The gifts have been opened, the leftovers are gone. The kids and grandkids have all gone home, and the decorations and tree are (finally) down. We are less than a week into the new year. I always find the time following Christmas and into the new year to be a time of needful reflection. In this post I will give you a little glimpse into the things that have been occupying my mind and my time.
What I Have Been Enjoying
Making Christmas memories! We are so blessed to have had an-extra special Christmas this year! Our son and his family of 4 who live on the west coast flew to Virginia for the first time since their move to Oregon and spent 2 weeks with us! Our daughter and her family of 6 from South Carolina were also here for a week of that time, and because it had been almost three years since all of us were together, our older son and his family of 6 joined us for a day from their home in Pennsylvania. We had 18 of us here for one priceless, amazing, memorable day! I felt so blessed all day! God blessed us with beautiful warm weather and we were able to play outside a lot. It warmed this mom's heart to watch our adult children and their spouses interacting with each other and all 10 of our grandchildren playing with and enjoying each other! We played, ate, talked, laughed, and capped the day off with a family Christmas carol sing and Bible time - what a blessing!
In addition to that day, the remaining 12 of us celebrated Christmas and God's ultimate gift to us of His Son Jesus. We also played lots of games, went on outings to the park and to the State Capitol, had a family gingerbread house decorating competition, made crafts and dipped pretzels, and just had a wonderful time making precious memories.
Of course with all of this came a lot of shopping, meal-planning, cooking, and cleaning up!
What I'm Planning and Reading
Since everyone went home, in between the cleaning and re-organizing of the house and the time I spend at work, I have been taking some time to nourish my soul. I find that I need to refresh my body, my mind, and my spirit. Whether or not you have had a houseful of family as I did or your Christmas was a quiet one, Christmas takes a lot out of us. We can't continue to give out without taking some time to quiet ourselves and take in what God has for us.
Refreshing my body means getting a little more sleep than I have been lately, and cutting down on the sugar and rich foods I ate over the Christmas season in favor of a more healthy way of eating.
Refreshing my mind involves planning ways I can learn new things and stretch myself in the coming months, and as a part of that I have made a commitment to spend more time reading this year. I have subscribed to some new blogs that enrich my life as a Christian woman, and I have also been compiling a reading list. Some of the books that are on my list are Own Your Life by Sally Clarkson, Choosing Gratitude (I am almost finished with my second read-through of this) and Adorned by Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth, Refresh by Shona and Davis Murray, His Word in My Heart by Janet Pope, and a book I got for Christmas, No Less Than Yes by Connie Patty.
What I'm Meditating On
By far the most important segment of refreshment is that of my soul. I need continued time alone with God and His Word because in this crazy, uncertain life, God is my stability. My favorite times are those times I can sit quietly in a comfy chair, wrapped in a blanket with a hot cup of coffee, and just relish the time of reading and meditating on the Word and writing in my journal.
Lately I have been meditating on the character of God. I find that when I get overwhelmed by life or fearful of the future (because we still have more questions than we do answers) that focusing my attention on the character of God brings the calmness and peace I need. This week I focused on verses about His faithfulness, His holiness, and His mercy and grace.
As has been my custom the past couple of years, I have also chosen a special word for the new year. Two years ago I had never heard of this. Now it seems like everyone I know is doing it. That first year my word was "perspective." Last year it was "content." For 2018 I have chosen "intentional." I have seen quite a few others choose this same word after I had already decided on it, but for me it embodied my desire this year to not just go through the motions or do things out of routine or habit, but to be more intentional and purposeful in the areas of my prayer life and my health. I want to be intentional about appreciating - to notice and to give thanks. To be more intentional about extending grace and forgiveness. And to be more intentional in my listening to and encouraging others when I have opportunity.
My verses for 2018: For some reason, I struggled this year with choosing a verse. I chose and discarded several. The verse I finally settled on is Phil. 1:6, "Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." I am choosing to believe and trust that God's purpose for me to grow closer to Him and serve Him that He set in motion when I accepted Christ is ongoing and will not be completed until my life here is finished.
Have you spent time lately refreshing your body, mind, and soul? Do you have some plans and goals for 2018? Most important to to keep growing closer to Him!
Joyfully,
Kathi
No comments:
Post a Comment