New Year's Day provided a wonderful opportunity to meet up with almost three quarters of the family. It was a glorious day weather-wise by the lake, and only needed the absent family members to make it absolutely perfect.
But those present, seemed to enjoy it (some more than others).
The New Year often presents an opportunity - or is it challenge - to take stock of the past year, reflect, and make changes. I haven't done this formally for a few years but thought it would be good to resurrect this practice.
As in [some] previous years, I'll use my blog headings as a guide.
Faith: This year I've once again begun my two-year Bible reading plan (original found here) but with a difference. In recent years I've been using the youversion app on my tablet. It has several advantages over my hardcopy Bible (even though I still generally prefer hardcover over electronic) - most notably being able to read in low-light situations (definitely helps early in the morning) and having several versions at my fingertips. This year I decided to use a Messianic version of the Bible. Not only does it use Hebrew names for God but the order of books of the Old Testament are arranged differently than in most English Bibles. I find that switching things up is a great way to keep my reading fresh and to help me focus on the passage at hand despite how many times I've read through the Bible.
I've also decided to reintroduce the discipline of memorising Scripture. I started this years ago and am not sure why I gave it up. Laziness I guess. Anyway, in 2020 I'm hoping to memorise a different passage each month or so.
Something else that has been on my heart is to "teach the younger women" - or at least encourage them in their Christian walk. I realised just a few Sundays ago that I have been doing this already. There is a beautiful young Christian girl at work who, twice a week, starts at 7:45 am - a quarter of an hour after I do. We often have wonderful conversations about our faith during these times before others turn up. I'm not sure how much encouraging I do because I often come away encouraged after talking with her but I hope that I have some input into her life. I'd also like to lead at work from a stronger place of faith. Since I work in a Christian organisation this is allowed but not all my colleagues are Christian.
Writing: This has been on the back burner for several months for various reasons. I have finished a fifth novel and only have to do one last edit which I seem to be putting off and putting off. I'm hoping that once Son#4's wedding is over, I'll have/make more time for writing. And then I can work on the sixth … and seventh novels which are both in the writing phase.
Family: Our family is growing and it is surely wonderful to see. Son#4 gets married in less than nine weeks and will officially bring another lovely daughter into our growing family. Grandchildren are growing at an alarming rate (age-wise that is - not in numbers: I'll take as many grandchildren as I can get). Our family is also becoming more scattered which means it's not always so easy to spend time together. But when we do I want to be able to give lots of cuddles, read lots of books, play lots of games (except for Exploding Kitties, Stonewall, or Chameleon), and make the most of every moment.
Pastimes: I have a wedding quilt to finish - hopefully before the wedding- and other than that I'll just keep plodding along with whatever else takes my fancy. Since I have two and a half quilts still to be quilted, and granddaughters clamouring for socks, finding something to do isn't the difficulty - it's the time. I would also like to go for more bushwalks and explore more of this country.
Feminine beauty: I hesitate to write anything for this heading since it has become more and more clear to me that I am not particularly conversant with the topic. While away on holidays I read MOB Rule by Hannah Evans. MOB stands for Mother of Boys and it confirmed what I've always known: mothers of daughters are challenged and inspired to grow their knowledge in all things beauty by their very daughters who are pursuing said beauty, but mothers of sons either lack time or inclination to do so, or, even more likely, are discouraged from doing so from the reactions (or lack thereof) from their male offspring. I can still remember a son asking me why I bothered getting my hair cut when it didn't make any difference. To this day I'm not sure if that was meant to be a compliment or not. Anyway, my goals have changed over the years. Now I'm more intent on hiding what I don't like (grey hair is an exception to that since there are a variety of reasons - some complicated - why I no longer hide my grey) and trying hard to emphasise what I do like (which is precious little these days). I'm not ashamed to wear ad nauseum a dress that DH tells me I look good in, or give away something that I think makes me look fat/ugly/old/washed out/etc. I still can't manage to wear makeup every time I leave the house and I still wear my hair far too long for someone my age and I still need to lose some weight and I can't promise that any of that will change in the coming year so I guess my goal is to be myself and accept that and try not to let others' expectations (expressed or perceived) to influence me.
On the other hand, I have found this website particularly useful in addressing how I view food and its connection to my faith. Some of the things I had already begun to question and think on over the past year are addressed in some of her blog posts. I had begun to make changes ... and then Christmas happened ... but the goal is to get back into some good habits (and leave the chippies for others to eat!).
Whew! I'm exhausted just going over what I've written. I'm thinking if I achieve half of what is on here, I'll be doing well. On the other hand, some of it I'm doing already and, besides, I have a whole year to work on these things.
