Faith...My One Little Word 2016

Most of you know that I pick a word (or a phrase) every year to base my year's intentions on, and this year was no different. I always look forward to the process of either picking it or having it pick me.

My phrase last year, letting go, served me very well from the beginning to the end of 2015. I felt connected to it all the time, and honestly as a parent, I think this is one of those phrases that will forever linger along with me as I deal with life situations. Therefore, I really felt like it went hand in hand that 'Faith' would be the word I would naturally transition to. 

"Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” 

Simply put, the biblical definition of faith is “trusting in something you cannot explicitly prove.”

In letting go I had to learn to hold on hard to my faith. My faith in God and faith in the universe that all would be ok in any situation we faced together. I feel like I've always had a strong faith, but in all honesty, there are always moments where my faith tends to waiver out of shear fear.  I have had to learn how to  redirect those fears and hand them over to my faith...not always the easiest thing for me to do. Having said that though, my faith has also grown immensely and I've learned to trust and feel comfortable within my faith.

The picture above is my Instagram post of the day when I knew Faith would be my One Little Word for 2016.  It practically slapped me in the face as it picked me in the most obvious of ways. This picture was taken of boat being towed by car that was stopped ahead of us at a very random stoplight the day that we got the call from Chris (we knew would come one day) telling us that he was going to start traveling on his own. 'Dear God, oh no, here we go,' I thought. 

Long story short, in a failed attempt to be strong and positive about Christian's travel plans, I began to fill my head with doubt and tears full of fear began to spill as we drove. Already praying for comfort with my head down, and Jerry holding my hand in reassurance, we came to a halt at a light. As I raised my head in reaction to stopping, what is the only thing that catches my eye??  This cute little yellow boat's name- nothing other than... FAITH!! 

What??!! Omg. I immediately knew that was meant for me. The tears stopped, my heart jumped, and I excitedly told Jerry to look at the name and he agreed.  The message just couldn't have been louder to me than that- A boat, named Faith, that in itself being so symbolic. So I said out loud to myself-  'Yes, ok. I get it Captain. Loud and clear! Thank you!

It was His way of telling me to believe, to understand that He knows where/how He is guiding me, to trust, to have faith in Him. I need this word more now than I ever have. The letting go has continued and is only getting harder so this is not just my word for the year, but it will be need to be the corner stone of my existence, my saving grace to keep going in spite of my fears and doubts and worries.

And aside from its spiritual context, this word also has a lot more meaning to me. Its about having faith in many other areas of my life:

Faith in Jerry/my boys
Faith in our marriage
Faith in our parenting
Faith in me   
Faith in my abilities to work, to do my job and do it well
Faith in my creative capabilities, my writing, my talents
Faith that my family and I are where we are supposed to be
Faith in that I will find a place in a bigger picture one day and succeed
Faith in that I have people, who love, support and believe in me and who I am
Faith that I am enough

I'm so grateful for this word and the way it came to me so clearly. For me, faith is all of this put together and definitely "the assurance in all things hoped for."

Have you found your word for 2016 yet or has it found you?

From my little corner to yours...have a great day!

My One Little Word for 2014...

I have been picking a 'Word for the Year' for each of the last 5 years. I was first inspired to do so by my SIL, and the last few years I have personally taken further steps to really understand what it means to pick a word that can truly impact my life for at least a year if not a lifetime. Ali Edwards, make this process easy through her One Little Word class in which she helps you really understand the definition of your word, how it relates to your life, your goals for your words and what you truly intend to get out of your word to help you personally grow in some particular area of your life, and she makes it a creative experience as well!

"You live with it. You invite it into your life. You let it speak to you. You might even follow where it leads. There are so many possibilities."

These words from Ali have been all too real for me. I have allowed the following words- Inspired, Moments, Beginnings, Create and Growth- into my life. They have lived within me. They have spoken to me in sooo many ways at different times, and I have truly followed my words and they have led me to where I am today, and are still leading me to the many possibilities of whom I can truly be in life.

Last year's word, Growth, has been my most impactful to date. It has been the one I've struggled with the most (so far), but its the one that has opened me up the most as well. You have to understand that picking a word is not a cure all either. I am still working on myself, and the word Growth is one that I will forever take with me and build on since personal growth is never ending.

So my One Little Word for 2014 is:

Patience-

the capacity to endure hardship, difficulties, and inconveniences without complaint. 

However, I really liked the following definition as well:

Patience emphasizes calmness, self-control, and the willingness or ability to tolerate delay:

Patience is the level of endurance one can take before negativity

 (something I battle against also).

