Tag: happy

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life

Ode to my thirties

Being embraced by the first day of fall, 2023. Andonnia backed by the blue skies and green trees.

Many times reflections start with alllll of the negatives… BUT THIS AINT 35 MM FILM… so… BLESSINGS from my thirties!

There were trips. I didn’t take many trips as a youth unless it was a school conference. Shout out to that trip to NYC in seventh grade with our intercity choir! So… my thirties held visits to friends in other cities and states. It also included some passport stamps, discovering some cool places, taking stunning hobbyist photos, and enlarging my mind.

Here is the beautiful thing about the mind, don’t read brain because they are related but not the same, once it expands…it expands. The new knowledge becomes a part of your knowing and of you! Come on. That’s exciting. (The hard part is recalling the knowledge when you want to… whew ::insert a great big exhale here::).

So the three most powerful parts of my latest decade is: The POWER of GOD in my life, people, and expansion.

If I was to string together the pieces of my testimony that steamrolled my thirties we’d have to also develop those negatives, but KNOW that I know Him. I have seen Him Move for myself. I have felt His embrace. I have prayed and He has answered. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17)… and the more you hear and study the Word, the more of God you learn. You lean into that new knowledge and in turn… activate more trust that the Bible is truth.

People. I know and have met some pretty awesome people. What I love is when I meet someone and God whispers to me that they are a gift! I’ve met musicians, politicians, artists, preachers & pastors, but the most impactful are my friends! I’m grateful for the people God’s sown into my life like seeds that bloom in DUE season.

Finally, the expansion. Mind expansion. Faith expansion. Creative expansion. Expansion of self. Knowledge expansion. Lesson expansion. I’m grateful for it.

I’ve begun to really settle into my house. I’ve been in it over a decade…but slowly I’m making changes that reflect my current pallet. My tastes are being refined. It’s the same with my life. Boundaries aren’t prisons, they are protection. The same way expansion pours in newness, it recognizes what must be pruned away or restricted. That requires a healthy perspective. Will you allow yourself to expand into your current season and assignment?

My thirties were a lot, but not perpetually bad. I am grateful for it.

Hello forties. Bring some hydration, sunshine, sweet memories, and expansion ok?

IVY OUT

Categories
life

Transitions

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

(Insert Fireworks, Toasts, Prayers, Fasts, and New Bible/Book Study Here)

WE have entered a new year, thank you Lord, and it could not come with MORE uncertainty. With a new head of state, there are new changes in government. Whether you agree or not, things are changing. New years also signal new seasons for some. (My season actually began changing in December, not January 1st. ) Lots of people resolve to make these huge changes in order to evoke something new. I stop resolving years ago. The resolutions didn’t come to pass. I didn’t take the steps to transition from then to the resolved issue. So you see, it wasn’t the resolution that didn’t work, it was me.

As I mature, if I can say that without giggling with sarcasm, I create goals for myself. While I do have a few annual goals, I much prefer my quarterly milestones. These are check points in order to help me look back on this year and see the actual transition come to its point of completion. I realized while I was encouraging sisters on my facebook page (Seven Days More), I had not created a solid God sized goal for Annlettered (Annlettered Home ). Once I sat down and started putting the dream on paper,  I realized the amount of commitment it would take. It also spurred research in areas that I am not well versed with yet. All of these are positives.

What isn’t positive: CLUTTER. Clutter will cause transitions to fail, schedules to be overbooked, and minds to ache. For example, if I pack my schedule to the brim with commitments, even if I mean well, I have no time for house cleaning, laundry, rest, and tasks that may seem mundane. Life doesn’t mandate that we become awesome in public and neglect the mundane. Once those mundane tasks become obtuse, you have now added more pressure to keep up outside of the home and inside which is in disarray. (This may not be your truth, add your specific situation here.) Just because you are awake 8-18 hours a day – which I often am, it doesn’t mean that you need to schedule every hour! One of my goals, which I didn’t accomplish last year, is to simplify. My schedule, responsibilities, house items, closet items (Can I get an amen here? Anyone clean their closet several times a year, but never see the relief?), and any other area where I feel I am just collecting things and not using them. We have become too loyal to clutter. Be like Elsa, “Let it Go”!

It is the time of transition. A new year. The first month of the year to start practices that can become habits. It requires discipline. It may not feel great in the beginning, but change doesn’t always come with butterflies. Do it now, enjoy it later.

Are there things you plan to change in 2017? I’d love to hear about them. Also, feel free to check out the links. 🙂

Ivy Out

Categories
life

Muck to Masterpiece: Happy

Happy is SUCH A GREAT CHOICE.

So many people are mourning, doubting, breaking, crying, frowning, cowering, and body bent in the world. BE a part of a positive trend to CHOOSE happiness. Not happy because things are just peachy perfect around you. Happy IN SPITE of the situations. Paul talks about being content in any season. Seriously… the made up mind is the champion in this scenario.  I admitted to some of my brothers and sisters at church that I had an Elizabeth spirit. I have learned to truly celebrate with those around me. Like Joseph (Barnabas) I have learned the value of encouragement. Like David I can dance. Like Martha, I know who to trust (the I AM). I am really REALLY smiling right now…as I type this.

The reality means nothing to a God who can do anything, use anyone, …Jesus is the ORIGINAL REMIX. Revelations 21:5 He came to make all things new!!

Trust that the muck can be a masterpiece! Abstract art makes sense to some and no sense to others! I am ART. YEAS! Happy is the most beautiful thing you can put on in the morning and one of the most generous gifts you can give!

**there is an underlying theme in this piece…did you see it? T R U S T G O D;)**

Ivy Out

Categories
life

Kid-Like

SOOO, anyone else beat their alarm clock this morning? The ten minutes of coveted “snooze” time… is what I lost this morning. Not even a shed tear or a complaint shall dust my lips for it! It’s now officially Wednesday!

As a kid, I loved school (might be why I keep going back). Wednesday meant we were close to FRIDAY! As adults, we get excited for a different type of Wednesday joy. Child-like-me knew there were less responsibility on weekends. I could hang out with friends (as much as an adolescent could ‘hang out’), I could relax, I could sleep, and IF it was the week of my birthday, I’d feel like a princess!

Why do we let go of the sheer innocence of anticipation when we grow up? I know we have bills/expenditures, responsibilities, families, and “stuff” to handle, but why not face it like a kid? Adults can become stiff and stuffy when we so easily forget our innocence.

Saturday I celebrate 29. I believe now more than ever…I appreciate children’s ability to get excited over anything! Last night at church, a small baby got excited because he could walk well! He kept walking laps back and forth, turning and smiling! During one of those reps, he walked up to my left leg and hugged my calf. ::CAN YOU SAY MELT MY HEART?!?:: That made my night!

It was the sweetness of the gesture during his victory laps that inspired this post! Find something to get excited about! Find someone to share it with…and know that it’s WEDNESDAY;)

Ivy out