LIGHTHEARTED

Surprise! Happy New Year. My last post here was exactly one year ago today. Wow. I don't think I have ever had that few posts in a year since beginning this blog. A whoppin' ONE. ;) But ya know what? It's ooooo. k. :) I'm officially letting myself off the hook. My hope is to be here much more often than once this year. But again....if I am not, I am officially letting myself off the hook in advance. Ha! Just so ya know. ;)  I created this blog as a way to preserve memories for my children. And, I really do enjoy writing and I DO want to preserve the memories. So, I shall press on in that effort.

So, 2015. Wow! I have a vivid memory of a conversation with my Daddy many years ago that went something like this:

Me (as I contemplated the future): Do you think I will be alive in the year 2000?

Dad: Well, I should hope so. And, I hope to be alive in the year 2000 as well!

Me: REALLY?!!

Dad: Well, YES!

Me: How old will I be?

Dad: Get your pencil out and figure it out.

I commence to figurin'. (and if I was telling this story to my own children I would have to inform them at this point in the story that NO, I was not using a slate like Laura Ingalls on Little House. We had paper and pencils back then...ha!)

Me: Well, I may be alive, but I will be old!! I will be 35!!

And my Daddy laughed. :)

And now, here we are, in the blink of an eye, 15 years past 2000. Whew!

I stopped making New Year's Resolutions several years ago. They just don't seem to serve me well. They usually just left me feeling worse when whatever I was resolving was not accomplished. What I have been doing instead is picking a single word of the year for myself. A general direction that I would like to see myself heading.....

.....my word for 2014 was LIGHTHEARTED! I love the word and enjoyed making an effort to bring more lighthearted moments into my life in 2014. My little sister, Terrie, seems to have always been a natural at this. No matter what is going on around her, she can block it all out and live in the moment and be lighthearted. I've always been the one to get down to the business of life...make the list and get er done kind of gal. The practical one. The organized one. The worrying one.  And, in the past even the extreme of The perfect one. Bleck! That kind of living is exhausting!  I learned a lot this year about being lighthearted. A new movie hit the scene with a song that helped me along my way. The title of the song was "Let It Go". Sound familiar? ;)  In order to remain lighthearted I need to be able to just "let it go"! I need to let all of my worries go...all of my anxieties go....all of my perfectionistic tendencies go.  I must give them ALL to God!! Duh. Of course, I KNOW that. But, actually being able to DO it is a whole nother thing isn't it? It's so freeing when I can actually DO this. It brings an overwhelming feeling of lightness. Lighthearted does not mean irresponsible. It means that NO MATTER WHAT is happening in my life, I am the same. Nothing ever changes because God is always the same. He IS. and ALWAYS will be NO MATTER WHAT! HE gives me the freedom to be light....to be lighthearted. Because of Him....I can smile. I can laugh. I can dance. I can spin. I can skip. I can shine. I can be cheerful. I can be carefree. I can be playful. I can be joyful.... EVERY single day of my life no matter WHAT is happening!! Whoo Hoo! How freeing is that? How FUN! Here are a few visual images that I used this year to remind myself to strive for lightheartedness:

 

 

 

 

And my visual reminder to become like a little child as Christ tells me in Matthew 18:3 And he said, "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

 

 

And, something I learned from my lighthearted little sis during our sister weekend before Christmas. She simply said, "It's important." She said it in reference to doing little things for myself. Little things that lift my spirit in small ways and make me feel lighter....make me feel good about myself....make me feel pretty as a lady. I was contemplating making a small purchase for myself. My practical self was talking myself right out of it. But, these small things ARE important to do for myself. Thanks sis. I love you! These serve as a physical reminder to myself to stay lighthearted. A small purchase with a big message. A bundle of bracelets. I love the sound that they make on my wrist as they clink together when I move. A sound that reminds me not to take life to seriously. A reminder to keep things light. A reminder that God is in control NO MATTER WHAT period.dot.end of story.

 

 

Love, Wendy