Anyway, I picked the word Patience because I've realized that I have none or lack a healthy amount of it.  Yes, really! I'm just being honest. Part of this exercise is taking a hard look at yourself and realize the areas you need work on, and its not always easy.  But this word seemed to have been following me for a while.

I don't know if my fuse is getting shorter (with age??), but lately I hear myself say, more often than I'd like, "I don't have any patience for this" or "I don't have patience for anybody today", including my family and those closest to me and for that I sincerely apologize.  I have a really hard time being patient especially when driving (road rage anybody?), when my body doesn't work when I need it to, when things don't go as planned or get more difficult than necessary...Ugghh!! So guess what? I need to fix that...right? I'll be even more honest in telling you that I'm already struggling with it...its so hard!!  Its going to prove to be a difficult one to conquer! I've considered changing my word because it would just be soo much easier to be impatient, get mad, and over-react...isn't it? Well unfortunately, for me it is...sometimes. :(

My goal is to find a balance between patience and a healthy amount of emotional self control, some peace and acceptance when necessary, but still feel like my feelings are validated AND avoid making difficult situations even more difficult. Also, I apparently need to learn to let go? Hence the gut punch this poster gave me and a concept my husband Jerry has explained to me on more than one occasion. Yes babe, I  know... I promise I'm going to try!


So now that you know one of my many flaws, you also know I'll be working on it this year. Its my new journey. And I'm truly looking forward to more change and personal progress. This exercise sometimes leads to unexpected meanings and I'm looking forward to discovering those too.

Have you picked out your word for 2014? If so, I would love for you to share it with me in my comments.  I will be sharing as much of my journey as possible I go along and hopefully show you how you can implement some of these ideas into your lives.

So I'm off to find some patience...Won't you join me? ;)


From my corner to yours...Thanks for stopping by!

BTW-  If you'd like to pick a word but need to know more behind this idea, I encourage you to go to Ali Edward's site where you can sign up for her class if it you're interested. You wont regret it!

Growth- OLW Motivation

Remember how I mentioned to you that my year's word of "Growth" keeps randomly popping up at me? Well once again, last week I was perusing my Facebook wall, and I came across a post from a friend's husband who is a PhD in Theology and Psychology (I hope I got that right), and it hit me like a ton of bricks!

 And it read...

Omg! This is the key!

This is exactly what my journey is this year!

This is what I have to figure out in so many ways!

And I know I may not figure it out at all at once, but I feel like this will play over and over in my mind as I take situations in hand. It will help me take a moment to either hold on or to learn to let go, and in turn grow as a person a little bit more each time.

Thank you Dr. Ross Porter for putting this out there as if you knew I'd needed to read it and for letting me use it. :)

May you find random inspiration in your One Little Word and may it help you grow as well.

From my corner to yours... Happy Monday!

My One Little Word (OLW)...2013

Its 2013 and its time for a fresh start for everybody so I included a freshened up look for my blog with a few changes and additions. They're meant to help you get around easier. Hope you like it!

Also as you know, its that time again for me to pick my one little word for the new year. Its become something very important to me, and something that I actually started thinking about earlier than usual in last few months.

Its become such a big deal for me that I wanted to really understand and make the most out of picking my word this year.  So I am taking a class with my SIL given by the well known designer/blogger,  Ali Edwards called
ONE Little Word and I'm super excited.

 

Its a class in which she takes you through a 12 month journey of creative exercises relating to your word. She explains "A single word can be a powerful thing...One little word can have big meaning in your life if you allow yourself to be open to the possibilities." 

In the years since I've started picking a word for the year, this has held true for me. It has given me a guide, a sense of direction to put into practice throughout my life each year, and in the end I have either done something new or different and in the process have learned something new about myself. So in essence it has helped me grow.

And so in this spirit...A certain theme has been surfacing for me in the last few months. Its been coming up in different ways through situations, conversations with friends, in ways as simple as a random Facebook post. Its been speaking to me, and I've been listening.  I've really had to analyze what I'm feeling, what I feel this word thinks I need in my life and where I'm headed based on what's happened this past year. The word that keeps popping up in my mind is

Amongst other things it means:

a (1) : a stage in the process of growing 

b : the process of growing

c : progressive development : evolution

Like I mentioned, I feel like I've been doing a lot of growing and changing already in the last 5-6 years. I've made personal changes, physical changes, and growing stronger in many ways too.


HOWEVER...

There is apparently a need for the furthering of my "progressive evolution." There have been situations I've noticed that make me go crazy, I'm not the most patient person anymore (hey, I'm getting older and my fuse is much shorter), and yes, there are moments where I can be very much a prideful little girl. Sorry, I've never been perfect, but then again who is.


