SimplyLife

Thick fog settled in over the high desert this morning. Fog so dense, mountains to the east and west couldn't be seen. How appropriate for the beginning of the new year.  As exciting as it is with fresh calendars, goals to lose weight, or get organized, we do not even know what this day will hold, much less what six months from now will be like. Maybe that's why we cling to the past. It's safe in a way. We know exactly what happens and how it turns out. The year now lying before us is unknown territory, shrouded in the mist, hidden from our eyes. A bit scary and exciting all at once. The fog will lift today, its veil dissolving in the sunlight. It's much like the layers of each day being revealed as we do the living of them, trusting in the One who does know the future.  The dissipation of the fog is all about the light that clears away the grayness. The sunlight overcomes the fog one step at a time, and before you know it, the mountains are visible again.  Take the...

I love a new year.  A mental list of projects begins to bubble, just like yeast and warm water happily work together. I get excited about tossing out the accumulation of "stuff" in closets, in the garage--everywhere. The seed catalogs begin to arrive and gardening plans bloom exponentially. Everything seems possible in the new year moment. My husband gets that "deer in the headlights" look as I attempt to include him in all of the reorganization and project lists. Then there are those fresh blank calendars to write in birthdays and anniversaries, holidays, and meetings for work. (The fresh inky paper even smells good.) I'll bet there are quite a few of you that enjoy the calendar thing. Those nice little squares begin to fill with activities that are planned, orderly, and mostly happy. In my very Type "A" way, I  write them onto the paper, enter them into my electronic calendar, and set reminders to pop up at the right time on the computer screen. Th...