Focus Friday: Let’s Focus on Family

Christmas this year was bittersweet. After our Christmas Eve service at church, we drove down to Lincoln, Nebraska to spend the holiday with our family. For the last couple of years, all four of our kids have been there. Erin and Ayden bought a house and welcomed Halston, Clarke, and Foster into their family. Allison has her own apartment. Blake and Dylan share one. It has been so convenient to make the trip to Nebraska and visit all of them on the same trip.

Here’s a picture of all of us:

It was fun to watch the kids open their presents, exchange a few gifts among the rest of us, and do our annual ornament exchange. The rest of the day was spent eating yummy foods and relaxing. After the kids were in bed, we watched a movie together.

On Thursday, Ayden was nice enough to stay home and watch the kids while the six of us went and did an escape room together (Blake’s gift to us). It was really fun!

I have to admit, I’ve shed a few tears over the last couple of days. I look at two-month-old Foster and enjoy his smiles and cute facial expressions, and then I tear up because I won’t get to hold him as much in the months ahead. Erin and her family are moving to Delaware very soon. There are boxes and lists everywhere around the house. I’m happy for them because they’re going to have an adventure and experience new things, but I’m sad for us because they won’t be as close.

Maybe they’ll end up back in the Midwest after some time on the East coast, but we just don’t know. Thank goodness for video calls. We can stay in touch and still see the grandkids often.

So, that’s where my heart has been recently. I’m thankful that we’ve had the chance to get together with all of the kids quite often in recent years. We love all of them so much!

With this big change looming, it’s been hard to focus on all of the good things that happened earlier in the year. But lots of good things did happen.

I published my book Staying Away from the Edge: Help and Hope for Living after a Mental Health Diagnosis in February. I finally got the ebook version finished and uploaded on December 14. Both are available at Amazon (you can get the paperback version at other booksellers, too). That was a big accomplishment, and I’m praying it can help other people who are dealing with mental health challenges. I have my own ups and downs with that, but I know what I have to do when I start struggling. I’ll never give up, and I want to encourage others with my book, my blog posts at robynmulder.com, and my free Facebook group and podcast (Catch Your Thoughts with Robyn Mulder).

Gary and I had the chance to visit the UK for our vacation this year. It was so much fun to explore England, Wales, and Scotland. Gary did a great job driving on the “wrong” side of the road. I think my favorite experience was visiting The Jane Austen Centre in Bath, but we visited so many other interesting places.

I attended the Vision Christian Writers Conference at Mount Hermon in California on Palm Sunday weekend. I connected with so many other writers and learned from wonderful speakers. I also got to go ziplining with a group of friends. So fun! I’m looking forward to going back again in 2025.

In June, I did a workshop about working with an editor at the Cedar Falls Christian Writers Conference. It went well, and they asked me to come back and do another workshop in 2025. Such a great conference! It’s limited to about 35 participants, so you really get a chance to connect with the speakers and other attendees.

In September I did a month of short live videos on my Facebook page. The theme was “Thirty Days of a Life Worth Living” because September is National Suicide Prevention Month. It was fun to talk about a different reason each day and encourage people to think about their own reasons for living.

I enjoyed it so much that I decided to do something similar in November. “Thirty Days of Thankfulness” was a chance to share some Scripture and a poem every day. You can check out both of those series on my Facebook page (and I also uploaded them to playlists on my YouTube channel).

I hope you have had a wonderful 2024. As we end the year, take some time to think back on all of the good things that happened to you. Celebrate your accomplishments, mourn any losses, and give some thought to how you want 2025 to go. Setting a few small, realistic goals now might give you some focus and direction as you begin the new year.

I’d love to hear from you. Tell me about something you enjoyed in 2024, or share a goal you have for 2025.

Enjoy your family, and thank God for each of them (I know I do). I’ll wipe away quite a few more tears, I’m sure, before (and after) Erin and Ayden and the kids make their move in January. But I’ll also smile when I see their faces on frequent video calls, and I’ll give everyone a big hug whenever I get to see them in person.

“As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him.” (Psalm 103:13 NIV)

Were you able to spend time with your family for Christmas? Whether they’re near or far, make the effort to stay in touch. How can focusing on God help you to love your family well?