I could write a whole slew of resolutions, but I know me. They'd all get thrown out the window after the first month.
So, I've decided that I just want 2021 to be better than 2020. That's all we really want when each new year starts, right?
The things that broke my heart in 2020, I'm going to work to avoid so my heart doesn't get broken again. I'm going to re-assess my attitudes that put me in situations that ended sourly. I know which doors are best left closed. I know which doors to only open when I hear a knock. I know which doors to leave locked. And, I know which doors to fling wide open and enter. And, I plan on doing all that!
I plan on having fun. We only live once. I won't wish I could have...or wish I would have...or be indecisive about any move I make. If there is an event I want to attend, I will do that. Why put off until tomorrow what may not be there then? Tomorrow, I may find out I have cancer and everything will change. So, I am going to live for today. I am going to LIVE.
Sure, COVID-19 has the world on lockdown...but I am NOT. I have sought out opportunities to keep me moving. I have adjusted to the way things are. I have adapted to new ideas and new ways of doing things. I won't let COVID-19 stop ME.
I am going to try out new restaurants. I am going to go to the homeless shelter and look for someone who wants to make a few bucks and have them clean my home. I am going to buy new clothes. I am going to sing Karaoke and go play some slots, go fishing, camp out, and travel. I am going to see my kids. I am going to take pictures and share my adventures. I am going to work to pay my bills and I am going to pay some OFF. Then, I'm going to celebrate!
Life is a gift. CELEBRATE it. EMBRACE it. And, above all, LOVE it and the people who are living it WITH you!
This is the first day of a New Year and a NEW life.
If you were my friend on December 31, then rest assured, you are STILL my friend. Nothing has changed. I still love you all as much as I did yesterday.
But, I have spent all of the holidays in reflection and brooding over a life I want but don't have. No more brooding. No more sulking. No more envy for those who have more than I.
I really HATED 2019. It started out great, and then went downhill REAL fast. I hated myself. I hated everything in it, and everything I found that I didn't hate, I found it out of my reach.
I know God must be shaking His head at me for some of it. And not smiling at all when He does it.
But, I also know that God still loves me. He's still talking to me. He's still listening...even though the answer is no (or, is it "No, not right now?" -- doesn't matter. No means NO).
SOOOOO...this year I'm going in with a different attitude. I'm determined to put what I want but can't have on the back shelf of my closet to look at now and then and assess whether or not it is something I still want as the year progresses.
I am going back to the me that was at the beginning of the year when I didn't know how idiotic I could be, and when I felt grateful just to be alive. I am going to remember how God coasted me through the hard times until I was okay to stand alone, and I am going to PRAY and give Him the WHAT FOR for letting me.
Then, I'm going to tell Him I still love Him with all my heart, mind and soul, and ask Him not to do that again.
THEN, I'm going to go out and enjoy my life. I may not have much. I may be struggling, but a social life is a must. And, I've found some great friends to have that kind of life with. (I worked with one of them tonight. And, hopefully, I'll be having pizza with another one later today!)
EVERYTHING that was in 2019 is going to stay there. I plan to look forward into the future and stop dwelling on the past. My memories are only there if CHOOSE to reflect. And, this year, I choose to put what is behind me behind me and move forward.
I AM important. I AM worth it. And, if anyone treats me less than, then they shouldn't be to me. This includes my friends, my family and my co-workers. And anyone else I happen to run into.
And if anyone refuses to be a part of my 2020 with me, I say, "Have a nice life" and I will continue to love you from afar, but I have to keep moving forward, because to dwell on that drags me down, and my happiness is important too.
I hope ya'll have a VERY good 2020, and I PRAY I see you ALL in mine!
As the New Year fast approaches, I reflect on my journey so far, and wonder what the future holds in store for me. Just a short five years ago, I was barely hanging on, grasping for straws. I had no clothes, let alone jewelry and make up. I had no car. I had no computer. I had a real cheap cell phone because I had to. I lived in a bed-bug infested apartment I could barely pay rent on. I worked 20 hours a week at a local motel to pay the bills. It was me and my dog Milo, no one else. And, I had just been diagnosed with gall stones that I had no insurance to take care of and had to live with.
Today, God has brought me so far. I praise Him at every turn. I write down my experiences so others can see that God is not a God of the impossible, and that He has a plan -- if you are willing to follow Him.
One of the things I have learned on this journey is not to make plans. God has a way of interrupting them when you least expect it, and if you are bound to the plans you make, you cannot see the blessings God has to offer through His.
But, I do have goals.
My recent illness has left with a lot of bills to take care of. I plan to pay them.
In January, I want to take care of treating the guys at Daniel's Used Tires. I was not able to have my Jesus Feast this year due to my recent move to my new home and the illness that followed it, but God is setting me back up right now, and I need to follow through on my promises as He follows through on His.
I still don't know how I am going to do it yet. But, I'd like to purchase some gifts for them. I am hoping that my web site will garner the support I need to get it done.
Anything above and beyond what I need that is donated will go toward my annual Jesus Feast at the end of the year. I hope to be able to buy gifts for the homeless next Christmas Season as well.
Jeremiah 29:11
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”
Happy New Year! (Personally, I'm glad 2017 is over).
They say that whatever you are doing when the New Year rolls in is what you will be doing all year long. If that is true, I'm not sure if I will be making money, or if I'll just be working. LOL
I guess either way is a blessing.
My manager said she could probably give me the night off if I wanted it on New Year's Eve, but I told her, "Nah. I can't think of anything more appropriate to do on New Years than serve someone else."
It's the first time in a oouple of years I didn't go spend it with my church family -- and, under the circumstances, I probably should have. With all that's been going on as of late, I really could have used some Jesus-loving people around me. But, I am content knowing that no matter where I am, Jesus is with me.
Resolutions? To invest. This year I am going to do some investing. Not sure how, but I plan to do it.
Well, ya'll have a blessed and Happy New Year! I beiieve it's time to get this party STARTED!
