2025 Recap

My writing friend, Amy Weinland Daughters, posted this hilarious spoof on the goals we set and the ones we actually achieve. I acknowledge my recap post will be somewhat like this. It won't really interest my readers (no offense if you skip it). I'm primarily writing it for personal reflection on my year's goals. 

Hoping to be intentional in 2025, I started a progress file where I tracked various things daily. I kept stats on my exercise, purging, letter-writing, fasting, and (towards the end) writing for publication. Although this was very helpful in many ways, I still failed to be as productive as I would have liked. You can set the goal. You can track the progress. But, you still have to put in the work to have something to write down. Ha! Sadly, I'm not the most disciplined person.

Exercise: I do believe tracking helps me stay committed to exercise. I'm not a huge walker. Many people put in 10,000 steps a day. I'm far too sendentary, but don't see that changing any time soon. Still, I try to get my treadmill time (or outdoor walks) in every morning. I exercised on 90% of the days (327/365) this year. My mileage declined when I got a new and more narrow treadmill. It declined further after I fell on that treadmill. Still, I walked over 400 miles and averaged 1.25 miles. As I threw out my 2024-2025 planner, I noted that in 2024 I consistently walked 295 out of 366 days (81% of days) for 472-1/3 miles (ave. 1.6 miles). Of course, that was when I was trying to lose weight for my son's wedding.

Purging: I'm a hoarder. I've always admitted this freely. However, I really had hoped to be more successful in my purging efforts. There are so many negative emotions associated with purging. While I enjoyed going through the minutia of past letters and school files, the actual process of getting rid of many items was draining. My year-end total was 102-2/3 hours. I only worked on purging for 51% [186/365] days. On those days, I averaged 33 minutes/day. It is better than nothing, but still feels like diddly-squat. Now that my husband has reduced the estimated time we have left living in this home, I'm wishing I had been far more diligent. May was a total wash, as was December. February was my most productive month (24 hours of purging in 25/28 days).

Fasting: My goal was to fast every Monday in 2025. I only missed the Monday of the spring break trip and the Monday of our 35th anniversary, but I made up for those dates by fasting on another day in those weeks. At the beginning, I started slowly with partial days (fasting until 2 p.m., then 4 p.m., then 6 p.m., then 8 p.m.). But in February, I aimed for mostly full days. By the end of the year, I had fasted 54 days (21 partial days and 33 full days). 

I am not well-suited for fasting. It was difficult in the usual ways, but was also difficult emotionally. It seemed like the full day fasts left me overwhelmed with despair rather than trust. As I poured out my groanings over difficult situations in our family/friends' lives, the focus on the darkness of our tunnel drowned out the consolation of the light God offers. I think, in my clinical depression, I struggle with staying positive and observing the light more than the darkness. I'm a glass half-empty kinda gal. 

Struggles with our prodigal, family tensions, the loss of my mother and subsequent new love my father is fixated on, health questions, the state of our world... it gets to be too much. I think I would have done far better if I had spent my fasting time in singing scriptural promises rather than outlining the various weights and burdens we carry. If I had it to do over again (and I'm not planning on this rigorous fasting in 2026), I would have taken more of the approach I used with my 2023 prayer project. I would incorporate scripture, pray for requests but also praise for answers, and spend more time focused on God's enduring attributes than on the encompassing obstacles before us.  

Writing: I'm not sure I kept accurate records for correspondence. I mostly charted letters sent by snail mail or from my personal email. By not recording letters sent from my author email, I know these stats are incomplete. In all, I mailed 21 letters or packages (sometimes with my book), and sent 51 personal emails.

The biggest victory was resuming writing projects after a stroke of luck with my first goal in September of just putting in 20 minutes finding markets. I wrote and submitted 2 pieces in September (1 of those was published in a digital magazine). I spent 12 hours writing on 13/30 days in that month. In October, I worked on writing research for 100 minutes. I worked on 2 separate projects on 15/31 days for a total of 11.5 hours (8786 words). In November, I spent an hour on writing research. I participated in the Rabbit Room's Poem-a-Day challenge, completing 20 poems from the 30 prompts. Plus, I started a non-fiction book project, working on 22/30 days for a total of 23-1/3 hours (24,867 words). This was nowhere close to the 50 thousand-plus words of Novembers past, but still an accomplishment. Then, as soon as Thanksgiving hit, I petered out to 1 writing day and 1 day reviewing the non-fiction work to date.

I set out to fast and pray, and to purge hoarded belongings. I suppose I met those goals, but wish I had done far better. If only I had known, at the outset of the year, that my husband hopes to move by fall of 2026. Yikes!

