Well it has been a long time since I wrote. I am trying to do better this time. I am now Cancer Free, although I continue treatments for the next 4 years. I am still having a hard time getting back to where I was, hopefully that will all come back in time.
Another year has gone by, in the past year we had 3 new Grandkids added to our family, Hadley, born to Jeff and Janelle, Emilio, born to James and Stepanie, and Josie, born to Carrie and Briody. What a sweet blessing they are in our lives.
We are also preparing to go on another Mission. My Dr.'s have kind of told us, that they will sign off to let us serve another mission, but we have to serve here, so we can still get to Dr.'s appts. every six months. So we are going to serve a Service Mission at the Heber Valley Camp. It is a Summer Camp, where youth and young adult groups go for a week. There are challenge courses, there and wonderful, faith building experiences for the campers. We will help run the camp for the next 2 summers. I am a little nervous, but so happy to be serving a mission again.. We have hopes that when we are done at Heber Valley Camp, we will be able to go to another developing Nation again. We loved Micronesia and Pohnpei so much and hope to be able to go and serve again,
So for the New Year, I am going to share something that my daughter shared with me, hope it works on the blog.
16 Goals To Set For Next Year That Are More About Enjoying What You Have Than Chasing What You Don’t
Milestones are markers that you’re evolving – they do not create emotional fulfillment in the way we think they will. This confusion is why with the dawn of each new year, our resolutions are to change our lives, rather than to change ourselves. But what if we made goals that were more about loving what we have rather than chasing what we don’t? What if we realized that it’s what we were seeking in the first place? It’s something to consider – if not even try just a little. Here, a few ideas to get you started:
1. Pick up where you left off. Finish the half-read books on your shelf. Eat what’s in the cupboard. Wear what you own in ways you never thought of before. Apologize and mean it. Call old friends. Revisit old projects. Try other routes.
2. Seek out ways to appreciate the way people are, not the way you want them to be. It is not your job to judge who is deserving of your love and kindness. It is not your job to fix anybody. It is only your job to love them, in whatever way is appropriate. You are not anybody else’s god.
3. Make time for the friends you have more than you seek out the ones you don’t. Stop counting how many people are in your life as though to hitting a certain tally will make you feel loved. Start appreciating how rare and beautiful it is to even just have one close friend in a life. Not everybody is so lucky.
4. Each day, write down one thing your body allowed you to do. Whether it was watching your favorite show or listening to the sounds on the street on the way to work or being able to see a computer screen or hug someone you love, focus on what your body does more than what it looks like doing it.
5. Learn to love things that don’t cost much. Learn to love simple food and cooking it, being outside, the company of a friend, going for walks, watching the sunrise, a full night’s sleep, a good day’s work.
6. On January 1, start a “journal of days” where you write down a sentence or two to sum up each day of your year. The reason keeping up with a journal is only sustainable for a week or so is that nobody has the time (or energy) to thoughtfully or extensively detail their everyday lives. Yet, we miss out on the incredible opportunity to see how far we’ve come, and what our lives are ultimately comprised of when we fail to – so make it easy for yourself. Just write down one sentence that sums up the day before bed. In a year, you’ll be grateful you did.
7. Find meaning and joy in the work you do, not the work you wish you did. Finding fulfillment in work is never about pursuing your idea of what your “purpose” is. It is always about infusing purpose into whatever it is you already do.
8. Start your own holiday traditions. Make the most special days of the year reflect who you are and what you love and how you want to celebrate your life.
9. Do a “spend cleanse” where you only use what you have for a period of time. At once, teach yourself the art of denying immediate gratification for the sake of something more important, and show yourself that you already have everything you need, or at least, more than you think you do (even when it doesn’t feel like it).
10. Give everything you own a “home,” it is essentially the key to feeling at peace in your space. Go through your belongings and only keep what’s purposeful or beautiful to you – and then assign each of those things a “home,” or a space to return to each night. It makes maintaining flow in your space effortless and calming.
11. Learn to live within your means – no matter how much money you make, your “percentage habits” will remain the same. If you’re in the habit of seeing all of the income you make as “spending money” (as opposed to investing money, saving money, etc.) you will always revert to that habit, no matter how much you make. It is only by learning to live comfortably within your means as they are that you’re able to actually achieve your goals when you earn more.
12. Call your mom. Not everybody has the privilege.
13. Aspire to be someone who gives things meaning, not who seeks things to give them meaning. Rather than chasing “success,” chase kindness. Rather than believe wealth is the mark of a life well lived, believe that intelligence is, or kindness is, or open-mindedness is.
14. Do the most important things immediately in the morning. Give your energy to what matters most, when you have the most of it. It also helps you define what really matters to you.
15. Shed what no longer serves you. Teach yourself to let go of the big things by learning to let go of the little ones. It is easier to bypass thoughts and emotions that are negative in nature when you’re able to release belongings and objects with negative associations.
I love it, hope you will also. Lets all make it a wonderful year. ,
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