so faithful in this practice and that’s what he feels called to do. If he can’t pray during the drive he finds a chair to sit in while at his shop or at our garage space at home, to be quiet and pray. It’s not a quick space of time but it’s important to him in his walk with the Lord, just like my time in the morning is.

Where do you find solitude, the quiet in your life and what kind of difference does it make in your day? This is not on a list of “do it or die” kind of things. For me it is part of connection to God, being ready for whatever He has in store for me, and self-care. All rolled up into one. I even created a special space in my office, just for this time. Do you have a special time and place where you meet with Jesus? What does that look like?

A Tribute to Her Father

Oct12

Reading Time: 2 minutessteve and bindiLast week on Dancing with the Stars, Bindi Irwin did an emotional dance tribute to her father. If you’ve watched it you know, it was moving. Especially if you see the reasons behind the dance and the emotions she experienced as Derek Hough and her prepared.

You might shed tears.

But it also made me think. I was a fan of Steve Irwin and was sad when he died. It’s sweet to see his daughter growing into such a woman of conviction, authenticity and grace.

“I wanted to be just like my dad when I grew up.” 

The reality is, if we are followers of Christ shouldn’t our lives be lived that same way? Shouldn’t our work, whatever it is, be filled with dedication to the One who gave us life, physical and spiritual? As I write I hope my words will give testimony to the One who gifts me to do so.

But the same should be true of my parenting. All my relationships. Even the way I drive my car! (ouch, right?)

Every day, every action I can take should be out of dedication and devotion to the One who loved me first. The One who numbers my days. He is the One who sustains me after all.

It might not make people cry, but as much as Bindi’s dance reminded us of the vitality and impact of her father on the world to those who knew him (and possibly now to those who didn’t as well), how much more should ours invite others to see Christ in a new light.

Now we’re not perfect and all my efforts will be a dim reflection of His glory, but still, if my intention and worship is evidence in my actions, wouldn’t He be more glorified in this dark world longing for beauty and hope? The kind of beauty and hope only Jesus Christ can bring?

Dance on . . .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWm1S7-q9WE