For the coming year, I'm not setting hard and fast goals (quantitative goals). At the end of 2025, I read an outstanding essay on Substack by Suleika Jaouad, called "Against Resolutions." The author argues that rituals are more effective than resolutions. "Where resolutions chase outcomes, rituals attend to process." Resolutions lead to all-or-nothing thinking. Michael Bierut said it is like walking a tightrope, where peril increases with each step, until you become convinced you'll never make it across. 

The author ends with this observation, "That's what ritual gives me now. Not a guarantee, not an outcome, not a transformation on a deadline, but a means of staying in motion without hardening, to keep my balance without gripping so tightly... no grand reinvention here--only the patient work of showing up, again and again, nudging myself millimeter by millimeter toward the person I'm becoming."

While I think I've already been focused on ritual, this year I am leaning into 3 words (not an annual word, but a word progression):

WATCH 🠊 WITNESS 🠊 SPREAD

WATCH, as in the sense of expectant anticipation. I want to watch for the return of Christ. I want to watch for God's intervention in our lives (and especially in the life of my prodigal son).

"The end of all things is at hand; be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer." - 1 Peter 4:7

"Therefore let us not sleep, as others; but let us watch and be sober." - 1 Thessalonians 5:6

"Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving." - Colossians 4:2

"Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man." - Luke 21:36

WITNESS, as in what you see when you watch. I want to witness God's moving and transforming power.

"Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you today." - Exodus 14:13

WITNESS, as in give a testimony of the gospel's power transforming my life. I want to seize more opportunities (whatever He gives) to share my faith.

"Shew how great things God hath done unto thee." - Luke 8:39

"And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all." - Acts 4:33

"And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death." - Revelation 12:11

SPREAD, as in disseminate God's Word into the world. I started this year's devotions adding a book by Cheryl Ford, called Triumphs of the Heart: The Pursuit of Joyful Living. In one of the first sections, she considers the watchful heart of Anna in the Bible. From this chapter, I found my verse for 2026:

"But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him." - 2 Corinthians 2:14

August 2025 Purging Momentum Restored

In my last purging update, I bemoaned my loss of minimizing mojo. The complications of our summer made concentration and purpose falter. May was a complete bust with not a second spent on purging. June only netted 2 hours of purging time (finally getting rid of old medals and trophies I won for music competitions back in my teen years). At the beginning of July, I knew something had to change. I decided to attack the problem earlier in the day. As soon as I completed my morning devotional time, I set out to spend at least 20 minutes in purging. Often, I ended up working longer. I guess that principle is correct, "Eat the frog." Here's a brief video, if you've never encountered that helpful productivity phrase.

I'm not sure what triggered my hoarding tendencies. In my family-of-origin, we moved frequently. My parents were Salvation Army officers and we moved every 2-3 years. Our orders arrived one month before the move. Thus, we usually moved unopened boxes from the previous move. Unable to find what we knew we had in the boxes, we often made duplicate purchases. The boxes grew and grew. For a family of seven, such multiplication was downright dangerous.

I also suffer from a scarcity mentality. It is second nature to worry if we will have enough. If something goes on sale, I feel compelled to buy it so we will have it when we might not have enough to cover that purchase later. My frugality plays in here, as well. If I think I'm saving, I'm more likely to buy and accumulate more than we need. I don't want to throw things out because I might need them at some point in the future.

I am only now beginning to recognize some of this as a sickness. In July, I focused efforts on whittling down my accumulation of craft supplies. Boy, did I like crafts! Now you should ask, "so, you're crafty?" Well, no, not really. In truth, the crafts I have completed are often pathetic. Early in our marriage, I used to give homemade gifts. It got to the point where I apologized, realizing it wasn't truly a gift if the thing looked like a two-year-old threw it together from pipe-cleaners and tissue paper. 

The only thing I really enjoyed and excelled at was cross-stitching. Even with that, I can only think of two cross-stitch gifts I gave that were appreciated. In college, I made a very basic (i.e, ugly... without color or appeal), framed cross-stitching of a verse from an Amy Grant song about "my precious family" being "more than an heirloom to me." My mother loved it and proudly displayed it. Then, I bought a kit for making a cross-stitch clock and gave that to my mother-in-law. Although I don't think she loved it, she did display it for many years in her kitchen.

