Today's Reverb 10 Prompt:
December 30 – Gift
Prompt: Gift. This month, gifts and gift-giving can seem inescapable. What’s the most memorable gift, tangible or emotional, you received this year?
(Author: Holly Root)
Is it lame to talk about an emotional gift to myself as being the most memorable?
Because if we're talking about emotional gifts, the gift of allowing myself to rest and be cared for (by myself and others), and also to believed that I am lovable and loved top my list for this year. Honestly, I can't quite describe the difference that that has made in my life. Nor can I describe the wonder at discovering that I am loved, and then being able to begin to love myself.
But if we're talking about tangible gifts, well, I'm going to go with a few different options. I have two hoodies (both of which I wear at least once a week) that were given to me by my brothers and the women in their lives. One was a birthday gift from all four of them. The second was a Christmas gift from two of them. A dear friend sent me a beautiful book of art for my anniversary of healing in November - art that so perfectly suits that occasion. I got two fun and memorable gifts in the last week as well - the first was a Konad stamping nail art kit from my parents for Christmas. I'm looking forward to many hours of playing with this, since one of my favorite ways to pamper myself is to paint my toenails. It's going to be even more fun now that I have this totally slick way to add art to the pedicure. The second gift my mom handed to me today when I walked into her house after work. It was a SAD lamp, and I'm excited to see if it does make a difference in the way my mood and energy levels tend to lag in the long dark winter months.
There you have it, tangible AND intangible!
Thursday, December 30, 2010
The End is Coming
I find it incredibly hard to believe that tomorrow is the last day of 2010.
It seems like this year has held a multitude. Like it has been the longest, and perhaps also the shortest year on record.
It's definitely been one of the crazyest.
It hit me this morning that I need to find time in the next 48 hours or so to sketch out a framework for the year to come. I'm going to participate in the one word challenge spurred on by people like Alece and Ali Edwards. (I'll reveal the word I've chosen in a day or two.) But, participating in that challenge requires creating a framework for how to do that. How to live that word for the next year.
It helps me to have a framework.
So, sometime tonight or tomorrow, I'll sit down with a pen and a journal and create that, on paper first, and then likely transfer some of it to the blog. I've been reading (as I'm sure many of you have) article after article about living more meaningfully, about making and keeping resolutions, and about goal setting as the year draws to a close. I have some thoughts and ways to make some commitments more tangible that I'm working on too. Ways to chronicle the journey more intentionally than haphazardly.
In the meantime, the end is coming!
I can't believe the year is ending.
I can't believe a month of writing reverb 10 posts is also drawing to a close. I'm going to miss having those daily prompts that forced me to stop and reflect, sometimes from angles I wouldn't have considered.
Has 2010 flown by for anyone else? It really does seem like only yesterday that I was staring at a screen making a list of goals for the coming year. And now I'm doing it again, only they're going to look immensely different. Crazy.
It seems like this year has held a multitude. Like it has been the longest, and perhaps also the shortest year on record.
It's definitely been one of the crazyest.
It hit me this morning that I need to find time in the next 48 hours or so to sketch out a framework for the year to come. I'm going to participate in the one word challenge spurred on by people like Alece and Ali Edwards. (I'll reveal the word I've chosen in a day or two.) But, participating in that challenge requires creating a framework for how to do that. How to live that word for the next year.
It helps me to have a framework.
So, sometime tonight or tomorrow, I'll sit down with a pen and a journal and create that, on paper first, and then likely transfer some of it to the blog. I've been reading (as I'm sure many of you have) article after article about living more meaningfully, about making and keeping resolutions, and about goal setting as the year draws to a close. I have some thoughts and ways to make some commitments more tangible that I'm working on too. Ways to chronicle the journey more intentionally than haphazardly.
In the meantime, the end is coming!
I can't believe the year is ending.
I can't believe a month of writing reverb 10 posts is also drawing to a close. I'm going to miss having those daily prompts that forced me to stop and reflect, sometimes from angles I wouldn't have considered.
Has 2010 flown by for anyone else? It really does seem like only yesterday that I was staring at a screen making a list of goals for the coming year. And now I'm doing it again, only they're going to look immensely different. Crazy.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Daily 5 - Year 2, Day 136
Today's Daily 5:
- waking from dreams and having them spur prayer and understanding instead of fear and terror
- listening to music from my friend Karla Adolphe
- getting my favorite seat on the bus this morning
- connecting briefly with a few people at work today (kind of a skeleton crew, but I was glad to see a few people)
- 10 minute yoga
Reverb 10: Day 29 - Defining Moment
Today's Reverb 10 Prompt:
December 29 – Defining Moment
Describe a defining moment or series of events that has affected your life this year.
