A New Year - 2011

Welcome to 2011!  Is it just me, or did 2010 fly by?  I know we all say that each year, but this year felt like it went back quicker than any other.  Saying 2010 was a difficult year for us would be an understatement.  No need to rehash it, I'm sure we all have our stories for 2010 - this world can beat you down.

This is my fourth year of blogging and each year I have chosen a theme (I don't do resolutions).  As the years have gone on, more and more bloggers have chosen to do the same!  It's fun reading each other's theme's each year.

A recap of my "themes":

2008 was the year of "Right Now".  A little blog trivia for you - this is where the title "Just Me Right Now" came from.  Originally, my blog was "Just Me", but for fun I changed it to reflect my theme that year, and well, the rest is history.  I embraced mindfulness and peace in keeping my mind in the present moment - not looking back, and not looking forward.  I made an effort to let go of things past and to stop myself from constantly looking forward to "what's next?".  I focused on being content and mindful of where I was Right Now.  

2009 was the year of "Held".  A year of craziness and turmoil with two growing children and a kitchen remodel from hell - I needed to just be Held.  Held in His hands and rest in His peace.  I survived that year only through His grace.

2010 was the year of "Simplify".  This was the most impactful year yet.  I simplified my life in a thousand different ways.  I purged our lives of an overabundance of "stuff" and am still simplifying even into 2011.  That is one theme that will stick with me for life.  I radically donated all our extra stuff and have plans for donating so much more.  I cut down on our accumulation of material goods and became content in our house despite my earlier longings for a larger house.  Our house was not the problem, our accumulation of things was.  

And now that brings us to 2011.  This year it has been harder to pick a theme - probably because I am more at peace and contented than I have been in a long time.  Usually, I am full of regrets and desires for change each new year, but this year is different.

This year's theme is...

Be Still.

As a woman, a wife, and a mother my tendency is to fill up every moment of every day with something.  But there is strength and fuel in that stillness.  There is Him.  "Be still and know that I am God" ~Psalm 46:10.  This year I will make stillness a priority in life.  And along with stillness, mindfulness.  Being present in the moment with my spirit and mind still.  

How often to do we rush through life with no attention or thought to the present moment?  Just thinking about our "to-do" lists and missing opportunities to love others.  At church I rush through the doorway of greetings so I can run back to children's ministry and set up for the day.  I say hurried hellos and half-hearted "how are you?'s"  My head is buried in supplies and handing out papers and other items.  I make no notice of those around me or if maybe I'm needed in a capacity other than the one I have decided for myself.

I love reading about Jesus - He always had time.  Time for his disciples, time for the sick, time for the unloved, time for the children, and time for prayer and stillness.  Even though time was not on His side - He still moved through life present in the moment and available to each opportunity as it presented itself.

Can I say that about my own life?  What can I say about my life?  How am I living it?  I hope this year I can move closer to answering that question without regret.