In 2024, I want to focus my attention on cherishing, based on the two greatest commandments of Jesus:
Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’This is the first and great commandment.And the second is like it:‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
Matthew 22:37-39
I appreciated all the synonyms of cherish that fit those two commandments.
Adore, honor, revere, and worship God
Cultivate, entertain, and care for others
Treasure, hold dear, and appreciate this life of mine
It’s been almost a month since I even attempted to record slices of my life. So much has happened since my last post. We finished saying goodbye and flew from Bahrain on 31 December. We began the new year in California.
I thought a lot about clutter while I cleaned and packed my old house and got ready to move into my new (to us) 1000-square-foot home. I chose a word for 2022 thanks to some great comments on this November post. My one word for 2022 will be Simplify, with some monthly “helper” words like Erika did last year.
So my helper word for January is “purge.” That’s what had to happen with this house, which over the past six years has been at various times empty, occupied, and used as storage. We are so happy to claim it again as our own.
Some items ready for the dumpster — do you see the beast back there?Giant-sized dumpsterMore things removed from our house
We have been purging. The house was full to overflowing with furniture and supplies. It probably could have outfitted three homes with all the multiples of appliances, blankets, space heaters, furniture and more furniture. We have had lots to choose from, which we are thankful for and we are keeping, but so much extra is going out into the front yard for giveaways and dumping.
We have been here a week and a half now, and we haven’t only been cleaning. We’ve…
Watched my daughter and son-in-law perform their redecorating magic in our bedroom (click to see more of their work)Shared some family mealsTaken a fun and strenuous hikeEnjoyed watching some sunsetsCreated my 2022 temperature quilt key. I’ll be using found yarns to create a quilt of the temperatures in our first year.
And one of the highlights of the season has been the news that my eldest daughter is going to have a baby in June.
The package with these mugs was the first mail we got at our new address.
So, here we go on another adventure. I’m hoping to simplify as I enjoy each new day I’m given.
I was inspired yet again by my friend Sheri Edwards. She recently created a great post, “Blog Images,” about making and finding images to enliven your blog posts. As photo resources have continually changed over the past decade, I learned some tips that were new to me. I made the above layered images on Google Slides from this video I found on Richard Byrne’s post that Sheri had shared.
This month, my students are doing a collaborative project with art, computer, and English about their #OneLittleWords. They are writing a paragraph, poem, and slide show video, along with a piece of art they did in art class. We are learning together and growing as we get to know and help each other with the challenges before us in 2019.
It’s a new year and time for a new little word. I’ve been thinking about my word for 2019, and I think I’ve found it.
Sow. Not the four-legged kind, but the verb.
Sow…grow…seed…plant…develop…propagate…strew…broadcast…scatter… Hmmm… Yikes! Whoa, there. Don’t be scattered, Denise! That’s been your problem. Breathe. Now focus.
OK, back to my one little word. I choose simply SOW for 2019. Just planting seeds. Let’s see where that takes me.
“Do not be deceived. God will not be made a fool. For a person will reap what he sows.” Galatians 6:7 (New English Translation)
I have spent too many hours watching and reading political discourse over the past three years. What do I reap? Stress. So I’ve decided in 2019 I will start spending my precious extra minutes doing something productive, fruit-bearing, work that will reap rewards.
First, a bit of history: In 2016, I chose the word FIT. I thought I could not only be fit, but also that I could fit everything into my schedule, including watching the trumpster fire that was the 2016 election.
In 2017, I chose SERENITY. I had tried the year before, and I knew I couldn’t fit it all in. I tried to find peace in the chaos.
In 2018, I chose HOPE. I knew our country would come back to its senses and trump’s presidency would end soon. I still have hope; it’s just taking longer than I thought it would.
As you can see, I have important work for 2019. There are seeds to plant so that in 2020 I can benefit from the harvest.
At the same time, I can leave trump to wrap up his sinister sowing, knowing that he will soon be reaping justice. I will trust Mueller, the 116th U.S. Congress, and the American people to do their work. I also trust God, who is not deceived; a person like trump will definitely reap what he has spent a lifetime sowing.
Since I have one more week in 2018, I thought I would test drive my new one little word. I’ve created a spreadsheet to check off each task I work on for any amount of time each day. I hope it will help me stay focused on tasks that will lead to a good harvest. I’m praying my one word will take hold of me this year!
I appreciated all the synonyms of cherish that fit those two commandments.
