Things I need to eliminate . . . journal prompt

My one little word for this year is BUDGET.  I haven't posted much about this journey, but I have been working on it. My goal for this year was to budget every area of my life. My finances, time, diet, exercise, spiritual growth, everything.

For the last couple of weeks I've been trying to reevaluate my time, predominantly on social media. I'm spending way too much time checking notifications and reading things that are interesting, but not really of life changing importance. So I've been consistently eliminating those I get notifications from and some that I follow on twitter. Next is Facebook. Then Instagram. It's amazing how much time these things can eat away before I even realize it.

So here is my goal for the rest of the week. ELIMINATE! Stop wasting time on things that don't matter.

I need to eliminate . . . things that don't immediately impact my life or have significance for my future or my family's future.

Which means I need to eliminate
          . . . most of the notifications I get from Twitter,
          . . . most of what I read on Facebook,
          . . . a lot of what I scroll through on Instagram.

I love looking through all my social media. Unfortunately, I love it too much.

So, to all my Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram 'friends', most of you will not be seeing me around much. At least that's the plan. If I am still commenting on your posts, you must of made the cut. Congratulations. LOL! To the rest of you, adios, amigos! Nothing personal! I just need my life back from my phone.

Are there things you need to eliminate?

Blessings,
Renea

One Little Word 2015

This is my second year to participate in this One Little Word adventure. I wasn't super active with it last year, but it has been a constant little reminder in the back of my mind throughout the year. I've had a hard time this year coming up with my word, which caused me to really reflect and see if there is even any point to this process for me. And the resounding answer I've come up with is, YES! Looking back I can see how God has used this little word to guide me in some ways that were somewhat vague at the time, but now are more clear.

For 2014, my word was CHOOSE.

In August, 2013, we moved out of our home into our little RV. It was a huge, difficult decision and took a lot of prayer and soul searching for me to be ok with it. When we finally made the decision to move, the adjustment period was even harder than I had expected. Moving into the RV gave us security. We are in a wonderful area, virtually no crime, armed security on the premises at all times, and absolutely no fear of going outside or being inside. Unless you've lived in a high crime area where you never go out the door without being armed and on your guard, you really can't relate to what feeling safe means. Learning to distinguish between the sound of fireworks and automatic gun fire is simply not how people should have to live. My family had felt trapped for so long in a declining neighborhood consumed by crime, and here we were in our RV, completely safe. And I was miserable. I missed my big kitchen. I missed my laundry room. Yes, I really did miss my laundry room. I missed my scrapbook room. I missed my bedroom closet, the one that I hated when I lived in my house. I missed privacy. I just missed my house, period.

There were lots of tears, lots of frustrations, lots of grumpy days.

Then Christmas came. And I grieved. All my decorations were in storage. There was no where to put any out in the RV. There was no where to put wrapped presents. There was no big oven and counter tops to take care of the massive amount of baked goods and candy that I usually make. And I cried. And felt more frustrated. And was more grumpy. 

At some point between Christmas 2013 and New Year's Eve, I decided my word for 2014 was going to be CHOOSE. I was tired of being miserable. And frustrated. And grumpy. I decided that this is my life now. My hubby and I CHOSE this change because it was the best choice available. Now I had to CHOOSE to make the best of it. I did my best in 2014 to stop whining about what I didn't have any more and look at how blessed my life is. I accepted that my perspective is based on what I CHOOSE to see and how I CHOOSE to look at my circumstances. I certainly didn't do it perfectly, but if you look back over my One Little Word posts on this blog you can see that there were changes in my attitude. I decided to CHOOSE to see the good in life.

Sometimes the hardest step to changing is just deciding that you need to.   

And it has been hard. But it's happening. And I am adjusting and much more comfortable with our little, tiny home. So I've decided to continue this journey with One Little Word. 

My word for this year is BUDGET. 

I know that may sound like a strange choice. But this is the year I want to learn to BUDGET my LIFE! Not just my finances, which definitely could use a new budget attitude, but my entire life. My time. My resources. My finances. My talent. Everything. I don't want to be that person who gets to the end of life and regrets how I budgeted my life. I want to focus more on family, friends, ministry, giving. I am a master at wasting time doing things that show absolutely no results. And I'm not off to a great start changing that for this year. But I'm working on it. I want to be able to look back on this year and see that I gave it my all! I want to see that I truly spent time, effort, money, and energy on what really matters. I want to be able to say that I planned well AND executed those plans. I'm great at making lists and coming up with ideas. I'm not so great at follow up.

So, here's to 2015. The year I want to BUDGET my LIFE! I hope your year is off to a great start! And I hope you will join me on this little adventure called One Little Word.

Blessings,

Renea

Once upon a time there was a girl,

who had a blog,

who never posted on her blog,

and

she

was

me.

