Just finished a week long online challenge, waking up at 7am, watching a (roughly) 30 minute live call, then doing homework. I still have some things to work on, but have also spent some time looking ahead, and seeing what God is asking me to do this year.
I’ve been doing this reset for a few years, and the year long Prophetic School that comes after. Registration is open for this year for another 9-10 days. It’s worth it! 🙂 One of the exercises for the week was to watch a movie, listen to a song…and take note of what you feel while watching/listening. My immediate thought for a song, and one that I’ve been randomly singing since, was a Dolly Parton song. I’ve posted the original on this blog before, but last night I saw that she had just premiered a new version (with friends).
Somehow I managed to delete 10 000+ emails (of varying importance) this morning. Yes, I know I need to sort out my inbox. Just not like this.
I did get them back, but the whole of last year’s email list didn’t go back into their folders. My morning/midday(ish) was spent trying to get things where they should be. I think it’s as good as I can get it. And I know that today didn’t happen at all the way I thought it would.
At this end of the year, I do a bit of a change-and-tidy – sorting out the remains of the previous year, setting up the new year in whatever way seems best. One of the things I do is pray over a “word” for the year. It’s not in a weird way -just asking God what He wants me to focus on. Sometimes the word is clear, sometimes a bit maybe/maybe not.
This last Sunday we broke up into little groups, to be prayed over by older/wiser couples in the church. We were asked to briefly explain what we wanted prayer for, and had a bit of time to ponder that before the groups got together. I was pretty set to ask for clarity for the new year…maybe healing – all the good stuff! And then, I felt the word “challenge” drop down in my spirit.
That’s one of those words, really. You can decide that you must have heard wrong, and pretend it never happened. That never goes well. Or you can take a deep breath, and go for it.
So, I asked for prayer, and there was good feedback to ponder on. Some things aligned with what I already knew would be in focus this year. Some I’m still thinking about. I was excited, if a bit unsure of details… Monday morning, I woke up feeling like I’d been hit by a truck. This was not the challenge I was looking for!! 😆 No, I don’t subscribe to magical thinking. The most likely scenario is that I’ve been doing a bit too much overall, and it’s caught up with me. Made me laugh, though! 😀
I’m not sure how the challenge is supposed to look. I feel it will be a “good” challenge. There are steps I’m taking while I’m waiting for some things to coalesce – just one thing, then the next, then the next. One foot after the other. I know there is something to do with writing, and have some ideas about that. There are other creative pursuits to…pursue 🙂 And all wrapped up with rest times, meditation, prayer… I will be using my art room more effectively, and at different times of the day.
To that end, I have obtained a duck. A pastel lit, resting duck, by which to dream.
Behold – the duck!
May your year be restful, and may you find your own pastel duck to dream by. ❤
So we’re out of the in-between week, and into the new year. I feel like I should have already taken off running. It’s been a bit strange, factoring in the weekend. I’ll start…stuff…on Monday 😆
I’ve started the new diary. And the other new diary. Here are the old ones (and the book I was reading).
I like to colour co-ordinate.
That top diary was started in 2022. My handwriting tends to be tiny – I generally fit three lines into one ordinary-sized ruled line. It can take a while to fill a book!
Here are my new diaries. And the book I’m reading.
The book underneath is one I’ve had for years. It’s beautiful ❤ Which means I haven’t wanted to mar its beauty with my writing. The cat diary has spaces for a drawing a day, and a written musing. The book is about writing.
Yes, every word matters, in the sense that it’s good to think about what we say, or write. So, this year I will write. And draw. I’m hoping to expand a bit from these books! I don’t “correct” whatever I do each day – once the day is finished, I don’t touch it again. I also draw from memory, which means I end up with some strange images 😀
And so, I will cope with imperfection, and push past to good. Maybe even great! I don’t know what’s up ahead. All I can do is mosey on in to the spaces I’m supposed to be in, and see what I can do there.
Well, here we are again, in that weird in between week. It’s New Year’s Eve, and the rain is cascading down outside. We spent part of the morning talking over the year just finishing, and what we’re looking at for the year to begin. I’m not big on New Year resolutions, but it is an opportunity to rethink and reset…
I’ve been working my way through the Christmas food. One of the things I indulged in this last week is Reindeer Bao Buns.
Cute. Quite tasty (vegetables in hoisin sauce). They’re meant to look like reindeer – the brown things are antlers. I just can’t help seeing them as very cranky reindeer! 😀
I went for a wander the other day. Just down the road and back, which I’ve been meaning to do since we moved here (5 months now!), but haven’t got around to. I still miss the cold, dark Christmas days of the U.K. – hot sunshine still feels a bit…wrong. I do like that we can sally on into the new year with sunshine and flowers. The neighbours have provided a variety of flowers to enjoy 🙂
How’s everyone going with Christmas preparation? We’ll be having a quiet day (again) – not even doing stockings this year 😦 The tree is up, the pressies are wrapped, and there are choccies in the fridge! I like to have things clean and tidy, so that’s pretty much sorted.
Time to rest a bit. Have a cuppa, and a nice little treat.
The “milk and cookies” (I would say “biscuits”, but it doesn’t sound right…) were on a doughnut I had a little while back. I’d seen them in the cabinet a few times, and thought they looked good.
A fairly ordinary doughnut with icing, a squidge of cream, milk bottles, and a couple of tiny choc chip biscuits. A cup of tea to go with it… What could be sweeter? ❤
a bit of creativity, a bit of eco consciousness, a bit of inspiration.... hopefully not a lot of pompousness and blathering :D
i'm not entirely sure what's going on here... let's travel along and see...
1000 Fields of Roses 