I think in part, growth for me will also mean letting go of a lot "old stuff"- feelings, resentments, fears, etc., that are getting in the way of being a version of my true self.

That statement right there makes it difficult for me already. Part of me is naturally fighting this and it makes me feel vulnerable but I guess that goes with the territory. I don't exactly know how I'm going to grow or in what areas, and honestly I'm afraid of the can of worms I may be opening up for myself.  I guess we'll see but my goal is to find joy, peace and more happiness in many areas of my life, and at the end of this journey with Ali's class, I hope to be a step closer to doing just that.

Other areas I want to find Growth in:

• Faith
• Knowledge
• Income (always!!!)
• Creative and Professional Skills 
• Opportunities

And anything else that I can find growth in. Although, I have to say...the only thing I will not allow myself to have growth in is...my weight! I am still on the road to find a consitent decline in this area, lol!

I hope that you too will find the inspiration to find your OLW for 2013. If you're so inclined, join us in checking out Ali's class too!

From my corner to yours...Have a wonderful start to 2013!

 

My Word for the year 2012- Create

Its that time of year again...that time to pick out my word for 2012. This one has been calling my name, and I'm going to answer...

I've been feeling this one too...My creative juices have been percolating again! By that I mean I have had them on the back burner for what feels like way too long! Last year was so packed with real life events and celebrations that there had really been no time for me to break out that crafty side of me.  I know I did do a few crafty things last year, but they were fairly quick things, nothing that I could really spend too much time on which I love doing. But do not fret, my mind is always turning! I have soo many projects I've been itching to get my hands on, I'm going to have to schedule them out to avoid getting overwhelmed and discouraged.  But I'm ready! My dining room table is ready! I have nothing scheduled to host at my house in the coming months (as of yet), so I'm ready to let go and let my table get messy and overflowing with with decorative papers, pictures, fabric, tools, and anything else that will help my ultimate creativeness spew out! Ok, sorry...getting dramatic here, but you get the picture, right?!  I'm just excited to get started. In fact, I promised myself I wouldn't start anything until I finished writing this post, just to make sure I got this done and off my list. Hmmm...does that sound like a  strategy to you? I think so ;] The other reason this word called to me was because if you look at the definition, along with the listed synonyms, it totally leaves me open to "creating" anything... cre·ate/krēˈāt/ Verb: Bring (something) into existence: Cause (something) to happen as a result of one's actions: Synonyms:     make - produce - originate - generate - form - cause It doesn't have to be something tangible either, such as a scrapbook.  It might be a year of creating opportunities to do something new/different, creating new challenges for me to conquer, or something as physical as.. ME!   I feel like this year is definitely a time to "re-create" some things including myself. Now that I've lost some weight I need to try to re-create my body, my wardrobe, and have some fun creating some new styles for me to wear. I have mentioned Pinterest before and I love this site more and more everyday. I have found some great styles on there that I would love to wear, and some that I have already tried to recreate by just using what I already have and getting some inexpensive accessories to get as close to the look I want. I have also found some other sites that I have been checking out for new hairstyles, makeup and other crafty things that I will be sharing and writing about in the future. I'm looking forward to the feeling of accomplishment and pride of completing a project whether that means seeing the fruits of my labor expressed through a scrapbook page, a cake maybe(?), a set of photographs or even just my blog posts. Whatever it might be, I'm excited to see what I can create with my hands or more importantly with my heart!    That motto works for me! I would love to know what word you would pick to make your 2012 more meaningful.  It can change your year! Join me, wont you? Here's to everything that it means to "Create" in 2012, from my corner to yours...

My Word for the Year 2011

Beginnings

So I’ve been picking a word for the year, oh lets say, for the past 3 years, and I was initially inspired to do so by my Sister-N-Law, Betty (Thank you, B!). It was working for her so why couldn’t it work for me, right? And I have to say that it truly has helped me see each year in a particular context. I have learned to really spend time thinking about this and deciding on a word that will fit. It helps to think about what is up and coming, how I’m going to see things and what to focus on. To always keep that word present in what is happening in my life and then be able to reflect on it.

So my word is BEGINNINGS…

Defined as the time or place at which anything starts…which is what I figured out is the definition of what this year will be for me. This word takes on many meanings for me… a time to start something new, to start over, putting things into action.

This year is full of beginnings for me…

I will be turning 40!! And what a great number to start a new century in my life with! Bring it On!

I am planning to start Weight Watchers again…A time to start over and get back into getting healthy for Me. To begin feeling good and better for many reasons.

My Michael is doing his First Communion this year…a time where he begins to put his faith into practice with our help.

My Sister-N-Law, Gaby, is getting married this year, and I along with my family will be a part of celebrating that beginning of her life! Soo excited for her!

