A Year of Peace

My word for this year was Peace.  I would have to say that I am unsure of my success regarding my year of peace.  I may be a bit more peaceful now than I was last year at this time.  By and large, I am not what most would call peaceful.  Most of my friends know that anxiety is something that plagues me.

Now, as I said, I haven’t quite mastered the idea of peace.  However, several good things have come from a year dedicated to the pursuit of peace.  I have learned a great deal, beginning with the idea of what is the enemy of peace?  This answer may vary for many, but for me, the enemy of my peace was my anxiety and fear. 

I had to find out the root of my anxiety and fear:  lack of faith.  So, there it was; the actual obstacle that I had to overcome.  I’m still working toward it.  Faith is hard for me.  I’m not sure the cause, maybe it is the stubbornness of being from the “Show Me State.”  Regardless, it is something that I am consistently battling and working toward.

The other cool thing about my word this year is how much it popped up!  I couldn’t believe how much just the word PEACE showed up in my every day life.  Before I’d even made it home from the holidays, my parent’s pastor preached a short series on the lack of peace and it’s enemy anxiety.  I also taught a series from the Gospel according to John, which has a LOT to say about peace.  Or maybe that is just where my heart was.

I also made some amazing, Godly friends this year.  And it has been mind-blowing how often one of these great ladies would send me a message, text, note, or gift that in some way brought me back to peace.  Verses have been given that were the exact thing that I needed at that exact moment (Ex  14:14).  It has been a blessing that I didn’t even know to hope for.

So, how would I characterize my progress toward peace?  Well, like most things, it is a process.  I’m definitely not where I want, or need, to be.  But I am working closer to that direction.  If nothing else, I am way more aware of peace and my need for it.  And that is a very, very good thing.

2015 – A Year in Books

So, for the past few years I have been trying to set up a list of books and read through them in a year.  I’ve set a pretty unambitious goal of 24 books a year and yet, I have yet to meet my goal.  I may read 24 books, but they are never all of the ones on my list.  2015 was no different.

Here is the post detailing my book reading goals.  I did pretty good in the beginning, but then life happened.  We bought a house and farm that needs a LOT of work.  I was accepted into two book launch teams.  We spent the summer with family and friends with all our possessions in storage (still).  And I got a job!

Here’s what I finished from my list:

Has Christianity Failed You? byRavi Zacharias

Interrupted by Jen Hatmaker (alast minute substitution for 7 by Jen Hatmaker)

A Scandal in Bohemia (SherlockHolmes) by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Here are the books I started, but didn’t finish:

Orthodoxy by GK Chesterton

The Making of an Ordinary Saint by Nathan Foster

The Hole in Our Holiness by Kevin DeYoung*

And here are the ones I read that weren’t on my list:

For the Love by Jen Hatmaker

What’s So Amazing About Grace? by Phillip Yancey

Out of Sorts by Sarah Bessey

Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen

And a few other fiction books that were just quick, fun reads

All in all, not a great outing, but at least I kept reading.  Toward the end of the year, things just got nuts and I didn’t get to do nearly as much as I had hoped.  I’ll be posting my new list soon.  I’m leaving several open spots this year, at least at the beginning of the year.  I hope to have them filled by March with either recommendations from others or just wait and see what comes along my path.

*I started The Hole in Our Holiness and didn't finish, but it wasn't on my original list.

Christmas Traditions, Part Two...

When my sister and I were little, we shared a bedroom.  It was so much fun to giggle together and try to figure out what we were getting and listen for any noised that would indicate that our parents were up and we could finally be unleashed.

Now, we set a time for T-dub and J-dub to arrive so we can get things going.  Normally, I get up a little early and have a cup of coffee while I wait, looking at the tree and presents before everything is dismantled.  Even now, Chas sleeps in a bit, but he still gets up and sits patiently waiting for everyone else (the joy of having a teen vs. a toddler).