I spent many hours purging my crafts supplies. Some of these were inherited supplies. My grandmother's sister made and sold crafts. Thus, upon her death, I was bequeathed loads of frames and mats. I don't think I ever used one. Here are four separate lots of supplies I had hoped to sell to some other crazed craft hoarder (Few must struggle as I do; I'm having no success at selling these supplies):

It was somewhat nostalgic to come across the crafts I made with my special education basic life skills classes. We made a variety of plastic canvas Christmas ornaments and fridge magnets. (Sadly, I sent the sparkly snowflake ornament and the balloon photo frame samples to Goodwill before I snapped the photo of our projects). We also used plastic canvas to sew a set of mug rugs. Another easy craft was a necklace made from bandanas, cotton balls, and beads. School colors were a big hit. I doubted anyone would bite at old-fashioned plastic canvas patterns, materials, or yarn. Those went to Goodwill.

Several of the crafts supplies (pipe-cleaners, bells, googly eyes, felt, fabric scraps, etc.) went to my local grade school. I think the teachers appreciated the donation (craft supplies, recess toys, games, puppets, and over 100 books, including a set of the Laura Ingalls Wilder series since we had two, the Origami Yoda series, and a variety of classic and vintage books):

In July, I purged on 84% of the days for a total of 12 hours. Besides the donation to the school, I worked on some bookshelves downstairs (oh, we have oodles of bookshelves and tons of books - this is a very hard category for me to purge from). I managed to cull almost 200 books. Parting with books is often like cutting off a digit. I still have half the downstairs bookshelf area to get to. 

I also spent a fair amount of time going through piles of magazines. When I taught high school, I often gave creative assignments asking the students to use magazine pictures to illustrate lines from literature (for example, one group found an image of a woman horrified to see her dog trailing in muddy steps on the carpet and paired that with Shakespeare's line, "Out d@mn spot!"). I probably should have merely thrown the stacks away, but instead skimmed through for ideas or recipes I might want to keep. 

In August, we also attempted to sort things in Sean's room. I think we sent 2 or 3 piles of clothes to Goodwill. Once football was over, Sean dropped a lot of weight and many items no longer fit. We attempted to donate some football gear (some even new with tags), but the high school athletic office never got back to me. Thus, in August, I purged on 20 days (66% of the days) for a total of 15 hours. While I do feel I'm making better progress now, I'm amazed at how much I still need to do. Thankfully, we do not plan to move until later in 2026, so hopefully my purging progress will persist. In the meantime, let me know if you're a crafter in search of hoarded supplies. Ha!

July 2025 - Enduring

Photo by Maddi Bazzocco on Unsplash

What a blessing to reach the end of July 2025. This has been a challenging summer, so far. Myriads of difficulties I cannot discuss, but through which we are enduring with the help of the Lord. He continues to watch over us, protecting and providing. When worries assail, we lift praises for His provision to fend off the cumbersome chains of consuming concern.

This morning, I woke to find flooding in the basement. The men we paid to repair the roof took almost two months to come and then did not complete the repairs (saying they are waiting on an appeal to the insurance company for more extensive roof repairs). Thus, we are without gutters and the rain absolutely poured last night. I had moved several bags and boxes full of craft supplies I had purged and hoped to sell. They had been close to the window where it sometimes floods. Alas, given the lack of gutters, the flooding was in the very area where I had moved the items. One box was destroyed, but I had cardboard in the bottom and that kept the contents from damage. Plus, nothing leaked through the plastic bags, so it was merely a matter of drying off the bottoms. Now, I'm wondering if I should merely take all of it to Goodwill and get it out of the house without hopes of recouping any of the money I shelled out over the years on craft supplies I never got around to using.

After Sean's dentist appointment in early July, we learned he'd need all four wisdom teeth extracted. Just prior to the surgery date, his retainer broke, so I had to schedule a fitting for a new one just days after the wisdom teeth were removed. He is healing well, but we weren't without worry. On the first day, when he returned home, I was concerned about his overnight fast. I wanted him to eat something prior to taking the first pain meds. But, then, I worried food might be lodged in the extraction sites, so I handed him the irrigator tool they had sent home along with the gauze. As soon as he shot liquid into the site, he had to sit down for dizziness and pain. He stopped immediately, but after I called the office, I learned he wasn't supposed to use that instrument until the 5th day. Anxiety set in. 

When Bryce had his wisdom teeth removed, he ended up getting dry socket. My sister-in-law, Miriam, (once a dental technician) happened to be visiting and graciously walked us through best steps for dealing with dry socket. I was sure I had just doomed Sean to the pain his brother experienced. Thankfully, with Miriam's current encouragement, we iced regularly (20 minutes on and 20 minutes off) and he managed to escape the problem of dry socket. His girlfriend Claire came to comfort him and brought him a smoothie (very helpful, since we had few foods on hand soft enough that he could eat). He was fitted for a new retainer on Monday and they reported no appearance of dry socket at all. Yay!

