Tuesday Tea Time! One Word 365!

Art By Britta Gene Art

Happy New Year! It's that time again for a new One Word 365. In 2015 my word was heart, to remind me to live with my heart out for the world. To live with my heart open to vulnerability to build community to live a life of Spirit led hospitality with the Sparkle of day to day happenings.

This year, after some playing around with words & a prayer or two, my word is 'create.' I chose create, or it chose me, so as to focus on creating space, time, & overall Life Spirit Sparkle. Space for God to be the light that has overcome all darkness, time for myself & others, and to live more fully a life led by the Spirit & filled with Sparkle.

The choosing one word instead of a big ol' resolution has become a trend, but a pretty great one in my story. As I've been reading about more & more friends, colleagues, & groups choosing one word, I'm inspired by the ways others are using their one word. Some are using it for a focus in their continuing education, others as a way to think up, in, & out, & others so they don't have to live through another big resolution gone awry & never finished.

I encourage you to live by one word that helps you be a better version of who you want to be & who you are. Choose a word that makes you smile & gives a skip in your step & a light challenge in your day - only light bc some days are challenge enough.

Share your word in the comments!

Sunday Snippits: good, bad, & ugly!

  

GOOD: Epiphany is upon us! We continue to celebrate the birth of Jesus - the Savior - with the coming of 3 'Wise Men.' A curious addition on to the story indeed! With a deep breath I take in the new air of 2015. 'Head Up. Heart Out. Move to the Beat.' Being a new year & a few months into my new job each week has been a little different, yet a swing of ministry happenings have started to take hold on my calendar & mind each month. With a bit of a break from work this past week I experienced a little bit of cabin fever, a little bit of nostalgia, & a touch of excitement for the future that is this new year. The family enjoyed the fresh snow fall, the continuation of holiday music, a couple of fires, & many movies. We even ventured out to the movie theater for the first time since Valentine's Day 2014 to see the third installment of The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies. I do believe Cate Blanchett was phenomenal even if her part was minimal & I'm already looking forward to it's release for purchase so we can have true movie marathons with the Hobbit series & Lord of the Rings Trilogy. With the quiet of January already upon us & the often grey skies above us I'm honestly inspired to read many fictional books this month. Though I know that it'll have to be time intentionally taken from each day to make this happen without falling asleep (like I usually do at the end of a day).

BAD: This past week I saw many colleagues commenting on this article not simply about teen suicide, but about transgender teen suicide. These comments were wonderings of why this is still happening & why people don't intervene more heavily. Nobody is invisible, though we've all allowed ourselves to feel that way at one point or another due to others actions. Yes, we have all experienced this, so why don't we all do more to step up & take care of one another even with a simple "hi" & stop to hear how somebody is actually doing now & then rather than the fleeting "Hi, how ya doin?" as you walk by each other. No, we can't expect people to always give a full answer or maybe even a totally truthful answer, but we can give them a few minutes of acknowledging them in that moment.

AWESOME: This past week was just a lazy, low key week. 2014 ended with retirement, over a million dollars, 3 kids, & a few trips around the world (thanks to the game of Life).

WORD: Addiction & the Church

coming up: Diving into January with my 'Head up, Heart out, & (ready to) Move to the Beat!'

Friday Favorites!

Hello Friday evening Favorites!

Today was the first day back in the office since Monday & I started a praise journal in a gift from my consecration to write 5 praises a day on work days. This is a practice that Life Coach DT challenged my group with when I took her e-course over a year ago. It is amazing how this changes one outlook on life. Seriously, just being in the office made me happier today. Set aside that I had felt a little cabin-fever the last couple of days being at home!

This year my new One Word 365 is HEART! I'm sorta excited about this word because it connects to so many pieces of life, but especially with my life long best friend as she has seen SO many hearts since her Grandy's death.

I chose the word HEART not only because of the love many of us had for Grandy, but because it seemed like a healthy (OneWord365 2014) challenge to stretch my heart & mind around where my heart is in each day & how my heart is being used & how it is being shared & how it is being affected. In the world of chakras I most often think/speak/act through my throat & my heart third with my navel in second. I act out of voice & gut. So this is a challenge to continue my holistically healthy approach to life to be in tune with heart.

Tuesday Tea Time!

Tuesday once again! What will you be having for Tea Time today?

It's the last Tuesday Tea Time of 2014. It hasn't been a bad year by any means, but it's alright to say g'bye to 2014 & hello to 2015.

What will come in 2015? The only few things for certain are ministry events, trips to Detroit for the Extravaganza & ELCA Youth Gathering, & a vacation to FL to visit family & have a little Fun.

2014 is a year I never could've quite imagined. It started off with a funeral for a church member, then was followed by funerals at least once a month clear through June. In the middle of the celebrating of these friends' lives we made our trip to Paris & kicked off a month or more of traveling. Only with a couple hundred photos of MG growing up thrown in the middle. The travels started with Paris, ended with Denver, & led to 2 months at camp. In July one of my very best friends officially joined the "cancer kid club" with me. After playing the resource game one last time, I spent August recovering from the summer & projecting around the house. And spent September prepping to start my new job in October. Now it's hard to believe that I've been at this job for nearly 3 full months. Consecrated & all! Of course since starting I've also accepted the call to serve as a Practice Discipleship coach & had previously committed to being the Synod Day Director for the 2015 ELCA Youth Gathering.

So 2015 is going to be just as busy as 2014, but in a whole new adventure filled way!

May your 2014 be memorable & your 2015 be one more adventure filled day than you currently think will happen & more tea & more Life, Spirit, & Sparkle.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

A New Year & I'm back full of Life, Spirit, & Sparkle to share with anybody who wants to receive the goodness of sharing.

My friend over at Thirsty Nerdy Cats did this One Word things a year ago & my friend TU at Praying on the Prairie is doing it this year. I figured I should join in the fun.

Plus, 2014 is weird year for Z & I. We don't have any known major changes or life transitions that will happen this year. Ok, so I turn 30 this year & we'll have our puppy fixed & we'll be doing continuing ed & vacation in MO & CO at different points. But nothing quite as big as finishing a degree program or knowing we have to move.

With this year being a year of anticipation of the unknowns, my word is

HEALTHY.

When thinking about what I hoped out of 2014, I thought to myself, "I want to be healthy in a holistic sorta way. Physically, Mentally, & Spiritually." AND because I'm a 2 on the Enneagram, I want to help others be healthy too.

Stay tuned for more on being holistically healthy.

What's your One Word?

Sunday Snippits!

Happy Sunday!

In lieu of the holiday season, please forgive me for my lack of blogging. All has continued to be good & busy. SO busy that I think I will take a break - since I've already unofficially started - from blogging three times a week through the end of the month. Be expecting little blurps here & there.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!