It’s that time of year for me to select my word for the One Little Word workshop with Ali Edwards. Each year I choose a word that I want to keep present in my life throughout the year and then I participate in the monthly prompts she provides. I am not always successful at completing the prompts but I really enjoy the check-in videos she provides because life sometimes swallows me up and I lose sight of my word so her monthly videos pull me back to focus.
In years past, I have always had a rather easy time choosing my word. This past Sunday, I was making my tea and thinking, wow, where is my word? I don’t have one. It’s already a week into January. Then I sat down to watch an old episode of Super Soul Sunday (SSS) with Oprah and her guest was the author (William P. Young) of the book, “The Shack” (which has also been made into a movie). I always take notes when I watch SSS and this episode was no different. But at one point he made a statement that pulled me right in. He said, “I think the process of transformation is not about becoming something that we weren’t. It’s about unveiling what we were the whole time.” And he said: “Allow yourself to fall into trust.” I had to pause the show (yes, I DVR all the episodes) because I immediately knew the word, “trust” would be my 2018 OLW.
Now I can go listen to the first video prompt. I will try to share some of the exercises as I complete them. Some are journaling some are more art-based exercises. I hope to do better this year with the prompts and sharing my journey on this blog.
Have a blessed day my friends!
Belinda
Hello Everyone! It’s been way too long since we’ve been together. I had every intention of writing and posting January 2nd but I was overwhelmed with vacation laundry, meal planning and now our first winter storm which was a blizzard that dumped over a foot of snow with below freezing temps and school canceled for two days. So I have been a little preoccupied. 
First, an update on our master bedroom renovation… The walls have been painted, crown molding has been installed, we bought a new bed frame, bought and installed new window blinds and a ceiling fan. Now I am going to slow down and slowly add accent items and new side tables. We will also be adding a new seating area. I am trying to be mindful and not just rush through the process. I have to say, the clutter-free room feels great. When I go to bed at night I am truly in an oasis. Even if I still have some purging to do in the rest of the house, I feel great about our bedroom.
While at my in-laws home we had amazing food, shared funny stories and played a lot of game playing. We even had a few days of football to watch. I feel blessed that we live close to them so our kids have grown up with them in their lives. I know as they get older, they will want to do other things with their time but right now, they are just as thrilled to go as my husband and I. They even had some quality time with one of their aunt and uncle too.
We love board games but one that my youngest hadn’t played the original Monopoly. He’s played the newer version called Monopoly Empire and he has played it on the Xbox but it’s not the same. So this year, we brought it out and let me tell you, it was priceless watching Apollo as his collection of properties grew and had the opportunities to buy houses. He absolutely loved it. He also won which made it even sweeter for him.
The snacks my mother-in-law made were so yummy. I think I ate a dozen while watching football and my pants are now reminding me of the indulgence.
I still enjoy taking photos of everyone even though its been years since I have created a scrapbook. Later each day, I send some photos to the family that could not attend so they can share in the celebrations virtually.
Some years, we have big gatherings when more family can attend but even when it’s a small group we have fun and I know the memories will last forever.
