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2018 Lessons – Word and Art Expressions

February 6, 2018 By Jean Wise

2018 Lessons

What lessons have you learned so far in 2018?

According to researchers, people quit more than 80% of all New Year resolutions by the second week in February. I find the weather so dreary this time of year in Ohio so to learn this about the month regarding failure compounds the depression.

I don’t like resolutions. The negativity of their collapse is one reason I call them goals instead. I list what I feel God is asking me to work on, to experience, to become in the coming 12 months and plan steps to work towards them throughout the year.  Progress, not perfection.

Two broad “goals” that I wrote about on this blog for this year is the Year of Reading and the Year of Creativity. I thought I would share an update on these two areas, hoping my small steps forward may inspire your goals too.

2018 Lessons – Year of Reading.

Yes, I am reading more in 2018. 

I have discovered if I take the time to read 15-30 minutes in the morning, I absorb the information with more depth. The words linger in my mind throughout the day. They establish root in my soul.

Pat Flynn recommended being consistent in reading and put it into your schedule morning, noon, and evening. He advises us to dedicate time to read. For me, morning has worked out about 75% of the time but evening only about 25%. I start to read in the evening, can’t concentrate and the sleep monster attacks.

Yes, I am tackling all the “someday I want to read” books and am discovering more throughout the house. Do you think they multiple on their own? LOL

I did create an “editorial calendar” for Facebook Lives for the Healthy Spirituality Book Chat and have completed two of them. My goal is to go live twice a month, probably on Fridays on my Facebook author page,

Here is the video of one of them in case you are curious.

 

2018  Lessons – Year of Creativity

In 2018 I want to play with photography and fancy lettering. Adding doodling and dreaming to nourish my spirit.

I put onto my weekly calendar on Mondays – “set a time this week for creativity.”

I ordered Faith and Lettering by Krystal Whitten to serve as a basis for the lettering hobby. Am getting supplies this week and will hopefully start practicing by next week. I am lousy when it comes to fine motor skills, so this will be a bit challenging for me.

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I wanted to visit the Toledo Museum of Art and have an artist date with friends set up for early March. I am excited about this adventure.

Photography though has been the greatest pleasure so far. I watched some classes on Skillshare on macro (close up) photography. Gathered up my older cameras, including my DSLR camera. Researched best lenses and to my surprise, found one of the lenses I already had was highly recommended.

Last Sunday after church, I ventured out into the cold (remember I am not a cold weather outside person at all) and focused closely on God’s beauty. The details in God’s handiwork amazes me.

2018 lessons - photography

 

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Thanks for coming along with me on this journey. I do believe God is constantly shaping us, inviting us closer – and our hopes, dreams, and experiences are tools in his hands.

Tell me about your 2018 hopes and dreams and what, if any, progress you have made so far in 2018?  How is God shaping you this year? Let’s encourage each other onward.

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Filed Under: spiritual lessons, spiritual practices

Comments

  1. blankNancy Ruegg says

    February 6, 2018 at 4:22 pm

    Hurray for creative workouts for our brains and spirits! They do rejuvenate, don’t they? Your last photo of tree buds reminds me: I grabbed my binoculars this week to check on a squirrel and noticed buds on one of our trees–not visible without the binoculars, but THERE nonetheless. Though I don’t mind winter a bit, spring certainly has its positive features and the buds provided assurance that it IS on the way! P.S. That squirrel resting in a tree caught my attention because his posture looked a bit strange. Come to find out he was curled up tightly with the TOP of his head resting on the tree branch! Have you ever seen that before? I guess he was trying to get creative.

  2. blankMartha Orlando says

    February 6, 2018 at 4:09 pm

    I am SO impressed with your photography, Jean. Way to go! And reading? I’d like to do more of that as well as work on my own photography skills. As you know, I’m in the midst of some major adjustments here at home, so no patterns have been set in stone. Sometimes, I simply have to grab the moment when it appears. The hardest thing for me to get accustomed to is the TV being on so much – my MIL has her favorite shows and we want her to feel at home with us. For silence and solitude, I have to either go outdoors or retreat to the bedroom. God will help, I know, in all these adjustments. Thank you for your prayers!

  3. blankLisa notes says

    February 6, 2018 at 2:16 pm

    I love morning reading the best, too. I just don’t always make time for it. Instead I think I’ll just catch up on a few other things first, then I’ll read. But it doesn’t usually work out. ha. I need to prioritize it and let that be that.

  4. blankLaura Rath says

    February 6, 2018 at 8:49 am

    Hi Jean, I decided last year that I wanted to read more (like I used to) and have continued into this year. I keep a list of the books I’ve read or listened to (I recently discovered Playaways), which lets me know how I’m doing. It’s also really helpful for remembering authors, especially if they were new to me. (I work at a public library now, so there is no shortage of books!!) Blessings, Laura

Healthy Spirituality – a sacred space to nurture your faith, grow closer to God, and belong to a community, walking together on life’s journey. This blog is written by author, speaker and retreat leader Jean Wise

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