Sacred Space

Sacred Space

January 22nd, 2018

You draw me by Your kind embrace

Again and again to this sacred space

Water flows and wild birds sing

All Earth bursts with praise for the King

A sanctuary amid the trees

A secret place where I can see

With eyes afresh and heart ablaze

 Your tender love for me, always

Winter white and springtime green

Summer’s heat and Fall air keen

Each reveals a lovely part

Of Your vast and pure and joy-filled heart

You whisper to me in the wind

Your love You never will rescind

Though I may doubt and question why

Your love, it reaches to the sky

That You would fill this earthy place

And You would manifest Your grace

To one poor seeker, weak and wild

That You would call her “Daughter, Child”

43

It's become a tradition for me over the past few years to write a birthday blog post. And now it's that time again - I'll soon have completed my forty-third lap around the sun!

(Forty-three - wow. Seems so close to fifty, which I used to think was officially old age. But when I look at the fifty-somethings that I know, I'm so inspired - fifty is NOT old!)

As usual, it's been a pretty crazy year - I'm coming to realize that each year is it's own brand of crazy ☺ A cross-country move, a major healing, a renewed business opportunity... it's been a year-full of transition and transformation and trust, growth and goodness and grace.

What I'm most excited about, though, is a MAJOR breakthrough in my relationship with food. Just over three months ago, a friend of mine had posted a picture of she and her husband, who had achieved significant weight loss and health gains by following a ketogenic eating plan.

I was intrigued. I had been hearing about this particular eating plan (not diet - I have come to hate that word; this is NOT a diet, it's a life-change) and it sounded like something I might actually be able to DO. (Anyone who knows me at all will know that I've been trying to lose weight practically my whole life, with little to no lasting success; when you're four-foot-nine-and-a-half, even a little extra weight is a problem, and I'm dealing with a touch more than a little...)

So I went online, I did some research... and I started. In addition to losing weight and getting healthier, I was desperate to confront my life-long dysfunctional relationship with food. Food was everything for me - I turned to food in sadness, sickness, celebration, boredom, stress, uncertainty, gratitude... everything but hunger; not even sure I knew what that was!

Lo and behold, I saw results! I lost fifteen pounds in the first month, and since then it's consistently been one to two pounds per week - THIRTY POUNDS IN THREE MONTHS! Hel-lo! (This is a near-miracle to me - I've never been able to stick with any eating plan for more than six weeks!)

And not only have I lost weight (almost half-way to my goal!), but my relationship with food has changed drastically. I no longer turn to food in response to my emotions. Food has lost it's power over me. (Man, I can't even convey with words how incredibly awesome it is to be able to write that - I have been set free!)

(I'll pause here to address those of you who are preparing cautionary/advisory comments - I know both the positive and negative things that are said about Keto, and about weight-loss in general; but what I'm experiencing is success - for the first time ever. So comment if you must, but please don't be offended if I don't change my mind as a result ❤)

Because of all this, I approach forty-three in high spirits - it's so much fun to watch yourself shrink 😍 I eagerly anticipate all the grace-drenched messy goodness the year will hold. Bring on forty-three!

The Inevitable New Year's Post - 2018 Edition

Farewell, 2017... thanks for the lessons.

2018, let's do this!

I've been going over the events of the past year in my mind and trying to determine whether 2017 was a good year or a bad year. I've come to the conclusion that looking at a year (or anything, for that matter) in such a black-and-white way isn't helpful. It's much more complex than simply "good" or "bad".

Lots of really good things happened in 2017 - I was healed from bipolar disorder (see my previous post for details), my husband found a job he loves and is so good at, we moved to a lovely new city, the kids did well in school and have adjusted beautifully to our major life changes, I've adopted a new attitude towards food and am reaping significant benefits, I've laid the foundation for a successful home-based business and grew in my faith. Good!

But there have been really hard things, too - in finances, in relationships, in transitions, in health, in vocation, in faith.

I'm so thankful that hard doesn't equal bad, though - all of those struggles from the past year have resulted in so much growth and faith and wisdom and patience. I feel a strange gratitude for all of our struggles; we never would have grown as much without them.

As I consider the year ahead, none of the usual resolutions come to mind. I developed some very beneficial habits in 2017 (thanks be to God!) that I will continue to nurture and pursue and tweak in 2018. There are no "new leaves" that need to be turned over that I can see from here - which is an unfamiliar but welcome change.

I do want to continue the tradition of choosing a word for the year, though - even though I'm not sure how much of an impact this has had for me thus far. (I had to look up the words from other years; but I did remember 2017's!) I'm going to write it in big letters on the white board in my office, where I'll see it every day and be reminded to ponder it, study it, practice it and share it. (Actually, this particular one shouldn't be too hard to remember... ☺)

This year, I've chosen to focus on... (drumroll, please) ... JOY - particularly on the meaning of "the joy of the Lord is your strength" from Nehemiah. I want to know the joy, get the joy, and spread the joy around!

Do you have a word, or a goal, or a resolution as we enter 2018? Let's share and help each other towards growth and improvement and consistency and progress!