Reflecting On Our WORDS

It is already here, Day 31 of this new year. Thirty One days ago I chose a WORD. A simple WORD that would be the focus of my days in 2009. The question for me was, how will a WORD impact the way I am living. How will this one WORD teach me, challenge me, make me want to be a better person.

My WORD is Abundance. No surprise there, and I have posted about my Abundance Quest.

Well, here at Day 31 I am pleased to say that I have four other amazing women friends who have all chosen a WORD for 2009. We have planned a little project to support each other throughout the year. This is the last day of the month and we are posting together about our WORD.

We are each choosing our own format but have collectively written an acrostic for our WORD. We hope this inspires you to reflect on the WORD you have chosen, or choose a WORD and join us...it's not to late.

Miruspeg from Middle Age Ramblings chose BALANCE.

Believe in yourself.
Allow the positive energy to flow your way.
Look, learn, laugh and Love.
Always allow for a few stumbles along the way.
Never give up or stop trying.
Climb that mountain, till you reach the top.
Enjoy the journey.

Roban from Moments In Time chose FAITH AND JOY.

Freedom to enjoy life's precious moments.
Acceptance of God's plans.
Imagining the possibilities.
Trusting that my life is in God's capable and loving hands.
Humbling myself as I relinquish control.

Joy is…celebrating
Joyful
mOments
everY day!

Octamom chose EXCELLENCE.

Energetically
eXacting
unCommon
rEsults
Leaning
whoLly
dEpendant
oN a
peaCeful
rEdeemer

McMGrad89 from So I Was Just Thinking chose DISCIPLINE.

Develop better habits of daily living.
Inform friends of my plans. They will keep you accountable.
Sleep at least 7 hours a week night.
Cook 5 days a week.
Impossible will no longer be a part of my vocabulary.
Plan weekly meals.
Leave the house on time to relieve stress.
Inactivity will not be tolerated.
New sneakers will be purchased immediately!
Exercise at least three days a week.

January was "Sing a New Song" and I learned that music will heal your soul, finishing an old project is gratifying, and learning a new skill WILL create abundance.

Atone for your hurtfulness.
Bid farewell to judgment.
Utilize your mind.
Notice your surroundings.
Draw on support from friends.
Acknowledge the gifts of others.
Nullify negativity.
Create moments of meaning.
Embrace the little things.

Mr. Linky was unable to make it today but I would love to know if you choose to post an acrostic of your WORD. I would love it if you would lead me to your post so that I can share in your word focus as well. The last day of every month we will post a new "Reflecting On Our Words"...stay tuned, seek inspiration, and above all live each day Abundantly.

If you want to know more about choosing a word go to where we all became inspired..Caroline at The Zen In You will show you the way!

Abundance is....using WORDS to guide us.

Kimberly's Magical Yellow Shoes

I read a post that made my day! As you know I have had a little break this week from posting. I spent some time online tonight and I cannot wait to share with you a little jewel of a post that will make you smile. I have heard a lot of bad news this week....the economy...the stock market ...banker's bonuses...the housing market. Turn on your TV and your radio and you will hear it...bad news. Well, it's not all bad, you just have to know where to look and blogging with your friends will help!


Whatever your WORD that you have chosen for yourself this year...should it be about Abundance, Balance, Excellence, Devotion, Joy, Deserving, Faith, Gratitude or any other wonderful word that will impact your life in this year... I read about another word today that made me smile...YELLOW SHOES...YES...YELLOW SHOES!!


Curious yet? Well, my friend Kimberly at Take a Nothing Day, Make It All Worthwhile is a classroom teacher who posts about all of the funny and frustrating experiences teaching little ones. If you have children in school or read about our education system and wonder if there are
teachers as amazing as the ones you use to look up to, I can assure you there are, and Kimberly is one of them. She had a Yellow Shoe Day, and you must go to her blog to read about it and get inspired.

And, if you don't have a pair of yellow shoes...you will want to buy some as soon as possible! :)


Tell her I sent you and give her your praises of encouragement as she works everyday to impact those little lives, and then come back and share with me how she has changed how you look at today!


This Yellow Shoe picture found on Flickr at You Can Count On Me

Abundance is...A Yellow Shoe Day!

New Meaning to "Let's Take a Spin!!"

