5 Things That Worked for Me in 2022

Looking back at the past year and reflecting on what worked and what did not work has helped me to see that there are some new habits and activities that have helped me.  These are tools that helped me to have a better year and to be myself in 2022.  I think they are very easy to implement or add into your daily routines and are each something that you could do as much or as little of and still benefit from doing in any amount.  

1.  Journaling:  Journaling allows me to write out my thoughts and ideas onto paper.  Writing in a journal is also a great way to put my prayers somewhere and then to wait and see how God answers them.  My journal is a book that I can use to write whatever I need to get out of my head, good or bad.  Journaling helps me to process my thoughts as I write them out and then I feel like I can leave them there with God and stop worrying.  For me, I like writing digitally on my computer, but I also feel the need to write with an actual pen or pencil on real paper in a small, bound journal.  Often, I just need to feel the pen writing on the page to get my thoughts out.

2.  Podcasts:  I have really enjoyed listening to some podcasts this year!  It’s a great way to learn something new or to think about a different perspective.  Podcasts can also share stories that can make an impact at how we view history or current events.  Some of the podcasts that I have enjoyed regularly this year are Here’s Where it Gets Interesting with Sharon McMahon, The Next Right Thing with Emily P. Freeman, and The Lazy Genius with Kendra Adachi.  I can listen to a podcast when I’m driving, doing chores around the house, or when I’m mowing our lawn.  It’s a nice way to listen to something while my body is busy doing something that is monotonous and my main can be more occupied.

3. Home organization:  There is still so much to tackle here because this is really a never ending project, but we have done a lot of organizing this year and it feels good!  We have organized closets and cabinets and gotten rid of so many bags of trash and donated items!  Last winter, we remodeled a couple of areas of our home and out of necessity, I had to clear out an reorganized cabinets in our master bathroom because we were taking a cabinet out to create a larger tiled shower.  With that, we also went through our master bedroom closet and organized that.  We also did some redecorating in our basement family room, craft room, and workout room, so we went through lots of things there and de-cluttered and I’m still working on that area.  However, watching all of the episodes of The Home Edit show inspired me to keep organizing and their Instagram posts keep me thinking of new ways to organize and create ways to put away things in my home. 

4.  Movement:  I love to walk our dogs and move my body by going on walks.  I have also enjoyed a workout class that is a combination of cardio and dance types of movements, with core exercises and some kickboxing to keep it interesting!  Going to this kind of a class with friends keep me motivated to go and we sweat together!  We also redid our workout area in our basement and it is much less clutter erred and has space, so it’s a calming and inspiring place to workout and I feel good when I go there and accomplish something to help my body become more fit.  

5.  Writing:  Something that I learned this year is that I am a natural writer and my words matter, even if I am the only one who reads them!  As I said above, writing helps me to process my thoughts and it is good for me to get words out of my head and onto a page.  Being a part of a Hope Writers Guided Circle this year got me writing and blogging again.  It helped me to create a routine for myself and to see the value in continuing to write, even if it is for myself for a time or if it develops into something for a larger audience.

Hope*Writers Writing Challenge: REFRESH

It's been wonderful to see so many blossoms blooming on the trees this spring! I've seen pink, purple, cream, white, and light green and I have been reminded about one of the reasons that I love spring so much!  It's so amazing to see the beauty of creation emerge each year after a long, grey winter.  I'm thankful for new life in nature and warmer weather where we can go outside and visit with neighbors.  I'm grateful that every year spring does not fail to come again and usher us toward summer.  Seeing all of the beauty in nature and the colorful trees does my heart good and it refreshes me!

This spring, I am so much more hopeful for renewal of relationships, seeing people in person again, going to events, and having more gatherings of friends and family again!  I am appreciative of all the work that so many people have done to create, study, and bring a vaccine to me and my family, so we can start to hug our friends and family and eat a meal together!  After living through quarantines, lockdowns, and masks for over a year, this refreshing of relationships is monumental!

Spring is also the best metaphor for our life in Christ!  I am grateful that even after long cold and grey times in my own heart, that the Spirit of Christ opens up and breathes new life into my being!  Psalm 23:1-3 says, "The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.  He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul."  God can bring peace and restoration that only He can give.  When I spend time with Him, my soul can be renewed and refreshed.

Hope*Writers Writing Challenge: VOICE

God gave each of us a voice in this world.  We make choices every day about how we use our voice to spread light, joy, and love or to stir up trouble and disharmony.  The words that we speak with our voice have power to lift another person up or down.  Each time we speak, we make a choice about how to use this power to help or to hurt others.  I cannot always tame the power of my own tongue, but when I do exhibit more self-control and wait to say something that I know I should not, I do not regret waiting.  I hardly ever regret that I was slow to speak up or waited to give my opinion on something, but I have regretted words that I said carelessly many times.  

My voice matters and yours does, too.  We have influence with our words and how they fall on the hearts of other people in our lives.  Are our words stirring up trouble and discord or are they lifting the spirits of others and pointing them toward Jesus?  When we are speaking, what if we made the effort to stop and pause for a moment to think about how those words might affect the other person?  I have failed at this many times, but as I continue to grow and develop, I hope that I make better choices about how I use my voice and what kind of words I share with the world.  

