N ew Beginnings….. Every time I begin a new painting I have something of an idea of how I want it to look, what colors I want to use, and the overall feeling I would like to portray. As the first colors are laid in it begins to take shape. So far so good! Often times however, my original plan is tweaked and the direction seems to change as more layers of paint are added, it takes on a different mood as the painting progresses. I am learning that this is my painting style and to just go with it rather than allow frustration (because my plan isn’t working out), or feelings of failure, (because I SHOULD be able to bring my plans to pass)! So I press on, and I keep painting. Many times, the change in direction was the perfect way the painting should go and if had I gotten frustrated and thrown in the towel instead of pushing through, I would never have had the satisfaction of completing the piece! Other times, the finished work is pretty close to my original vision. Either way It is all a process of learning and growing as an artist. We make mistakes. We learn from our mistakes. Plans change. If we don’t go with the flow when plans change we can be frustrated and fall into ruts. We fail. If we never fail, we won’t learn. We succeed, and when we succeed it brings great joy and satisfaction! Isn’t that just like life as well? We have well laid out plans for how we would like our lives to look, we paint a pretty picture in our mind. But often times our plans get tweaked, the direction changes as more layers of life are lived. It takes on a different mood than what we had in mind at the first. We get frustrated, we feel discouraged and have feelings of failure because things aren’t going as planned. We feel we aren’t doing things right, or good enough. We feel like giving up, just throwing in the towel. Can I encourage you to press on? To keep moving? To look up? In life, the plans we make; the itinerary if you will, rarely goes the way we think it should, or planned it would. It is a process of learning and growing. We make mistakes. We learn from our mistakes. Plans change. If we don’t go with the flow when plans change we can get frustrated and depressed. We fail. If we never fail, we won’t learn. We succeed, and when we succeed it brings great joy and satisfaction! “I will lift my eyes to the hills-from whence comes my help? My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth.” Psalm 121:1-2

For the last couple of years I have had words or phrases that seem to occur over and over toward the end of the year. I have learned to pay attention to them because they ring true. The word for Jan. 1, 2018, was “rest”. after a long, long battle with alcoholism, my husband passed away September 18 of 2017. Rest. Rest for him, from his struggle. Rest for me from the worry, turmoil, and uncertainty that this disease brings each and every day. Rest for the battle weary ones who loved him. Rest. Jan. 1, 2019 was “reset” all the dials go back to zero. 2018 was in the books, a new chapter had begun. Time to regroup, refocus, and move forward the best I could. This year I have had a few words that seem to pop up, recommit, revive, renew, restore….a lot of “re” words, oh, and grace, a LOT of grace! I wasn’t compelled to write them down quite yet, so decided to take a walk instead. Passing by the dumpster in the apartment complex I walk through, I always look to see the amazing amounts of junk that people put NEAR, (not in), the bin. Today, there was a hefty stick as tall as me, leaning against the fence. My thought was, “my daughter would love this for hiking”, so I grabbed it and kept walking. Really, really clearly Psalm 23 came to my mind, particularly verse 4: Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your STAFF they comfort me.….He leads me….He restores me. He directs me with His staff. The last decade has been the hardest ever! Fighting battles I never thought I would fight . Losing loved ones, family and close friends, has been all too common in this decade. My life doesn’t even resemble what it was 10 years ago….except for this one thing, this MAIN thing….He is with me. He was with me then, He is with me now, and He goes before me into the years to come. The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; (He makes me rest) He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul (He resets) He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake This year I didn’t get a specific word, what I got was an object. The staff will always serve to remind me that Jesus, my Good Shepherd whose staff comforts me, has walked with me through the last decade and before that, and He will continue to walk with me into the next decade…and beyond that Here’s to 2020 and the next decade Happy New Year!