Hope for the New Year

This morning, over coffee, I was perusing the internet and made a point of checking my various email accounts. In one of them, I found an interesting notice - our local Big Lots is going out of business. Mentioning it to hubby, we decided to take a jaunt over and see if there were any good sales.

We got to the store and were shocked to find the shelves almost bare! Good heavens, word travels fast, but I guess these days, everyone's trying to stretch their dollars and a good deal is hard to find.

Up and down the aisles I went, looking for everyday items like cleaning supplies...I know, most people would be buying Christmas stuff for the upcoming year and while they did have a good selection of those things, I wasn't interested. I grabbed some fabric softener and Swiffer pads for my power mop then headed for the stationary section. I only had one goal in mind really, and that was to buy a new wall calendar. I always get mine prepared with all the important family dates and medical appointments before January 1 but it's hard to find ones with big squares. Luckily, they had a few and after digging, I found the perfect one.

Heading to the register, we fell in line with about 10 other shoppers, made our purchases and headed home.

After lunch, I spread out my new calendar on the kitchen table, pulled out my colored Sharpie markers and got to work. (Yes, I color code my stuff - red for doctors, purple for birthdays, blue for anniversaries, and green for vacations.)

When I was done, I flipped through the pages thinking I'd done something productive for the day (even though I had intended to read all day, I couldn't keep my typical type A self in check for hours on end.) And that's when it hit me, another new year will be upon us soon.

I had to pause and ask myself what goals I had for the upcoming year. I usually try to set a few but hadn't thought of a single one thus far.

To me, the new year has always seemed like a clean slate. When I picture it in my mind, I actually see it as one of those old hand held slate chalk boards with the thick jute string on it and tale tell traces of leftover chalk dust from a quick swipe that didn't get the board entirely clean. So I tried to pull out a piece of mental chalk and jot down a few things of importance:

1. This new year I want to be more diligent about keeping a gratitude journal. Even if I only write down one or two things a day, I think I need to focus on God's goodness more intentionally.

2. I also want to spend more one on one time with family and friends, and I don't mean on the phone. I mean face to face. Life is so short and I want those personal connections to be strong.

3. I want to quell negativity in my life and seek joy daily. It's so easy to find the things that bug us, but what about shifting to focus on the little happy moments? The grayish brown doldrums of January and February make it challenging, but I think if I try hard, I can find some rays of sunshine somewhere.

4. I'd like to travel to both familiar and unfamiliar places and while doing so, document those trips by honing my photography skills more. I've always loved photograph but have become lax lately. My "big" cameras sit in the bottom of my office closet most days but my cell phone is always with me. I want to get back to using the skills I learned from New York Institute of Photography more. I need to do that. God has given me 2 good eyes to see with but He also gave me a love of creativity and photography is one of my favorite ways to incorporate the things I see and experience with artistic license.

I think I can handle those 4 goals and I'm happy I finally took time to write them down. Of course, I'll continue working on some children's books I've let slide by the wayside for a while and get those published for my grands and who knows, I may write another memoir.

What will you do in the new year? Is there a new skill you'd like to learn? Something on your bucket list you want to cross off? Start thinking! I'm sure you can come up with something.

No one knows what the future holds but as the new year draws near, I feel a stirring of hope in my heart - hope for new experiences, new friendships, new adventures, and of course, a closer walk with the Lord. (Did you notice I saved the best for last?!)

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13