Paul wrote in his letter to the Philippians 4:8, "Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things."  Then, he writes that whatever they have learned from him, they need to put it into practice, "And the God of peace will be with you."  When we focus our minds on positive messages, then we will have peace.  Proverbs 16:24-25 says, "The hearts of the wise make their mouths prudent and their lips promote instruction.  Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones."  Our words have the power to teach, instruct, sooth, and to heal.  When we use our voices to promote these good things, then God can use us in a great way. 

One voice can truly make a difference!  How are you using your voice today?  May we use our voices wisely and find a way each day this week to bring beauty, light, love, joy, and peace to the world. 

Waiting

As I look out upon the winter scene, the bare grey trees look lifeless and dead.  I do not see any signs of life from within.  Trees can be deceiving in winter, even while they appear to have no life, winter is when they are storing up energy and preparing for the next cycle of life coming in the spring.  Winter days can drag on when it's cold outside, with cloudy grey days and not a lot of sunshine.  It feels sometimes as if we are just passing time in the winter with no real productivity.  The first part of the year can feel depressing after the holidays are over and we say goodbye to the lazy days of winter break. 

 

We wait for spring to come but waiting is a part of many seasons of life.  I have had to wait so many times for something in the distant future that felt like it would never come.  We wait for the perfect relationship, marriage, a career change, children, a new home, or a vacation.  We know the pain of seeing a goal in the future but being required to wait.  Like the lifeless looking trees which are growing on the inside, how can I use the waiting periods of my life to grow on the inside, too?  Am I a lifeless being, just passing time, or am I waiting on the Lord, while learning as much as I can from His Word and continuing to share His hope with others?   

 

Throughout God’s Word we are encouraged to be patient and wait upon the Lord.  Joseph of Genesis was given a vision as a young teen that he would one day lead his family, even though he was almost the youngest of twelve sons.  After his brothers sold him into slavery, Joseph endured many years of being falsely accused, imprisoned, and serving in the households of others.  In his waiting, he continued to live a life that others noticed because of his hard work, wisdom, and character.  There must have been years when he gave up on his vision and thought it would never come true, but God continued to bless him.  

 

Through all of his waiting Joseph developed himself to eventually become the leader chosen to be Pharoah's second in command!  He did not waste away his years of waiting but made them productive and allowed God to lead him, even when his life did not make sense.  Joseph told his brothers in Genesis 50:20, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”  Eventually, his journey made sense and he could see the purpose in it.  Not only did Joseph help save the nation of Egypt during a famine, but he also ended up saving his own family who had come in search of grain.  God did grant the vision to come true, but it happened in a much different way than Joseph or his family could have anticipated.  

 

While we wait, how can we continue to steward what we have already been given?  How can we grow in our ability to demonstrate kindness and compassion toward others?  What is God able to do because we are waiting and not running ahead of his plans?  During a season that feels like cold grey winter, what seeds of spring can God grow in you while you wait?

True Love

 

February is a month where many people are focused on love because of Valentine's Day! It's a fun time to show someone you care, to send your love across the miles to family and friends with a card or note, or to surprise someone with a special treat or gift to show them that you love them.  Stores are filled with Valentine themed gifts, so it's easy to find something to give to someone that you appreciate or love.

There are different kinds of love in the English language, but the word "love" is used for many different meanings and it can be confusing.  Older languages actually had multiple words for different forms of love.  The Greek language had four commonly used words for various types of love that make each use of the word clear.  In Greek, "agape" means unconditional, sacrificial love, while "eros" stands for sensual, passionate romantic kind of love. "Philia" means a loyalty or authentic love between friends and "storge" is the kind of affection that parents have for their children.

Whether we have friendships, a romantic love, or family love, we can all take some time to think about how to be more loving toward the people in our lives, like the "agape" love of God.  The "Love Chapter" of 1 Corinthians 13 describes this unconditional love as patient, kind, not envious or boastful, not proud, dishonoring, or self-seeking, not easily angered, and not a keeper of records of wrongs.  This chapter also says that love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth, always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres, and never fails.  Wow!  Can we show that kind of love to the people around us every day?  It's quite a tall order.  I want to love like that, but I often fall short.  As flawed humans, we all fall short of this kind of love, so I am thankful that God sent us Jesus to be our model.  

Jesus shows us that kind of agape love!  We can go to Him when we mess up and He is patient, kind, not easily angered, and will not keep a record of the wrong that we have done!  Jesus came to earth to show us sacrificial, unconditional love!  His love is new every morning and He always protects, trusts, hopes, and perseveres.  His love never fails us and Jesus inspires us to love others better, like Him.  1 John 3:16 says, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.”  We can open our hearts to the love of God and look to how Jesus lived out love in His life on earth to guide us toward loving others.  God sent us a gift of His love for us in Jesus and we do not have to wait until Valentine's Day to celebrate it, but we can celebrate that love every day of the year!

