Word for 2021

 Word or Words for 2021

I have put a lot of thought and prayer into my word for 2021.  I decided on the final three but since they all go together, I have decided to use them all. 

Drum Roll please........

Hopes

Dreams

Goals

I am ready to do some reevaluation, some work towards growth, and thinking outside the box.  I could have added faith as well because I know that faith will help with learning to hope and dream again.

It has been a long time since I have allowed myself to truly hope and dream.  I try to live in my current reality but in doing so, I have forgot that without hopes and dreams, goals are kind of boring and not always what I really want from life.  

I am HOPING that this year will bring more sunshine and less rain, more flowers and less weeds, more smiles and less tears, more butterflies and less stomach flips.  

2021 Let's call a truce, maybe during all the craziness I can call you "My Year"

Find Your Passion Question 1

 On Pintrest I found a journal writing prompt list from www.solutionstoallyourproblems.com for Finding Your Passion. There are 10 Questions and I am going to answer each one post at a time.  So here goes with Question #1

What was your favorite thing to do growing up?

So without saying this would have been different for different ages.  From about as young as I can remember to at least 10 years old (maybe longer if I admit) was to play Barbies.  I LOVED playing Barbies all.the.time.  I loved her clothes, camper, plane, dream house, tiny accessories, carasel kitchen, car, dog, cat, boat, pool, horse, and on and on.  I had all the stuff.  When I was little my dad was a drill sergeant in the army and when families with older girls would move and purge their toys, I got all the barbie stuff.  I was over the moon.  I think it was partly due to the fact that it was something I could play all by myself, since my only sibling was male and 13 years older than me.  Having 4 daughters I thought at least one would love Barbie as much as me, but none really took to her the way I did.  and that is ok.  We all have our thing.  I did not grow up to want to be Barbie, but would have loved to have one of those carasel kitchens.  

High School age I was more into staying in my room, watching dramas such as Knots Landing or soap operas, My fave soap was As The World Turns but also was obsessed with Bold and the Beautiful, Guiding Light, and Days of Our Lives.  I was a magazine junkie as well.  I enjoyed writing, being fashionable, and talking on the phone (which I actually hate to do now).  Shopping of course was a favorite and back in the day the Mall was full of excitement, great food, and socialization.  Online shopping has changed the mall atmosphere and I do miss that.  

College.....well let's be honest.  Socialization usually happened at bars and I was actually a pretty good dart player and beer drinker because of it.  That's enough on that one.  

I guess that takes me into adulthood, and what I enjoy doing now will be a different post.  I am still all of those things in different ways and with a lot more maturity involved.  

Winter Goals

 Winter Goals:

Try a Hot Chocolate Bomb and document on here.  These look so amazing 💓

Maybe make a Ginger Bread House.  I have not done this since my girls were really little.  

Actually go out and document the first real snow.  We had a small dusting the other day but I plan to document the next one and try to make a new relationship with winter.  Since moving to Illinois at 7 years old, I have never really developed a friendship with the white stuff.  Maybe at 50, I can call a truce.  

Make a specific home office area in my living room.  I am pretty sure this is going to be a necessity and if not, I am sure we will still use and appreciate it. 

Almost Christimas

Who would thought that this year would have flown by when it seemed like the whole world came to a stand still. 

I feel like  Spring just started even though it is December.  We have been living virtually most of the year, not much action to look back on.   No sporting events, school events, or much organized activities but we still manage to be busy and on the go a lot.  

I know part of this is because we have a big family, both nuclear and extended.  In fact, if we want to keep a family gathering small, we basically can't get together.  We are 13 on our own! Wow, our family has always seemed big and noisy, but with all the grandkids, I didn't realize what big was.  I love it, I know my quiver is  abundant and I am so blessed.   

I am hoping after the first of the year to add some new content to this blog because we will be doing more with getting our farm and farmhouse ready for our family.  I think it will be a fun journey to document and look back on.  I have also been thinking and praying about my words to focus on for 2021.  Rather than one, I have three.  I feel they all go together so I am not planning to eliminate my focus on any of the ones that my heart and God is leading me too.  I will share those at the beginning of the year.  

 I am looking forward to a new year, a new focus, a fresh start.  Some people know that Doug and I have lead a lifetime of difficulties  and trying to work through crisis mode has been hard, but looking back I see the blessings that have come from those storms, lessons that were learned, God's grace and provision through all, and a deepening of both love and faith.  Storms have made us who we are and I love who we are.  God knew exactly who I needed to get through the hard times!  