I am still struggling with my back after my June fall on the treadmill. Although I can walk fine (and have gotten back on the treadmill successfully on days when it is raining), at night it still twinges when I attempt to sleep on my side (my natural preference). Not sure why that area is not healing, but I'm too much of a wimp to go to a doctor. Plus, it seems like such a minor ache. It is only an inconvenience. Not a tangible threat.

While listening to the Christian radio station in the car, I heard about an iced tea company that placed a vending machine next to a bench. The vending machine offered a free iced tea if you place your phone in the machine temporarily. Once the iced tea was dispensed, a sign flashed on the screen indicating the phone would be held for ten minutes. Patrons were encouraged to take a "tea break." Apparently, some did sit on the bench and relax for the ten minutes, refreshed by the forced leisure. Others were furious to learn they could not get their phone back immediately. The radio announcer suggested we might benefit from taking fasts from our phones.

I set out to do just that on my weekly fast day that week. I only managed 5-1/2 hours before it was necessary to use my phone for a mapping app. Not great success. Plus, I forgot to implement that into my fasting this week. Perhaps I'll try to incorporate it more fully in August. I have been faithfully fasting. Plus, in July, I managed to revamp my purging efforts (more about that in my quarterly purging post due at the end of August).

Lastly, I'm praising God for an increase in traffic on this meager book review blog. There were over 52 thousand hits last month, and I thought it might just be a fluke. This month received less, but not significantly. On this last day in July, Blogger tells me there were over 43 thousand hits on my blog this month. How I pray readers will find encouragement for living and recommendations for reading!

May 2025 Purging Stasis

My grand hopes for spending a year in devoted activity of purging derailed. March hours declined. April hours diminished. May hours tanked entirely. I may never get the purging mojo back.

In March, I purged 12 out of the 31 days (40%) for a total of 10 hours (average of 1/3 hour a day). I worked through more saved correspondence, this time from a missionary couple whose work we followed for years, from old friends, and from my sister. I unearthed a shell-covered trinket jar, a gift from a friend during my missionary stint in the Philippines:

When I sent this photo to Leah, she was overcome that I still had the gift in my possession. I know it is one of the few I kept. I ended up getting rid, years ago, of a wicker purse, a coin purse, and a handmade plaque made out small matchstick-style wood.

I also stumbled upon Bryce's baby book (probably unopened since he was a toddler). Then, I found these two I had for Trevor and Sean... absolutely empty, apart from the wrist bracelet from my youngest son's birth.

What a treasure trove I found in a huge pile of letters from my friends in England, the Mitchells! I took photos and sent a few to Sarah Mitchell, who was equally thrilled. We reflected together on some of the details mentioned and relished the joy our sustained friendship brings.

In April, I purged 10 out of the 30 days (33%) for a total of 8.5 hours (averaging not quite 20 minutes a day). I tackled the drawers of my downstairs desk. Then, for variety, I began purging clothes from my closet. I got rid of half my jeans. 

I purged items from my bedside table and moved on to old GED teaching files. Although I purged 24 games and puzzles, I still have not decided whether I will offer them to the local elementary school or try to get a small bit of money by taking them to Half Price Books.

In working on the puppets box, I found I could not let go of the beloved puppets John used to animate for Bryce when he was little. So, I kept Ronald and Dopey, Elmo and Piglet, a hamster and an iguana. I will offer the rest (14  characters and animals) to the schools or, perhaps, a church.

On the first day of May, our lives upended in a drastic way and I have not been able to bring myself to work on purging. I spend much time in prayer, much time disassociating, much time worrying, and not enough time doing the things I really should. Hopefully, I will not get to the end of this purging year and find this graphic to be true:

At least I can say that during the past few months, I have cut down on spending for things. I'm trying to only purchase necessities. In light of that, I must coupon-flex, in conclusion. I had a birthday coupon and several others to apply to this $10.49 shampoo at CVS, which brought the price down to a little over a buck. Can you see my fist pump?

February 2025 Purging Progress

In order to really stick to any resolution, it helps to be intentional and accountable for progress. When I undertook my 2023 Facebook Prayer Project, I held to particular structure and documentation. This was a tremendous help in keeping me going. This year, my documentation is meant to keep me plugging away at my two-part goals of fasting and purging. Thus, I try to keep a daily tab on these efforts. Plus, purging is hard for me. When I find something my heart longs to keep, I can make note of it and move on with more ease.