We are finally back in our little RV home with wifi and 4G on our phones! Woot! For the last 3 months, we have been living with my parents due to health issues that rocked the world of our entire family. My mom had surgery in April that went terribly wrong. Then my dad had a severe allergic reaction that required several days of constant monitoring. I will probably post more on these two issues later, but for now, I'll just say both parents are doing much better. Mom is walking again (with a cane) after her disastrous surgery that broke her femur. Daddy is hobbling around after the huge blood clot in his leg that still isn't completely healed. If we can keep them both out of the hospital for a while I will be ecstatic!

Yesterday was my first day to be back to my regular walking. My day started early with a 1 hour commute to sub for a friend at her school. Driving over the water is always refreshing, even when it is foggy and the sun isn't quite up yet. (I may have taken this picture while driving over the spillway at 6:30am. Shhh!)

Walking by the water is even better than driving over it! This is one of the things I've missed the most.  These pictures are from my evening walk yesterday.

There is just something about large bodies water that makes me breathe deeper, think more clearly, feel more gratitude. God is so gracious to have endowed us with such beauty to enjoy. So today I'm choosing to LOOK.

Look at His creation.

Look at the gifts all around me.

Look at how far He has brought me.

Look at the beauty of the earth.

Blessings,
Renea

CHOOSE to listen . . .

"The majority of us have no ear for anything but ourselves, we cannot hear a thing God says. To be brought into the zone of the call of God is to be profoundly changed."
Oswald Chambers
My Utmost For His Highest, Jan 16

Today I  will CHOOSE to LISTEN.

-to the still small voice that resides deep in my soul

-to turn off the noise in my head that calls me to go this way, then that way

-to really hear what is being said to me

-to wait for instruction before jumping ahead

-to listen carefully and discern meaning before speaking

-to listen to the truth I know, not the doubts that arise trying to defeat me

-to listen to the promises from my God who never breaks His covenants

-to listen to the eternal hope I have that cannot be shaken by circumstances of this temporary life

Today I will remember that I have the power to CHOOSE.

To choose what will play in my head.

To choose where my heart will rest.

I CHOOSE today to LISTEN to my Father who loves me.

One little word.

Choose.

Blessings,
Renea

Choose JOY . . .

For You have been my help, And in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy. Psalm 63:7

Today I am going to choose JOY.

Ever notice when you decide to make a conscious effort to be joyful life tends to go awry? Well, in case you haven't noticed, let me just warn you, going awry will probably happen. lol

For those who don't know, my husband, college daughter and I, all moved into our little RV home this past summer. For the most part, it has been a peaceful and even tranquil transition. Once I resolved to make the best of the situation and enjoy the perks, like a much smaller area to keep clean, (I don't even own a mop any more!), being able to sit outside in the mornings and have my devotional time looking at the water, and a host of other things, life really got much better.

Then winter happened. I know that may not be shocking to most people, but having lived in Mississippi for almost my whole life, winter is something that happens to the rest of the country, but not us. I mean, we have a really cold snap off and on, and occasionally it snows. But the next day it all melts, giving a concrete meaning to the term cold SNAP.

Unfortunately, like most of the eastern half of the country, winter in Mississippi has been a little weird this year. Frigid cold weather has rocked our southern world. And out little RV has rocked with it, with the wind, that is. So far we have invaded my parents' home now three different times. Christmas week we had an electrical circuit blow. On a Sunday. So we had no electricity. Then we forgot to leave the water running overnight during the first really cold front we had and woke up to no water. For three days. And last night at midnight we were gotten out of bed by a chirping sound that we finally identified as the LP gas monitor. We reset it twice to no avail. Then we got the manual out. The instructions were pretty severe. Turn off the gas, open all the windows, turn on all the exhaust fans, do not turn touch any light switches and exit the RV! So at 1:00 this morning we showed up at my parents' home to spend the night for the third time in a month.

As we were frantically trying to get dressed and grab what we had to have to leave the RV last night, visions of the RV exploding into flames and burning up were racing through my head. If there are two things I'm afraid of, fire and gas explosions would definitely be at the top of the list. I got a pretty sick feeling in my stomach just thinking about it. Then as we drove away, the thought occurred to me that even if that happened after we left, that the three of us would not be in it! And I thanked God that we were safe. I was reminded of a friend from my youth whose house just burned. Her beautiful spirit of gratefulness for God's protection over her family in the middle of the night has been an inspiration to me. Even in her mourning the loss of pictures, family heirlooms, those treasured things that we pour so much of our lives into, she is able to praise our Father for his loving arms that kept them safe and woke them up in time to get out of their burning home. And I was humbled. Again.

So today I am going to choose JOY.

JOY for an annoying chirping sound that alerted us to danger.

JOY for knowing that a heavenly Father is watching over my family even when we aren't thinking about Him.

