Light

Here are some of the words I read in that devotional which led me to realize, and continue to reinforce, that "light" is the word for me to focus on this year: 

"Like a luminous veil of Light, I hover over you and everything around you." 

"Talk with Me about everything, letting the Light of My Presence shine on your hopes and plans.  Spend time allowing My Light to infuse your dreams with life, gradually transforming then into reality." 

"Emotional and physical healing are enhanced by your soaking in the Light of My Presence." 

"As you rest quietly in My Presence, My Light within you grows brighter and brighter." 

"I am the Light from on high that dawns upon you, to guide your feet into the way of Peace." 

"As you wait attentively in My Presence, the Light of the knowledge of My Glory shines upon you.  This radiant knowledge transcends all understanding.  It transforms every fiber of your being; renewing your mind, cleansing your heart, invigorating your body.  Open yourself fully to My Presence; be awed by My glorious being." 

"Walk in the Light with Me, and you will reflect me to the watching world." 

"Things that most people hardly notice, like shifting shades of sunlight, fill you with heart bursting Joy.  You have eyes that see and ears that hear, so proclaim My abiding Presence in the world." 

"Let the Light of My Presence soak into you, as you focus your thoughts on Me." 

"Because I am your constant companion, there should be a lightness to your step that is observable to others." 

"When you view events from this perspective - through the Light of My universal Presence - fear loses its grip on you."
 
Personal Note:  I love how this devotional is written as if God speaking to reader.  What boldness!  It is full of bright light. 

"Seek My Face, speak to Me, and I will light up your mind."

New Year, New Word

I have enjoyed having a word to focus on during each of the past two years: 

freedom

transform

Since June I've been pondering what my word for 2014 would be.  There are a few that I mulled around with before figuring out the one that was to become my focus.

Protect
Protect has been on my mind for a number of months.  I have felt the need to have less influence in my life, and less examples and standards to compare myself to. I have made my blog private; only a handful have access to read it.  It's this desire within me that needs protection in order to grow: to pull closer to those I truly love and who truly love me, to be okay with less in my life, to accept myself and my life as I am and as it is.  It's the need to protect myself from being even more sucked into the social media way of life.  It's the desire to for deeper connection with my closest friends and family.  For the fruition of these goals and desires, protection is a necessary step.

Write
There are stories I concoct in my head, weaving together true anecdotes with fiction, and my thoughts with created characters.  There are complex ideas and topics to eek out through writing, and I desire to take time regularly to write diligently.  Yet I am in no rush to get the writing done.  All the alone time and full concentration it requires are things I don't have at this point in my life, and I am alright with that. 

Truth
Then I considered truth because so many lies exist in the world and flood my mind.  I have to fight against them, and the way to do it is by standing on God's truth, keeping His truth ever present in sight....  (some of the biggest lies for me are that what I'm doing is worth nothing because I make no money, and other such depressing thoughts that I've fought for a long time...) 

Truth led to light which then became clear that it was the word for me in 2014.  It came up in the Jesus Calling devotional I'm reading, by Sarah Young. 

Light
Another thought is my need to be more lighthearted... To be more "light"...  to laugh more, smile more; to stop being so darn serious! 
I've been reading such good words in the devotional I have, "Jesus Calling."  There's much about resting in His Peace, experiencing His Presence...  These things it's a struggle to find the time to do...  when it looks like nothing is being accomplished when I'm fighting against my human desire and tendency to do more, more, more. 

From my journal:
As I turned the page to read today's devotional (on 12/17/13), I read, "As you rest quietly in My Presence, My Light within you grows brighter and brighter."  The kids are playing trains with wooden tracks on the floor.  It's been snowing on and off all day.  Our couch is comfy and we are listening to our Christmas music station on Pandora.  I made the dough for Molasses Crinkles; we'll bake them into cookies later.

It's all about having the right perspective, in order to succeed well with joy, and peace; it's all about looking at things differently, from God's perspective - allowing Him to shine light into all the spaces of my life and depths of my heart. 

My word for 2014:  LIGHT

2 Corinthians 4:6

"For God, who said, 'Light shall shine out of darkness,' is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face Christ." 

2 Corinthians 4:17-18

"For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen, for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal."

(And what are those things that reflect eternity?)...

This is what I will seek this year, and light leads and guides me, and as I sit in the presence of the Spirit of my God, who will fill me with light as I rest in His Peace.

Hearts in the World

Heart bitten into leaf 

Heart shaped leaf 

Heart on my little girl's shirt 

Heart on my little girl's cheek 

Heart shaped by fungus growth 

Heart shaped by snowshoes pointing,

and me & my family.

Sharing with Clytie...  it's been a while...

One of Those, a poem by my father

This poem is by my Dad.... he won 2nd place in the annual Dylan Days contest (Bob Dylan, that is), and I'm so proud... my Dad is a world class poet.  Here it is:

One of Those ©....by RAK

if equinox delirium is moving in to stay
if all the good king's horses
are striking for more hay
if the earth should settle
into a final pose
give me time to draw my lines
and I'll take one of those

for every two-bit hustler
is a man of wealth and worth
and for every hard luck story,
there is one of myth and mirth
out as my days grow shorter
there is no scent of the rose
if only there were dreams to spare
i'd take one of those

talents's a judicious thing
it over steps it's bounds
as quickly as it's recognized
it's fired in rapid rounds
all that's left is skeleton
ten fingers and ten toes
as for moonlit melodies
give me one of those

a man insists on harmony
a man thrives on turmoil
soon the two are blended
absorbed into the soil
a man can see the future,
as far as tales he throws
what's happened to each second man?
i'll take one of those

there's something i've forgotten,
it's rotting in my brain
it disappears into the night
like a speeding train
with an all consuming appetite
I oversee the rows
of people lost and longing
and find i'm one of those

no drowning in self - pity
no torturous reserve
for anything you do in life
you get what you deserve
you've complicated matters
like weeds it grows and grows
and humans are mere numbers
and i am one of those

RAK