Tag: 2020

Celebrating You in 2020

Hey Mama,

We did it! Are you ready to celebrate? We made it to the end of one whacky, nutty, turbulent, hard year.

Can you believe it’s December 31?

Are you dancing for joy or just barely crawling toward midnight? Whichever one, I hope you can find time today to celebrate. You made it!

And tomorrow we get to start fresh.

I know it’s been challenging (are we over that word yet?). It’s been filled with the unexpected. And loss. It’s caused us to re-evaluate our lives like never before. What really and truly matters? What path was I even on? And why? Do I want to stay on that same path or forge a new one? What do I really want out of life? How do I create the life I want?

I have asked myself all of those questions (and more) this year.

I’ve seen lots of people cursing the year or making fun of those who started the year by saying it would be ‘2020: the year of perfect vision’.

But honestly, I have been calling this my year of clarity. Maybe it wasn’t the 20-20 vision I had planned or expected, but it has brought some crystal-clear vision for me, personally. I faced some hard decisions and walked through the muck of getting the answers. I know what I want and how to get there. I’m thankful, crazy thankful, that despite all the difficulties, I found truth and clarity.

What about you? Did this year bring up these questions for you? Have you been able to get clear on what matters to you? What you want in life? Where you want your family to go? What are the things you want to be and know and do and experience?

If not, I suggest you start by making a list of all the things you are thankful for. Go back to January and go week by week. There is something to be thankful for in each day, but if that seems too daunting, just look at the week or the month.

List anything and everything that comes to mind. This practice will help you see all that God has blessed you with and what you want more of.

Next, make two columns, one for the things you want to keep or welcome in your life, and the other for the things you’d like to say goodbye to.

This could be as simple as . . .

Column A – Keep or Welcome

Eat green veggies 3x/week

Start a new business by March 1

Start the day with Bible reading

Call one friend every Wednesday

Column B – Bye Felicia

Cut out sugar Mon-Fri

Quit job by July 1

Cut phone time to 2 hours/day or less

Assess apps to see if they are necessary

And so forth . . .

Next, write out your dreams.

List them out. No matter how small or how massive! Don’t let your logical thinking get in the way. Really go crazy with it!

Who are you? What do you feel you were created for? Where do you want to be one year from now? What steps do you need to take for those dreams to become a reality in your life?

My dream is for more freedom in my life. Thanks to good ole 2020, I now have that. Because of the lockdown and being furloughed back in March, I was able to reevaluate and decide what I want that freedom to look like and how to make that happen.

If you are floundering or feel crushed under the weight of this year, in addition to the exercises above, I recommend listening to messages and reading books that can help propel you forward. Being stuck is a sucky-duck place to be.

I want you to be brought out to a spacious, free-to-twirl-around place (see two of my favorite verses in Psalm 18:19 and Psalm 118:5). That’s God’s heart for us, as His daughters.

Here are some of my favorite messages, books and music that helped me grow, ministered to me, or brought me into worship this year . . .

Myles Munroe’s Overcoming Seasons of Crisis

James Clear’s Atomic Habits

Jeff Olson’s The Slight Edge

Dr. Cindy Trimm’s Commanding Your Morning

Bill Johnson’s Born for Significance

Hillsong’s King of Kings

Bethel’s Goodness of God

Elevation Church/Kari Jobe/Cody Carnes’ The Blessing

Another fantastic resource I want you to know about is the read through the Bible in a year plan I followed this year. It’s the Bible Recap on the You Version Bible App. This year I did something I’ve never done before. I listened to the entire Bible! I loved it and highly recommend it. There is also a daily podcast that goes along with the readings. And don’t miss the intro videos for each book. It’s a special resource, and I hope you check it out if you’re interested in reading (or listening!) through the Bible in 2021.

Well, my Friend, I want you to know that I’m proud of you. You accomplished a heck of a lot in 2020. I’m giving you a standing ovation!

I’d love to hear about your dreams and plans for the new year. Please drop them in the comments. I read every word.

Thinking of you,

Scarlett xo

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Hey there, Mama,

Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

How is your week going?

Happy July! Happy summertime! We’ve made it halfway through 2020!

What are you up to this week?

Here in the United States, all the states are opening (or, in some cases, closing again) at different rates. In Virginia, we’ve had some of the most strict regulations and are slowly opening back up. Phase 3 begins today and hopefully stays that way. Family and friends in Texas are dealing with the reigns tightening again because things opened up too soon.

What phase is your state or country in now?

What does your summer look like for you? Have you had to cancel or change your original plans?

How are you coping with all the changes? And staying home so much of the time?

Even though we have homeschooled for many years, this staying home business has been tough on my younger girls and me. We usually like to be on the go! We’re still hoping to travel, though. We have a new baby cousin to meet! 

It is still so surreal to think much about all the activities and events that are being canceled. When thinking about it causes me to become anxious or sad, I give myself permission to feel all the feels. I used to be a “stuffer” or a “just push through it” kind of person. I am a positive person and like to dwell on the bright side of life. Life is too short to dwell on the negative. 

But life throws some curveballs. Like a global pandemic. And in the past few years, I’ve learned to sit in the dust for a while after the ball hits the ground.  It’s messy. I’ve never liked the dust. It makes me sneeze and sniffle, my eyes get bloodshot, my throat tightens up and gets scratchy, and the dust gets on everything. It feels gritty. The particles linger in the air for a long time. 

But once the dust settles, it’s good to just be. To just sit. To feel all the sorrow and sadness. To acknowledge the disappointment, the longing for things to be different. To breathe out the anxiety. To breathe out the dust.  And then, after I give those feelings some time and attention, I move my focus to peace. 

And I start breathing in the clean air and hope and refreshment. 

My faith is the foundation of my life, so I ask Jesus to sit with me in the mess. He made the dust, and me, so dust doesn’t seem to faze Him one bit. He doesn’t get anxious or stressed out or lose His cool. He’s perfectly calm and is perfect peace and makes the best companion for just being. He knows all the details, so I don’t even have to say much or even anything at all. We just hang out for a while. He knows my needs, and I know His love and goodness and compassion and kindness. He gives me His heavenly perspective, and I refocus my attention on the good again.

I let Him dust me off. Then we get up and move on to the next thing. 

Thinking of you today,

Scarlett xo