Wow! It has been a week since I have posted...I really had no idea. Here is why...Oklahoma has had its first ice storm of the winter. Not your pretty fluffy stuff that snow days are made of but the icy, sleet that coats the roadways. Since my last post we heard about the pending storm and had been waiting for it. On Monday, the morning went as usual and then the sleet began. I left work early at the advice of family and friends. The short commute ended up taking several hours and not without a few "exciting" spins on the highway. My car was not touched but I think I might have had an extreme grip on the steering wheel because I have been really sore for a few days. While having my snow day I finished my daughter's quilt and started my little knitting project. I have enjoyed some tennis from the Australian Open and our Oklahoma University Sooners Basketball. I was a little gun shy this morning when I headed out for work on the refrozen highway. All went well. Looks like we have blown the ice and snow toward the east so to all of my more Eastern blog friend be careful out there!!!

Abundance Quest

This first month was the month to select my new Word for the year. Those who follow this blog know my word is Abundance. I chose for this month's theme "Sing a New Song". I have been enjoying music on my ipod and on the playlists of friends as I read their posts. More figuratively, is all of the possible new skills there are to learn.

I have a friend who has created lists of new things to be accomplished each year. The list has included places to visit and new skills to learn including snowboarding and photography. I have made my own list and this year I am going to knit. Like quilting, it is a craft that requires some skill and a commitment of time. You might recall this post where I talk about the prayer shawl knitted for my husband when he had his surgery. I also have a friend who has knitted the most amazing felted bag. Every year at Christmas I marvel at the wonderful gifts that can be made and shared, yet I never plan far enough in advance to create these handmade gifts. This year will be abundantly different. I will spend February beginning the practice of knitting, with the hope of having some handmade gifts to share with family and friends in December.

Quiffstress

Learning a new skill can be a bit intimidating, after all, what if I am not good at it, what if I start and realize it is yet another unfinished project awaiting me, or what if I love it and am good at it and make the most beautiful projects.

I have a quote posted on the cabinet of my desk written by Martha Graham. Until today I did not know who Martha Graham was. Wikipedia did not disappoint: "Martha Graham (May 11, 1894 – April 1, 1991) was an American dancer and choreographer regarded as one of the foremost pioneers of modern dance" "Graham invented a new language of movement, and used it to reveal the passion, the rage and the ecstasy common to human experience. She danced and choreographed for over seventy years, and during that time was the first dancer ever to perform at The White House, the first dancer ever to travel abroad as a cultural ambassador, and the first dancer ever to receive the highest civilian award, the Medal of Freedom."

No surprise that this woman was so accomplished when you read what she has to say about learning a skill: " I believe that we learn by practice. Whether it means to learn to dance by practicing dancing or to learn to live by practicing living, the principles are the same. In each, it is the performance of a dedicated precise set of acts, physical or intellectual, from which comes shape of achievement, a sense of one's being, a satisfaction of spirit. One becomes, in some area, an athlete of God. Practice means to perform, over and over again in the face of all obstacles, some act of vision, of faith, of desire. Practice is a means of inviting the perfection desired."

I for one do not want perfection but I do want "satisfaction of spirit", for that is the goal in my quest for abundance. The rest is an "act of vision, of faith and of desire." Knitting is not the only practice I need. There are many more qualities to be explored. I hope joyful practice will be a part of the experience as I enjoy the process.

Abundance is...singing a new song and learning something new.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: Must See!!!

On my list of movies to see this season was "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" We saw this movie this weekend and I have to say it touched me deeply. I was not expecting to be moved.

Here is a short synopsis about the movie according to The Internet Movie Database:
"I was born under unusual circumstances." And so begins 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,' adapted from the 1920s story by F. Scott Fitzgerald about a man who is born in his eighties and ages backwards: a man, like any of us, who is unable to stop time. We follow his story, set in New Orleans from the end of World War I in 1918 to the 21st century, following his journey that is as unusual as any man's life can be. Directed by David Fincher and starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett with Taraji P. Henson, Tilda Swinton, Jason Flemyng, Elias Koteas and Julia Ormond, Benjamin Button is a grand tale of a not-so-ordinary man and the people and places he discovers along the way, the loves he finds, the joys of life and the sadness of death, and what lasts beyond time.

Here I am, only a few years from 50...hopefully right in the middle of living...(I'm planning to live to be 100). I look back over the last 47 years..childhood, teen years, early marriage, having children. Here I am trying to capture all of the abundance I can. Here I am wondering what the next decades will bring, yet not in a hurry for them to pass. I have always been moved by the idea of time and how it moves. There have been many wonderful movies about time. When I saw this trailer I had to see it. This is about experiencing life backwards. He starts old and becomes younger. One would think that would be a preferable state but as with any life, any age, any time period it has it's pros and cons.

If you don't have time to sit in this almost 3 hour movie, wait a few months and rent it, but do not miss this movie. Have patience with it, it is not your fast paced, keep the audience attention kind of movie. It is thought provoking, internally moving, and enriched with so many wonderful lines that I will have to see it again to remember their themes.