JOY for the everyday mundane things that I take for granted, like electricity, running water, heat when it's cold.

JOY for parents who are willing to open their home to us time and time again, even at 1:00 in the morning!

JOY for life itself.

JOY.

Just one tiny little word.

Blessings,
Renea

CHOOSE to BREATHE . . .

Today I have decided to CHOOSE to BREATHE.

Simple, right? Sometimes we have those weeks where we run from morning until night, every day, all day, constantly moving. This has been one of those weeks. Actually, there seem to be a lot of those weeks in my life. I often find myself tired and frustrated by the end of the day and feeling like I have nothing to show for it. It seems there are always things on my 'to do' list not checked off that can't be ignored. And the list just keeps growing. And I get more frustrated. And I find myself taking deep breaths just to avoid the oncoming panic and anger and snappiness that I know is about to happen. Sometimes it helps. Sometimes it doesn't. And my family catches the brunt of it.

I know that when I don't take the time to focus my heart and keep my priorities and line, my day is already starting out on the wrong foot. Not being a morning person, this presents some challenges for the day's preparation. So, for today, for tomorrow, I am going to CHOOSE to remember to BREATHE. I am going to CHOOSE to remember that this, too, shall pass. And, honestly, when this crazy life I'm living right now changes, I will probably miss at least some of these things that are making me crazy. Not all of them, but some.

But for now, I can CHOOSE to embrace the craziness.

I can take joy in the good all around me.

I can accept that I can't do everything I think I need to do.

I can be thankful for the small moments of calm between storms.

I can marvel at how blessed I am.

I can remember that even in the chaos, my Father is still holding my hand and walking with me.

I can be imperfect.

And just remember to BREATHE.

One little word.

CHOOSE.

Blessings,
Renea

One Little Word . . .

Choose.
Just one little word.
Something we do constantly.
Something we often let others or circumstances do for us.
I spent most of 2013 feeling like my life was being directed, my story being written, by forces out of my control. Our family went through some significant and painful changes in 2013. Looking back it seems I lived most of the year in survival mode, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
This year I want to CHOOSE more deliberately what controls me, Who dictates my choices, how I respond to circumstances. And let go, really let go, of those things that I have no control over.
This year I want to CHOOSE joy.
CHOOSE obedience.
CHOOSE consistency.
CHOOSE health.
CHOOSE trust.
CHOOSE faith.
CHOOSE to love like Jesus loves!
This year I want to CHOOSE abundant life, wholly committed, totally sold out, completely abandoned to Christ.
CHOOSE.
Just one little word.
One huge commitment.
Want to join me on this journey?
What word would you choose for 2014?
Blessings to you and happy new year!
Renea
P.S  If you are interested, there is a whole community of people participating in this adventure. Just google 'One Little Word' to find others.

CHOOSE Trust . . .

Today I am going to CHOOSE to trust.

CHOOSE to trust the bigger picture that I cannot see.
CHOOSE to trust the hand that guides me day by day, moment by moment.
CHOOSE to trust that He has not forsaken me when I'm afraid, feel lost, angry, confused.
CHOOSE to trust that His plan hasn't failed just because I've made mistakes.
CHOOSE to trust Him with the uncertainties of this life.
CHOOSE to trust that no matter how frustrating circumstances may be, or may become throughout the  
     day, week, year, that there is always hope for tomorrow.
CHOOSE to trust that even though I can't see past the human limitations, He is still in control of eternity.
CHOOSE to trust His heart of love for me. Always.

"One of the difficulties in Christian work is this question -- 

'What do you expect to do?' 

You do not know what you are going to do; 

the only thing you know is that God knows what He is doing." 

Oswald Chambers: My Utmost for His Highest, January 2 

Uncertainty is frightening for us humans. I think we fear the unknown perhaps more than the known dangers around us. The 'what ifs' of life tend to make us apprehensive and stressed. They say that 90% of what we worry about never comes to pass. While that's probably true, for some of us, worrying may seem like an ineradicable disease that flows through our veins.While it is important, even necessary, to plan for the 'what ifs', we shouldn't allow them to consume our lives. Believing in a God who is bigger than our circumstances often takes more work than we want to commit to. It is an effort to see the God of scripture in His context, rather than our preconceived notions or what we have been led to believe by others or have come to on our own. To CHOOSE to trust an unseen God takes practice. Sometimes we must scream at the darkness around and stubbornly defy it's hold on us. 

If you are walking in darkness today, I challenge you to to just take a chance. I challenge you to believe for just a moment that there is a force bigger than your fear, stronger than your heartache, more loving than you've ever imagined. 

I challenge you to CHOOSE to trust in a God who holds all your tomorrows tenderly in His hands. You may not know what you are going to do. But you can CHOOSE to trust in your Father who knows what He is doing.

Blessings,

Renea