"Live!!!"

And my official word for the upcoming New Year is:

"LIVE"

¹live :verb \ˈliv\:to exhibit vigor, gusto, or enthusiasm

Maybe in some way, this can tie in with my bucket list at: http://bucketlist.org/list/traceykinohio/. :-)

Do you have a word that will be your mantra in 2014?

My Word

With the shut-down of a few of my favorite writing prompt sites, I've been on the hunt for a challenge/commitment. "Five Things Friday", Carry On Tuesday & "Sunday Scribblings" all called it a day.

I came across "#One Word 365" and decided I will 'declare' my word for 2014. I want it to be a word that has a true meaning for me; something I believe in strongly or something I need to do.

With so much down time for Holidays, I've been very reflective & am courage & strength to free the fears.

Collage by: me :-)

2014

Live your life like no one is watching you. Live beyond expectations. Live like you are totally free to be anything & do anything you choose for yourself. Live from your innocence. Live from a sense of equal satisfaction with who you are & what you have available to you. Let yourself dream like nobody can stop you.

Let yourself sing like nobody is listening. Let yourself dance like nobody is watching. Play dress up! Talk to yourself. Tell yourself something that you would never repeat aloud. Let yourself be exactly who you are & live like it is okay - because it really is.

I will gain more understanding when I realize ... where I am is exactly where I need to to be

Living, learning, light, luminosity, law. Opportunity, oneness, openness. Vastness, versatility, virtue, victory. Enlightenment, eternity, endurance, endeavor

  These quotes are from "Until Today" by Iyanla Vanzant. Sister, S got it for my birthday a few years ago.Good lessons with a side of food for thought.

Randoms

I'll admit that in 2014, I want to fly. If I only had the courage. Let go of the fear.

I don't want to drag any 2013 baggage along

I want to realize what is real in my life, stop allowing emptiness & look at the big picture

Life would be perfect if: Some girls had mute buttons; Some guys had edit buttons; Hard times had fast forward buttons; And Good times had pause buttons.

I continue to be interested in new things that seem old, and old things that seem new.

That kinda day

The best thing

one can do

when it's raining

is to

let it rain ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Wants vs. Needs

With time, Life becomes more about your needs instead of your wants...

I took it upon myself to buy son a small flat screen for his room this Christmas. As I have mentioned before, son is autistic and his view of the world is very, very, different from ours. We should be so fortunate.

First off, he didn't know what it was! Yes, in the world of the fastest, best, easiest electronics, son is completely unaware. He was never interested in video games, nor cell phones or anything but the basics. When it came time to check out the new TV, he said 'but I already HAVE a TV.' I thought with him being a 26 year old guy, he would want to update his room just a wee bit, but again, I was wrong.

I tried pointing out how the TV has a built-in DVD player, etc., etc., etc., only to have him ask me, 'does it have a remote?' As I made over all the features, I could see his face lose interest. Bottom line: he's happy with what he has & doesn't see the need for anything newer, flatter, 'better.'

Is this another lesson? I found that it is. How much of our wants do we mistake for need? He doesn't NEED a new TV, yet he also doesn't WANT a new TV. Prior to Christmas, I've been aching for an iPad. Why? I have a full scale PC that I'm using right now. Suddenly, my want for the newest, thinnest, fastest contraption, waned. Do I NEED that? Certainly not; do I WANT that? No so much anymore.

This lesson from son has been on my mind since Christmas day. The new TV still sits under the tree, totally untouched; the receipt on my dresser. I'm not sure where it belongs now.

Sunday

Matthew 7:7-8, “Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”

The Sunday Community

Sunday

“He was created of a mother whom He created. He was carried by hands that He formed. He cried in the manger in wordless infancy, He the Word, without whom all human eloquence is mute.” ~  Augustine

This is a cross that suspends from the very high ceiling at work in the worship center. It amazed me to stand beneath it & know every thing that it stands for. Made from a real pine tree. Can you imagine carrying such a heavy load? We think we can. But we really don't.

Amen.

The Sunday Community

Sunday

“I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content . . . . I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need” (Phil. 4:11-12).

 

 

 

 

Contentment begins with having fewer wants.

I am content. I have the basic needs of everyday life. I am not familiar w/the latest thing. The SigOther thinks we should get a flat screen while the TV w/the big 'hump' on the back has a perfectly good 32" picture on it. It's not a big deal to me.

The Sunday Community

Sunday

And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. ~ Luke 17:6

When I was a child, I sold mega amounts of Girl Scout cookies (thanks, dad - Lol). I received this necklace as as gift. I didn't understand what it meant. My GS leader told me that if I had faith as small as the size of this mustard seed, ANY AND ALL things would be possible. I couldn't believe that's all it took! I kept saying, "THAT'S IT??" Surely, it must've been tougher than that. I held on and still hold on to that very important piece of truth.

Over the years, I don't know what happened to my necklace, but I never forgot about it. Imagine walking into a bookstore a couple of days ago & finding it again. :-)

Peace and Light.

The Sunday Community