I am a New Years girl. I love goals and check lists and I love the feeling of a fresh start, but resolutions have never been my thing. A few year ago I began picking a word for the year and I found that it works really well for me. Setting a word for the year has helped me to focus on a quality that I want to grow in myself. Last years word was ‘ intentional ’. It was a full year and in a lot of ways a really hard year. Being intentional with my words, thoughts and actions helped me to really lean into the relationships in my life. The past year felt somber though. It was good and I grew more than I could have imagined, but it also felt serious and deep. I need some relief. This year after praying over it and considering what I would like more of in the coming year, I knew that my word for 2019 had to be 'happiness'. I want more laughter, more spontaneity, more fun in 2019 and none of those things come naturally to me. I thought about words like joy and contentment b
This time of year naturally lends itself to reflecting on holidays past, so I decided to read back through some of my holiday posts I have written over the years. I wrote some of these from a place of exhaustion and looking back I can see the pain clearly woven in every word; others I wrote out of a desperation to see life from the perspective of having lived through it. A few I wrote from a place of deep satisfaction and happiness. Life is often a balance of holding pain and joy at the same time. We don't have to choose one or the other, we can choose to accept life has both. It is where we put our focus that can make all the difference. The holidays aren't a time for rushing or preparing or forcing our way through. This season is meant to be a time to reflect, a time to love, a time to believe. This season holds so much hope and light if only we lean in close to find it. Love a Little More Holiday Hush Holiday Juggling Christmas Exhaustion Unexpected Inte