(Author: Kathryn Fitzmaurice)
I've struggled with how to answer this question, sitting here, staring at a blank post. There are a few defining moments from this year that I can share here, but the far more profound ones are ones that are deeply personal, and not yet (and perhaps not ever) for public consumption. Things that are private decisions I've made, that are dramatically shaping the landscape of my life.
On the very public front, a major defining moment was the sudden loss of my job. It was never going to be a permanent job. It was supposed to be my "work to pay bills until I figure out what I want to be when I grow up" job. Losing it forced my hand on the "what do I want to be when I grow up" front. It unexpectedly led to sensing God's leading and direction towards a career in nursing, and that has had dramatic impact on my life for the rather obvious reasons associated with a complete change of career.
I'm still staring at the screen, trying to wrap this up. Wrestling with all of the thoughts around defining moments that the time is not ripe to share. The personal defining moments have all been about decisions - decisions to value myself, to do things differently, to allow growth to happen in very unexpected ways. And it's these moments that I really treasure. It's those personal, internal defining moments that are giving flesh to the public ones like housing changes and job losses and new career directions. Because it's the private moments that are shaping the character and spirit and emotion and voice that I lend to the public moments.
December 29 – Defining Moment
Describe a defining moment or series of events that has affected your life this year.
(Author: Kathryn Fitzmaurice)
I've struggled with how to answer this question, sitting here, staring at a blank post. There are a few defining moments from this year that I can share here, but the far more profound ones are ones that are deeply personal, and not yet (and perhaps not ever) for public consumption. Things that are private decisions I've made, that are dramatically shaping the landscape of my life.
On the very public front, a major defining moment was the sudden loss of my job. It was never going to be a permanent job. It was supposed to be my "work to pay bills until I figure out what I want to be when I grow up" job. Losing it forced my hand on the "what do I want to be when I grow up" front. It unexpectedly led to sensing God's leading and direction towards a career in nursing, and that has had dramatic impact on my life for the rather obvious reasons associated with a complete change of career.
I'm still staring at the screen, trying to wrap this up. Wrestling with all of the thoughts around defining moments that the time is not ripe to share. The personal defining moments have all been about decisions - decisions to value myself, to do things differently, to allow growth to happen in very unexpected ways. And it's these moments that I really treasure. It's those personal, internal defining moments that are giving flesh to the public ones like housing changes and job losses and new career directions. Because it's the private moments that are shaping the character and spirit and emotion and voice that I lend to the public moments.
In the Office
I'm back at work today and tomorrow, fufilling the last two days of my temporary contract.
I can't quite express how much of a gift this job was in this season.
It was a gift in that it provided financially for me, but also in that, amidst all the things going on in my life that I can't talk about explicitly here, God knew I needed a distraction. That another month of sitting around at home for most of each day wouldn't have worked.
It was a gift in that it was redemptive. After a long season of working for an organization that was founded on Christian principles, but seemed to bend those as needed to allow for maximum profit, it has been incredibly redemptive to work for an organization that exists to meet very real and specific needs for the underprivileged in my city. It's been a blessing to get to be the hands that met some of those needs. It's been special to get to spread some tangible joy and relief, especially in the Christmas season when (even for me) those are so often lacking.
And so, I'm in the office today and tomorrow, doing administrative clean-up after the last month of crazyness.
And I'm thankful.
I'm making plans for Friday and next week (starting with a trip to the Canadian passport office early Friday morning), but mostly I'm enjoying a quieter day at the office, marking a few tasks off my list, and having some time to sit quietly and thank God for this job, and pray blessings on the organizations future, as well as begin to turn my heart toward my own future plans.
I can't quite express how much of a gift this job was in this season.
It was a gift in that it provided financially for me, but also in that, amidst all the things going on in my life that I can't talk about explicitly here, God knew I needed a distraction. That another month of sitting around at home for most of each day wouldn't have worked.
It was a gift in that it was redemptive. After a long season of working for an organization that was founded on Christian principles, but seemed to bend those as needed to allow for maximum profit, it has been incredibly redemptive to work for an organization that exists to meet very real and specific needs for the underprivileged in my city. It's been a blessing to get to be the hands that met some of those needs. It's been special to get to spread some tangible joy and relief, especially in the Christmas season when (even for me) those are so often lacking.
And so, I'm in the office today and tomorrow, doing administrative clean-up after the last month of crazyness.
And I'm thankful.
I'm making plans for Friday and next week (starting with a trip to the Canadian passport office early Friday morning), but mostly I'm enjoying a quieter day at the office, marking a few tasks off my list, and having some time to sit quietly and thank God for this job, and pray blessings on the organizations future, as well as begin to turn my heart toward my own future plans.
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