Hearts in Service

I love looking back each December 31st at some of the highlights of the year.  There were lots of good ones in 2013. :-) February Stephen turned 20.   We celebrated Valentine's Day as a family once again, continuing a tradition we started the year before.   March Nathan achieved Firefighter of the Year.  We were bursting with pride. April My very first book, Words of Encouragement for a Discouraged World, was released. May May was a busy month! Nathan turned 22. Memorial Day kicked off a summer of firemen parades. I started my own business, Terri's Country Crafts & Books. Nathan bought his first car. Emily turned 14.   June I threw a surprise birthday bash for Dan's 50th birthday.  I also put together a published book, A Life Well Lived, with words from the many people whose lives have been touched by him. July We celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary by renewing our vows in front of family ...

  Each year I try to sit down and come up with some goals for the new year.  These are not resolutions but actual, attainable goals that I want to work on.   This year, I found some helpful questions to ask myself as I set these goals.  Here are the questions: What is the single biggest time-waster in your life, and what will you do about it this year?  What’s the most important way you will (by God’s grace) try to make this year different from last year? What single thing that you plan this year will matter most in 10 years?  What area in your life needs simplifying, and what’s one way you can simplify that? What habit would you most like to establish this year?  What is your most important financial goal this year, and what is the most important step you can take toward achieving it? What skill do you most want to learn or improve this year? Who do you most want to encourage this year? If those who know you best gave you one piece...

It's been a good week.   It has been a week of settling in. A week of settling down. A week of setting down new roots. It's been a week of family. A week of missing old friends. A week of making new friends. A week of feeling welcomed (a gift from our new congregation). A week of welcoming others into our hearts. A peaceful week.  A faith-filled week. It's been a wonderful week of seeing God's hand in our lives. It's been a week of feeling blessed.

I love walking through the winter wood. The cold air and freshness helps to clear my thoughts.  I feel the fog that comes from days spent indoors begin to lift from my brain. All is peaceful and silent.  The only sound are my boots, crunching in the snow. Splashes of color on a white background. And bits of life still clinging to the trees. The silence is only broken by the whir of bird's wings from time to time.   I find it easier to commune with the Creator, walking in His creation.  We are alone in the world and I can hear that still, small voice more clearly.  I find it easier to pray without the millions of daily distractions buzzing at my head. I could spend hours walking, but eventually must turn back home.  I look forward to the next walk in the winter wood.

Psalm 103:1-2 (NLT) ~ Let all that I am praise the Lord ; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. Let all that I am praise the Lord ; may I never forget the good things he does for me. I'm so thankful on this Friday for all the good things the Lord has done for us over the past week.  About 5 years ago I started writing a list each week of the many ways God had blessed me over the previous week.  I'm so glad that I started that tradition because it really has changed my whole outlook on life. I still have bad days and my natural tendency is to complain, but I found that when I started seeing God's hand in every detail of my life, those complaining moments happened less frequently and for not as long!  It started with naming just one blessing, and then two and so on and it has definitely been life-changing. This week I'm thankful for blessings #1851-1870 ♥ The crew at our old home that showed up to help us move.  They loaded an entire house on a mo...

This year with a major move right before Christmas, I let all our extended family know that cards would not happen this year and gifts would have to wait until January.  We normally get a family gift for the two sets of grandparents and all the siblings on both sides.  But my brain was fried and I honestly did not have the energy to even think about Christmas gifts. However, in one of my 3 a.m. sleepless states I had a brilliant (to me) idea.  I love nature and have taken pictures of different birds, animals, insects, and foliage for years.  There had to be a way to use those photos for something. And then it came to me.....make a calender.  Which is what I did through Shutterfly. It turned out beautifully, and it does give me a feeling of pride to see my photographs compiled in print. Here is the final result. The cover.   Some of the inside pages.  You know those silly roosters had to be included! I ordered one for myse...

Merry Christmas!  It's been a slow, relaxing, hanging out and playing games kind of Christmas Eve day and there will be more of the same today.  Emily's smile is back after feeling a bit weepy the other night.  There are platters of cookies which I'm glad I made ahead of time.  Lots of good food. And yes, I put that tree back up!  Glasses of creamy eggnog, laced with nutmeg. And a Christmas Eve Service at 10 p.m. last night.    We woke up to 6 inches of lake effect snow and today will be a low-key, stay in our pajamas, and relax kind of day. Have yourself a Merry Christmas!