it's mid-january already. you know how i know? i started getting weepy this morning when i realized my daughter turns 11 in just two short-and-certain-to-fly-by weeks. we've had beautiful sunshiny 50-degree days, which is wonderful but also scary because does that mean a "real" winter is coming?
but the beautiful sunshiny days feel appropriate for the start of the new year. the air feels crisp and fresh and clean and new.
i like to frame the year ahead with a word and set goals for different areas of my life. my word for 2016 is strength. i landed on it after considering both brave and joy, and decided strength is a good combination of those two words and what i want to get out of them: stronger. plus, it pairs nicely with some of my goals for the year, which include sticking with my workouts, keeping fit, eating healthy, and staying all around well. and all of that takes strength. the word just works for me on so many levels. my 2016 anthem is "warrior" by steven curtis chapman.
i love how the new year offers fresh beginnings. a chance to look ahead and reset. an opportunity to name a new normal. time to change perspective a little bit and go forward with intention. an invitation to make the most of it.
i love how the new year offers fresh beginnings. a chance to look ahead and reset. an opportunity to name a new normal. time to change perspective a little bit and go forward with intention. an invitation to make the most of it.
when i put the christmas decorations away, i arranged our every day decor a little bit differently. partly because i forgot where things were before christmas, but partly because i read once that making slight changes in your scenery triggers your brain to recall something. a sock purposely placed on the floor in the middle of the hallway before bed can serve as a reminder in the morning to take dinner out of the freezer.
my picture frames and vases and lamps and nicknacks set in different places than usual will hopefully catch my eye and remind me. a bouquet of pinecones and winter red roses blooming on my dining room table make me remember it's mid-january. it's a fresh beginning. it's my year of strength.
“Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.”
(isaiah 40:28-31)
do you have a word for 2016?
here's to fresh beginnings and a blessed year ahead. make the most of it!