Hope Writer Writing Challenge Day 4: Twenty-One

 

At the beginning of 2020, I was searching for a "Word of the Year" for myself and felt that the word "hope" kept showing up in my life. I was not particularly down or hopeless at the time and wondered what that could mean. With the crazy events that occurred in 2020, I needed hope a lot! I did not always feel hopeful and sought encouragement and hope from the Bible and trusted friends and family members that helped me along my path. Amidst the heartbreak of 2020 and a global pandemic, I was still able to find some hope and feel even more hopeful for 2021. 

The year 2021 seems to be a year of hope for many people with COVID vaccinations rolling out around the country and the availability of them opening up for thousands more people each week. We have hope that after many people are vaccinated that we will finally find relief from this virus and the havoc it has caused our whole world.  I have hope that I will get together with family and friends again, sing in church again, that the healthcare system will return to normal, and that our economy will recover and thrive.

The year 2021 will surely bring challenges and a whole range of emotions and events, like every year. However, I am hopeful that this year will be the better half of this first two chapters in this decade and that we are learning from the lessons of the past. We will always have difficulties and troubles while we are on this earth, however, our only true hope can be found in Jesus!  Our troubles seem to never go away, but one day they will end and only God's wonderful eternal kingdom will remain and we will not have to worry anymore. While we are on earth, we will have troubles, but God gives us joy, peace, and hope as we trust in Him.

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13

 

 

Hope Writer Writing Challenge Day 3: Shine

It is impossible to shine without light.  For anything to shine, it has to give its own light or reflect light.

Shine - 1. To give forth or glow with light; shed or cast light.  2. To be bright with reflected light; glisten; sparkle.

Have you ever met someone who seemed to lighten your load every time you are with her?  Do you know someone who has joy, peace, kindness, and compassion that radiate and shine in all that she does?  We make choices each day to cultivate and grow the light within us or to allow darkness to cloud our souls.  We can choose to allow God's light to shine through our actions and words every day and to actually grow fruit in us. 

"For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.  But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us." 2 Cor. 4:6-7

Jesus came to show us what God's light looks like in human form.  He is the Light of the world.  

"When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12

When my kids were very young we did a Bible lesson on how the moon is illuminated because it reflects the light of the sun. The moon has no light of its own and it is a hard, rocky dark place, but from our perspective on earth, the moon shines at night when it reflects the light of the sun.  How can we reflect the light of God into the darkness of this world?  How can we shine for Him?  

In studying His Word each day, I can grow in wisdom and truth and I can continue to grow in the fruits of His Spirit as I learn and develop my own spirit.  In prayer and worship, I can also come closer to God and worship His glory and then reflect that light, shining out to others.  Let's continue to focus on Jesus and allow His Light to shine through us into the darkness of this world. When we focus on our relationship with God, then we will truly shine for Him.

Hope Writer Writing Challenge Day 2: Progress

What is progress?  I think of progress as "moving forward"  and the dictionary says "progress" can be a noun meaning "forward or onward movement toward a destination" or a verb which means "to move forward or onward in space or time".  It is interesting that this word is one that can be used as a noun and a verb.  We actively move toward our goals (verb) or we name the movement toward those goals (noun) as "progress".

Some things progress very slowly, like people.  When we parent our little babies and toddlers, there are many days when we feel like no progress is being made, but over time, they really do grow and develop into bigger, older, more mature people than they were when they were small.  "The days are long and the years are short" is a saying that I have experienced in my own life.  We have had days that felt very long and did not feel like we were making any progress, but at twenty years of parenting our young adult children, I can now look back and see so much progress that they have made. 

There were days as a full-time parent and home educator to our children that I felt discouraged and almost like we were going backwards or things were not turning out as I had hoped, yet in doing the daily things, the most important things, we were making progress that I could not always see.  Being diligent in the mundane, small tasks, built up over weeks, months, and years into great influences in our lives.  Some of the things we did together regularly helped our children grow into the kind, friendly, compassionate, funny, and bright kids that they are today.  Spending time together every day in conversations about all kinds of things helped them to learn not only knowledge about our world, but also that adults care and how to listen to the ideas of others and to voice their own opinions in a respectful way.  Taking time to read the Bible together and to hear stories from great literature taught them about beauty, virtue, faith, history, and how to learn from the mistakes of others.  Praying together every day taught them how to pray on their own and how to come to God in their own prayers.  Their education was not just about academics, but also about growing their hearts and spirits.

"Do you not now that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?  Run in such a way as to get the prize.  Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training.  They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever."  1 Corinthians 9:24-25

 Of course we are all on a journey and we are still trying to make progress in many areas of our lives.  There are still days where it feels like zero progress has been made, but it is such a gift to be able to stop and reflect upon the true progress we have already made.  Each day may not feel like great progress is being made, but over longer periods of time, the progress will become clear.  Keep doing the right things in a diligent way, with perseverance and hope that tomorrow you will move forward, because eventually, you will be able to look back and see how far you have come.