Since social media is a thing and I love it, I went ahead and began Instagramming, Tweeting, and posting on Facebook.  Adding selfies and pithy comments.  But finally T-dub and J-dub arrived.  So after they settled in with there coffee and the gifts they'd brought, we began to disseminate the gits.  I'm not sure how you do it in your house, I know everyone is different.  We divvy up the gits into piles and then everyone starts opening at the same time.

For the last couple years, we've been trying to find our groove.  We've done presents, we've done gift cards, and this year we did a mix of both.  I think we've hit our stride.  We did a few small things and then some major gift cards.  It works well for everyone and we've still got a little something to open.

I made out like a bandit this year, as did everyone else.  I got yarn, clothes, cosmetics, snacks, and a food processor.  Not to mention gift cards for Target, Amazon, iTunes, and a Visa.

Once the opening is done, Mom and Dad get started on the breakfast feast.  Dad makes Belgian waffles with all the toppings (fruit, whipped cream, powdered sugar, chocolate chips, maple syrup, etc.), sausage, and bacon.  Mom scrambles eggs, and makes biscuits, gravy, and fries up some of the ham from the day before.  T-dub and I aren't allowed to help.  This is their thing.  So we wait patiently and play with our toys or read our books or as was the case this year, color in our Adult coloring books.

After all that deliciousness, we settle in (still in our pajamas).  Sometimes, we'll make plans and go see a movie.  This year, we watched movies on TV.  It was the first time Dad and the Hubs had seen It's a Wonderful Life and the first time the Hubs and Chas had seen The Christmas Story.  After that, T-dub and J-dub left, so Mom, the Hubs, and I watched War Room and by that time, we were starting to get hungry so we reheated some leftovers and watched Chas' new movie, Ant-Man.

Not too long after that, everyone retired, but I stayed up and kept the tree lit.  I looked back on my resolutions for the past couple years and my book lists and began to work on both for 2016.  It's a process.  But I love that time of reflection all alone with the lights aglow.

So, what about you?  What are some of your traditions and fun?

Christmas Traditions, Part One

I'm not big on traditions.  I have a few and like a few, but it isn't really my thing.  However, there is something about the holidays that just pulls it out of me in a way like no other.  I love everything about holiday traditions.  I love remembering the traditions that my parents instituted, the ones we re-instituted with our son, and the new ones that we've picked up along the way.

In the past 35-years, I have only missed one Christmas with my family and even then, my parents and sister flew up the day after so we could celebrate.  Due to my new job, this year did work out a bit differently, but we still made it.  Chas came over in time to do the big celebration with my Mom's family and then the Hubs and I came over on Christmas Eve.

This really boosted my spirits.  Working in retail, I was having a bit of trouble connecting with the holiday spirit.  Even though I was tired and rushing to wrap presents and help cook and visit, I still loved being with family and my Mom's penchant for decorating her whole house.  My sister, T-dub, came over to join in the craziness before we headed to church.

The candlelight service and communion at my parent's church was also really good.  Their pastor did a wonderful job of keeping things Christ-centered and there is just something about being surrounded by all those individual lights casting a soft glow in the beauty of the sanctuary that moves me.

Then we come home to our feast.  This year things were pretty low-key, turkey, ham, dressing, potatoes, yams, and veggies with pie and bread pudding for dessert.  This was a blessing because things were incredibly yummy and also because it reduced the stress and the cleanup.  Most things were done on the grill or in crock pots.

After the feast, we open our pajamas (matching for the girls and for the boys) and play board games.  Usually we have a new game, but my mom (who was sick last year) really didn't stress this year and so we just grabbed a couple from years past, Catchphrase and Guesstures.  I know that most families play board games and most of them have fun, but I cannot believe that anyone has as much as we do.  The actual game is fun, but the commentary, giggles, and teams just can't be beat.

Then as things die down, T-dub and J-dub (her bf) go home and the rest of us go to bed to wait for morning.  It was a lot more fun when we were all together in one house and sometimes even in one room.  Now that Chas is older, there's a little bit of the excitement and magic that has left, but now it is replaced with joy and rest...

Part Two