Tag: new year

Posted on

Focus Friday: Let’s Focus on a Realistic New Year

I tend to be quite idealistic, so thinking about the start of a new year can stress me out.

Instead of being excited about all of the possibilities and potential, I often get overwhelmed by my unrealistic expectations.

This is the year I’m going to . . .

*Get in shape

*Write my book

*Organize all of the pictures on my phone and computer

*Do my devotions every single day

*Send my Christmas cards before Christmas

Before long, my list grows to an impossible length and I wake up on January 1 with a sense of dread because I know I’m probably going to fail at most of my intentions.

I have one day left of 2022. One more day to think this through and get to a more realistic mindset for 2023.

What if I try to let go of my idealism? Instead of an impossible list, maybe I can go into the new year prayerfully. I can ask God to show me a few things to prioritize in 2023, but I don’t have to do “all the things” and I don’t have to do anything “every day.”

Life has an ebb and flow. The more we can acknowledge that, the happier we’ll be. Rather than beating ourselves up for missing a day of devotions or a workout at the gym, we can show ourselves grace and keep living each day doing the best we can.

God loves us unconditionally. He doesn’t care if the Christmas cards go out on time or if you’re constantly pushing up against the storage limits on your computer.

He’ll guide us each day and show us what he wants us to do. Love him and love others—those are the most important commands. The rest of life will fall into place in his timing (I know it takes some work on our part, but that feels like a topic for a future blog post).

Looking forward to a realistic new year just might help us begin 2023 with excitement and joy.

Happy New Year, everyone!

“In you, Lord my God, I put my trust….Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.” (Psalm 25:1, 4–5 NIV)

Do you tend to get idealistic about starting a new year? How can focusing on God help you be more realistic?

Posted on

Focus Friday: Let’s Focus on Letting People See Your Stuff

(Yes, that’s our actual stuff!)

We moved to a new city this week.

We packed the majority of our stuff into a U-Haul truck on Monday (with the help of family and friends).

It took way longer than we had estimated. The truck wasn’t full and we had some things left scattered through various rooms of the house, but we had had enough. It was time to go! (We have a small trailer we can use next week to get the rest.)

I was surprised at how embarrassed I felt about some of my things when I realized that people would be looking at them as they carried them to the truck.

So many boxes marked “R – Crafts”!

The beat up old dresser I keep some of my supplies in.

Boxes and boxes of books.

I hid some things, stashing my underwear in a suitcase so curious eyes couldn’t look. Other personal items were boxed up and taped tightly shut so no one could see them.

But most of our stuff was right out there in the open for all to see. No one voiced any opinions about our belongings (although the guys did ask “What is this?” when they contemplated a “unique” wooden box with assorted drawers—Allison had made it in shop class and I can’t part with it). If we wanted help with moving we needed to let people see our stuff.

I think it’s similar with our emotional “stuff.”

Some of the things we feel can embarrass us. Depression, anxiety, anger, shame.

We can try to hide them, stuffing them down where no one can see or covering them up with more acceptable emotions.

But if we want help, we need to let other people see our stuff.

We’re starting a new year. Let’s resolve to get rid of some of our physical clutter in 2022 (I know I moved way too many things I seldom use), but let’s also make plans to be real about the emotional baggage we’ve been carrying for way too long.

Let people see your stuff and ask them for help. That should make this a happy new year!

“Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” (Colossians 3:9–10 NIV)

Do you try to hide your “stuff” (physical or emotional)? How can focusing on God help you to let people see it and help you with it?

Posted on

Focus Friday: Let’s Focus on Beginning the Year Well

Happy New Year!

It’s the first day of January. We want to eat right, exercise, read the Bible in a year, keep our finances in order, never lose our temper with our kids, have the perfect marriage, and be the best friend anyone has ever had. Everyone’s social media posts inspire us (or depress us) as we see what they plan to do this year.

May I humbly suggest a few ideas that could help us begin the year well?

  1. Live your own life. It can be tempting to compare our own plans to those of our friends, neighbors, and relatives. If we think someone else’s lofty goals seem better than ours it could lead to confusion, desperation, and despair. Pray about what God wants you to tackle, then move ahead, being willing to adjust as he leads you.
  2. Live for others. Make sure to include some ways to help others in the coming year. Self-centered lives seldom bring much joy, but reaching out to others will improve our own emotional well-being and theirs.
  3. Live for God. As a Christian, this is of utmost importance to me. (If you want to know more, go to The Robyn’s Nest and click on “About Me.”) If you are a person of faith, try to set some time aside each day to read the Bible and pray. It can make a world of difference in how we interact with others and react to the circumstances that come up daily.

The first day of the year is exciting, but too often we feel pressure to do everything “just right.” Let’s push aside that pressure, friends, and begin the year well.

“Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced.” (1 Chronicles 16:11–12 NIV)

Are you feeling lots of pressure to do “all the things” in 2021? How can focusing on God help you to begin the year well and feel more relaxed as you do it?

Posted on

Focus Friday: Let’s Focus on 1 Second

My daughter did something so cool last year.

She downloaded an app and chose a 1 second video snippet to represent each day. On December 31 she posted it to Facebook and all of her friends and family could watch 365 seconds of her life go by. It was so interesting!

Of course, I recognized what was happening in many of the little snippets of her life (and I even saw myself and the rest of the family a couple of times). I was inspired and immediately downloaded the “1 Second Everyday: Video Diary” app (more info at 1secondeveryday.com).

Today I watched Erin’s video again and noticed even more than I had the first time.

I was reinspired, so I opened the app on my phone and added snippets for the first two days of the year. (You’re curious? For Wednesday I added a picture of my 3 big goals for this year and said “Here we go!”; for yesterday I took a video of our cribbage board with a deck of cards spread out in front of it and said “The guys won” – because, of course, I forgot to take a video when our friends were over last night.)

As the days go by, I think I’ll get better at capturing a moment on my phone as it happens and adding it to the app so I can look back at the year and remember it in a cool way.

The exciting and the mundane.

The highs and the lows.

The little moments that make up another year of living.

Even if you don’t get the app and record your 1 second each day, I encourage you to be more aware of each second that goes by. Take notice of it. See what’s happening around you. Who are you with? What are you doing? How are you feeling? What mental snapshot can you take to make sure you remember?

The older I get, the more I realize that our years fly by faster and faster.

If we aren’t deliberate about how we’re living, we’ll look back someday and wonder what we actually did with all of those seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, and years.

I predict that if I actually use this app, I’m going to be more conscious of all the things going on as I live each day. I might even do some things I normally would be too lazy to do, just so I can add them to my app. I’m going to be more aware of what I’m doing, what others are doing, and what I want to take note of before the day is over.

I can’t wait to see what my little 365 second movie looks like on December 31, but I’m even more excited about being more deliberate about living each second of 2020.

“Teach us to number our days [and our seconds], that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12 NIV – brackets mine)

Does time seem to fly by without you taking much notice? How can focusing on God help you to be more mindful of each second that goes by this year?