Blessings abound when we open our eyes to gratitude and thanksgiving, they are there all along. God is good all the time and all the time God is good.  

 

 

November Currently

 

So almost every time that I decide I want to start blogging again but have no idea where to start, I do one of these Currentlys.  So Here goes...

Currently I am: 

 Listening to... the puppy chew on stuff he probably shouldn't be (insert eye roll) and Lucy watching Tik Tok or something similar on her phone.  

 

Loving...that it isn't ridiculously cold outside yet.

 

Thinking that... I can't believe my third grandchild will be 1 this weekend.  Happy Birthday Mr. Magoo aka Rhett (insert heart, kissy face)

Wanting.. to eat Mexican food for supper.

 

Needing.. for this pandemic to be over, for the world to go back to my sense of normal, and to have more time in a day to get things accomplished (motivation would help too).   

I am completely over this pandemic thing.  I don't think I can handle another potential shut down.  I don't want to shelter at home, virtually work, or wear a mask and bath in hand sanitizer whenever I am around others.  My heart is heavy to say the least.

How are you all holding up? In my work we discuss Family Well Being at every visit.  I think overall my family is doing well but not me personally.  I am too catastrophic and easily anxious.  A crazy over thinker and without enough distraction I become obsessed with the doom and gloom scenario.  I do not need media to sensationalize it all but boy do I hand them the keys all day, every day.  

Anyone else tired? Not physically but emotionally?  I know I am not in control of any of this.  I have done the part I can, God will see us through the rest.  

Our World Right Now

 So our world right now is crazy weird to be honest.  We are still quarantined to a degree, I am still working from home.  Most things are still closed or operating under restricted guidelines.  I was finally able to see my Doctor and have an out patient surgery scheduled for later this week that will hopefully resolve some health issues I have been dealing with for a long time.  More on that another time.... 

Now, our country is dealing with riots and racial unrest.  I know that as a white woman in a small rural community I am not dealing with it like others nation wide but the effects are still far reaching.  I still feel the hurt and pain of a world that is turning on itself.  I am seeing uncertainty and fear manifesting in my own life because of what the country is experiencing and what potentially it could begin to experience as the consequences of what is currently happening.  A fallen economy, no safety, people and families in conflict with others as well as themselves.  The world for my children felt scary enough before 2020 began and now feels dangerous, uncertain, and sad.  

I am not sure how to process everything that is going on.  I often feel paralyzed and anxious to deal with the day to day.  I feel the need to hide my head in the sand but to also watch every piece of news so that I can be prepared... but prepared for what?  Each day feels as if something new and big comes out of nowhere.  

I am thankful for my faith and the foundational truth that God is in control of all and that he will work everything together for his glory.   I am thankful to have friends and family to discuss the issues of today with, regardless of the fact there are no clear answers and no one is able to say it will get better.  We just don't know right now but the world's crazy has us all  experiencing the same emotions, even if they manifest differently in all of our lives.  

Right now my prayer is for PEACE in the storm and PEACE for your storm as well. 

Quarantine? What?

So what is your life like right now?

We live in one of the states that has issued a soft shut down.  We are allowed to go to the grocery store, doctor, gas stations, and anything essential.

Only professions deemed "essential" are going to work but other professions such as mine are encouraged to work from home or in some cases, not at all.  Actually, you are not really given a choice about that.

My girls are not in school.  We are doing school work from home but I don't feel I can really call it homeschooling.  They are old enough that they are just doing the assignments on their own and I am just the enforcer.  

One of the gals is due with a baby in the next week.  This Grams doesn't get to be at the hospital due to the restrictions and now not even the parking lot because of shut down.  I know God is in control and the kids will do fine on their own but me and the other Grandmother just want to be able to support them.  Uggghhh.

Having worked in the mental health field, I know that many are struggling with this.  I am struggling with this.  Fear is rampant and the uncertainty of the day to day and all the changes to routine can cause depression, anxiety, and panic.

I encourage you to pray, find ways to care for yourself, talk to your people, and rest your minds.  Avoid too much information overload, too much social media, and stay away from negativity.  

God is not surprised by any of this.  He knew what we would face, he is our strength and our protector.  God is good all the time.  

Reach out to others as much as you can.  Check on your friends, family, and neighbors.  Be a light in the darkness.