But those present, seemed to enjoy it (some more than others).
The New Year often presents an opportunity - or is it challenge - to take stock of the past year, reflect, and make changes. I haven't done this formally for a few years but thought it would be good to resurrect this practice.
As in [some] previous years, I'll use my blog headings as a guide.
Faith: This year I've once again begun my two-year Bible reading plan (original found here) but with a difference. In recent years I've been using the youversion app on my tablet. It has several advantages over my hardcopy Bible (even though I still generally prefer hardcover over electronic) - most notably being able to read in low-light situations (definitely helps early in the morning) and having several versions at my fingertips. This year I decided to use a Messianic version of the Bible. Not only does it use Hebrew names for God but the order of books of the Old Testament are arranged differently than in most English Bibles. I find that switching things up is a great way to keep my reading fresh and to help me focus on the passage at hand despite how many times I've read through the Bible.
I've also decided to reintroduce the discipline of memorising Scripture. I started this years ago and am not sure why I gave it up. Laziness I guess. Anyway, in 2020 I'm hoping to memorise a different passage each month or so.
Something else that has been on my heart is to "teach the younger women" - or at least encourage them in their Christian walk. I realised just a few Sundays ago that I have been doing this already. There is a beautiful young Christian girl at work who, twice a week, starts at 7:45 am - a quarter of an hour after I do. We often have wonderful conversations about our faith during these times before others turn up. I'm not sure how much encouraging I do because I often come away encouraged after talking with her but I hope that I have some input into her life. I'd also like to lead at work from a stronger place of faith. Since I work in a Christian organisation this is allowed but not all my colleagues are Christian.
Writing: This has been on the back burner for several months for various reasons. I have finished a fifth novel and only have to do one last edit which I seem to be putting off and putting off. I'm hoping that once Son#4's wedding is over, I'll have/make more time for writing. And then I can work on the sixth … and seventh novels which are both in the writing phase.
Family: Our family is growing and it is surely wonderful to see. Son#4 gets married in less than nine weeks and will officially bring another lovely daughter into our growing family. Grandchildren are growing at an alarming rate (age-wise that is - not in numbers: I'll take as many grandchildren as I can get). Our family is also becoming more scattered which means it's not always so easy to spend time together. But when we do I want to be able to give lots of cuddles, read lots of books, play lots of games (except for Exploding Kitties, Stonewall, or Chameleon), and make the most of every moment.
Pastimes: I have a wedding quilt to finish - hopefully before the wedding- and other than that I'll just keep plodding along with whatever else takes my fancy. Since I have two and a half quilts still to be quilted, and granddaughters clamouring for socks, finding something to do isn't the difficulty - it's the time. I would also like to go for more bushwalks and explore more of this country.
Feminine beauty: I hesitate to write anything for this heading since it has become more and more clear to me that I am not particularly conversant with the topic. While away on holidays I read MOB Rule by Hannah Evans. MOB stands for Mother of Boys and it confirmed what I've always known: mothers of daughters are challenged and inspired to grow their knowledge in all things beauty by their very daughters who are pursuing said beauty, but mothers of sons either lack time or inclination to do so, or, even more likely, are discouraged from doing so from the reactions (or lack thereof) from their male offspring. I can still remember a son asking me why I bothered getting my hair cut when it didn't make any difference. To this day I'm not sure if that was meant to be a compliment or not. Anyway, my goals have changed over the years. Now I'm more intent on hiding what I don't like (grey hair is an exception to that since there are a variety of reasons - some complicated - why I no longer hide my grey) and trying hard to emphasise what I do like (which is precious little these days). I'm not ashamed to wear ad nauseum a dress that DH tells me I look good in, or give away something that I think makes me look fat/ugly/old/washed out/etc. I still can't manage to wear makeup every time I leave the house and I still wear my hair far too long for someone my age and I still need to lose some weight and I can't promise that any of that will change in the coming year so I guess my goal is to be myself and accept that and try not to let others' expectations (expressed or perceived) to influence me.
On the other hand, I have found this website particularly useful in addressing how I view food and its connection to my faith. Some of the things I had already begun to question and think on over the past year are addressed in some of her blog posts. I had begun to make changes ... and then Christmas happened ... but the goal is to get back into some good habits (and leave the chippies for others to eat!).
Whew! I'm exhausted just going over what I've written. I'm thinking if I achieve half of what is on here, I'll be doing well. On the other hand, some of it I'm doing already and, besides, I have a whole year to work on these things.
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