Here is a YouTube version of the trailer:




Benjamin really had some amazing thoughts. Here is one quote from the move that is unforgettable: "For what it's worth: it's never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There's no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you're proud of. If you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again."

Abundance is...being moved by a movie about life.

Stitches for Beautiful Life

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

For about 8 years I quilted. I took some classes from a woman in my church who was a master quilter. I pieced this quilt by machine and I am quilting it by hand. I say "I am quilting" because it is not a complete project.

When my oldest was 16, I presented her with a handmade quilt. It was made of beautiful batiks much like this one.

A year later I started this quilt. I had intended to complete this quilt for my youngest daughter's 16th birthday. I had a year to get it done.....or so I thought.

It only took a few months to cut it out and piece it together. I loved the colors and creating the design. It was like painting a picture with fabric.

I was well into the project when the challenges of raising a teenager invaded. I found it impossible to put my heart into this project when we were having to discipline, negotiate, argue, figure out boundaries, and penalize our beautiful daughter. The project was put away for awhile. That was five year ago. A lifetime ago really. I would take out the quilt, do a few squares in high hopes of presenting the quilt at a birthday or Christmas. Then again have to put it away. She knew about the quilt and frequently asked about it.

In March, my daughter will be 21 years old. She is living in her own apartment, has a full time job with benefits, pays her own bills, and takes care of her very own dog. Life now as the parent of a young adult is so different. It is a joy to see how she has blossomed. I have recently revived the project. I have exactly 15 blocks left. I can easily finish this by her birthday and I will enjoy every stitch because I can celebrate the wonderful young woman she has become.

For you who are in the midst of parenting young teens, I would say hang in there, keep the boundaries sound, don't be afraid to ask for help, pray often, laugh together whenever you can, and know that your efforts will be rewarded. You will see that eventually, they will become young adults who will resemble something of you, if not in looks in some trait that you instilled in them. You may not get alot of "warm fuzzies" during this time, but you will get a reward later in some way. They will realize that your actions only showed how much you loved them. If you are not having a challenge, you are truly blessed!

Consider finding a project that you can make for them. It might be a quilt, a garment, a scrapbook, a photo journal of their life, something that will be an ongoing project that can be a symbol for you and for them. Start it now, but only work on it when you are able to put a smile on your face when you think of them. Eventually, it will be completed and it will be an amazing gift for them.

When it is done, it will also be your reward that you survived parenting a teen and you will feel pride at your accomplishment.

Abundance is....making it through the teen years with as few scars as possible and creating a symbol for that beautiful life.

Star Update

Thank you for your words of support on "One Star Day". It seems when you share a piece of your world there is always someone who can relate and share encouragement.

I'll share with you that although not completely resolved, I have been forgiven for my act of negativity and I'm learning from my experience.

One thing I have learned is that it is important to surround yourself with positive messages so that the tentacles of negativity are shielded from entering into your being. As I post this, I have arrived at my office and it is not quite "clock-in time".

To my right is a wall calendar. January's message says "Write it on your heart, that everyday is the best day of the year."

On my desk is a special piece of art that I purchased from Goddess Leonie on etsy. It is a watercolor with these words:

Goddess of Abundance: All good things are now coming into my life. I receive abundance in a rainbow of ways: magnificent opportunities, deep love, dreams, awakening, wondrous adventures, a divine home. I am so blessed to be here on this gorgeous earth at this time. My whole life is a sweet dance of prosperity, peace, and possibility.

This week I tore out the "Live your Best Life" page of the Oprah magazine. It is a picture of a tree by a road. The background is foggy. There is a quote from the poem "Small History" by Deborah Keenan. "....this path, this road that is one perfect straight line even if it goes around the world through heat and fog and rain and snow and it's my life I keep thinking. It's my life." I have posted this on my wall.

A good friend shared this verse with me, I am posting it at my desk.

Micah 6:8 (The Message)
But he's already made it plain how to live, what to do, what God is looking for in men and women.It's quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love, And don't take yourself too seriously—take God seriously.

Today, I am wearing a small charm given to me by another special person. It is a small wishbone.

For me it is a symbol of good wishes, of positive thoughts, much like an amulet, a small token to bring good luck and well being. It actually is much more but that is for another post.

I also have a small angel token. Given to me to shadow me where ever I am. I love it so much I have given several away to others to have with them and bring those same prayers of peace.

So now you know, sorry, no voodoo dolls with pins in strategic places...just symbols that remind me of what kind of abundance I want to be surrounded by regardless what comes my way.

What symbols help you to achieve this? ...I might need more..who knows, the day is just beginning!

Have an Abundant multi-starred day!

Abundance is...being forgiven.