They say that a beginning comes from an end….both Daniel and Christian will be graduating from Elementary School and Middle School (respectively) this year. Hence, they will both be beginning new important chapters of their lives, and I will be living those through them as I watch them start that part of their lives. OMG!!!

These are only the few beginnings that I’ve pointed out for this year so far, but they were enough to figure out that this word made a lot sense… it fell into place for me, easily. I know there will be more that I will be experiencing, and hopefully writing about throughout the year. I just hope you’ll be there to experience them with me.

"Beginning is not only a kind of action. It is also a frame of mind, a kind of work, an attitude, a consciousness. " ~ Edward Said

A word to live by…for me!

Many happy beginnings to all of you!

From my corner to yours,

Sandy

My Word for the Year 2010...

I've been thinking back to the last few weeks and this word just seems

to fit my life right now.

Moments....Because we all have them right?

Good ones, bad ones, sad ones and happy ones...and I've had a few of

each of those already...haven't you?But I've been thinking about it and realized that our lives...my life... has been made up and written around all the moments that I've had in my life. They're not all going to be good and yet they're not all going to be bad...some are totally going to be beautiful and some are going to be dramatic and life transforming, and in the end I am thankful for all of those moments because they have made me who I am today.So I can't wait either way to see what moments await me. I have already had some extremely special moments this year and the ones that haven't been so much, I have grown enough in the last few years to know that they will bring me some meaning at some other point in time.
They will all come together to make my year what it will be
and give me memories to grow on!

Here's wishing everybody your own set of MOMENTS for 2010!

Happy Weekend everybody!!

Love, Sandy
-from my little corner-

;)

To Be ...

One of the reasons why I decided to do this blog is because its one of the things I've felt inspired to do so. I have spent the last few years trying to figure out a few things in my life and one of those has been to find things that I can call my own or to expand on the interests/talents I already have or find some new ones. My role has been of wife and mother and I've found myself on auto pilot for a while and had lost sight of doing things that I like or doing things for me, but more importantly I had lost the inspiration to do so.

So lately, I've realized that there are people in my life that inspire me in many ways. To mention all of them would be impossible, but let's just say that they inspire me because of who they are, what they are like, what and how they do things, how they live their lives or how they choose to see things.
And in essence I would love to be like all of these people in one way or another, but ultimately, I know that I wont, can't and should never be exactly like anybody else but myself. I need to embrace those things that these people inspire me with, but find what is true for me and my world. I suffer a lot from the "grass looks greener" syndrome and sometimes don't realize that what seems to work so perfectly for someone else, just would never work or be the same way for me and what I do. But I think we all do that, right?
I'm always so afraid that what I will do or say will never compare to those "perfect" people and their said brilliance, but what I need to realize is that what I will do, make or produce in this life is a product of my efforts and no one else and that in itself should be brilliant and make me proud and maybe, just maybe in turn, THAT will inspire somebody else. Fathom that!
So in saying all of this I have been inspired to write, even its just a blog, but its a chance to practice and maybe make it better over time.

I've been inpsired to take on photography like my dad did (the DNA is showing up) and use a great camera and all its creative functions to take pictures that show how I see moments and things in my mind.







I have been inspired to dance, like I've always wanted to, and prove that its not too late for me. I am taking a tap class and will be performing (OMG!) in June. I told Jerry (my husband) that once I did that I can die happy, although, I realized that I still have to fulfill my dream of going to London one day.... THEN, I can die happy, really happy!!
I have also been inspired this year, with the thought of getting close to turning 40 (2 years to go, but why not start now), that its time I start not to care soooo much about what people might think of me or have it affect me like it does. Those that know me are saying "Amen, Sandy!" Its always been something that crutches me and as I look back, I realize it has held me back from doing many things in my life because "God forbid," somebody would say something bad, or laugh or just didn't like what I did. I'm not saying, "to hell with everybody's opinion," either, because I don't think that would ever be possible for me (its just not in my nature), but I guess its just a matter of pulling back like I said before, from it affecting me, my mood, or my decisions as much as it has before and learn to just do things because I like them or geez, maybe just because they make ME happy!! Wow!
And of course, I will forever be inspired to be a better mother and wife, a better daughter, a better Christian, and the best person I can possibly be. I am inpsired to be grateful for all that I have... and all that I don't. Maybe its just not the right time for those things and that time may or may not come, but there is a reason for it.

I needed to start if this blog off like this to remind even myself of what I'm trying to concentrate on this year and to keep that inspiration kindled in the corner of my heart. I hope you take the time to find what inspires you and that you take the steps to make those things happen in your life.

Smiles from my corner to yours,
Sandy :]