I struggled with the record-keeping, however. At first, I was writing down what was eliminated. This was simple when I was dealing with Christmas items, shoes, books, magazines, and even writing utensils. Those were easily calculated. However, then I began sorting through old teaching files and correspondence. Tossing piles of papers is a bit harder to quantify. In looking back over my daily notes, I purged 537 items. Since some of these were merely pencils or pens, I kept track of bags filled for Goodwill (5). Speaking of pencils, how is this even possible???

I decided to offer the better school supplies (certainly not this pencil nub), teaching materials, and games to my local elementary school (once I've cleared the whole section of the basement that I am tackling). Thus, I have two bags heading there (if they respond with interest). By January 22nd, I began tracking how much time I spent in purging activities. Of those 37 days, I worked 30 hours (approximately 3/4 hour a day). Mainly, I am keeping track of things in order to keep up the momentum and to be able to prove to my husband that I CAN, indeed, tackle my clutter.

What amazes me is how much fun I'm having. I have always dreaded tackling my clutter. But, I'm knee-deep in things of the past and loving every minute of it. There is still a tendency to keep more than I should (how do I get rid of all the correspondence from my beloved Mitchell family in England?), but I can take photos of what I don't keep. Or I can write of them here.

Some funnies I found but wanted to toss:

hipatitus = being perpetually cool

intaxication = the feeling of elation one gets when receiving a tax refund, lasting until you realize the money was yours to begin with

bozone = the layer around some people which inhibits wisdom from penetrating

- Energizer Bunny arrested - charged with battery

- A pessimist's blood type is always B-negative

- Shotgun wedding - a case of wife or death

- I used to work in a blanket factory, but it folded

- Marriage is the mourning after the knot before

- A hangover is the wrath of grapes

- Banning the bra was a big flop

- Sea captains don't like crew cuts

When I discovered my sons' 4th grade journals, I actually sent a thank you note to their teacher (still teaching at their elementary school). It was so funny to read their entries. In one, Sean was bemoaning the fact that his older brother would not be returning home for the summer because he was going to live in an apartment near an internship. He wrote, "They grow up so fast." Ha!

Next, I tackled the files from my minimal years of teaching. My experiences with teaching were not entirely pleasant. In my first year, I was the sole English teacher for a small rural Illinois high school. I had 6 preps: Fresh. Eng., Soph. Eng., Jr. Eng., Sr. Eng., Creative Writing, and Drama. Not only was I stretched to the breaking point, but I had such high expectations and ideals. I felt it was all on me to prepare them for future college expectations. Perhaps I confused the two. In any case, while purging, I found a letter from a mother requesting extra work to help her daughter save an abysmal grade. I shuddered as I read my response, touting the importance of fairness and accountability. I was mortified! I actually sought this mother's old email (she had worked at the local university) and sent her a much-belated apology letter (it is out in the ether, even if she never receives it). Now that I have longed for a second chance for a child, I can sympathize. Back then, not so much!

Thankfully, I also found files from my favorite class, summer school speech. What a blast I had with those students. Not only had I softened, but I gave so many hands-on, interactive activities. When I taught non-verbal communication, I brought in a television and showed 5 minutes of "Bernice Bobs Her Hair," with the sound off. Then, I turned the tv around and showed 5 minutes with just the sound, and finally 5 minutes with both visual and audio clues. Each time, I asked the students to make predictions about what was going on. Then, for sheer fun, we watched the whole movie. To teach personal space, I moved all the desks into one clump in the center of the room and required students to sit in their chairs there for 5 minutes. They were so relieved to move back to the original desk arrangement.

I found 2 copies of my college commencement program (seeing all those old names sent me searching on FB). When I found Bryce's baby book, I discovered the newspaper announcement which had his (later) best friend's announcement just above his. I sobbed when I found an unused, now defunct, $20 Borders gift card that had been a parting gift when we moved to Indiana. I actually tossed all but the few written on pages from my own baby book. In happening upon this photo from when I was five, I'm wondering why I didn't get the memo to wear white like everyone else?

Sorting through my college folders brought back great memories. In my Theology of Culture class, I had to keep a current events journal. Isn't this entry a kicker?

I had always remembered my Bible Geography class for the creative way the instructor tested our knowledge. Thus, I was thrilled to find and capture this quiz from his class:

Finally, it was such fun to re-read old correspondence. I found a letter my dad had sent when I was in the Philippines on a mission trip. In it, he explained the events of one evening when he woke at 4 a.m. realizing he had forgotten to have his evening devotions. He was praying and heard a tapping sound outside, coming from the Pizza Hut next door. He watched a burglar enter and called the police. Eleven squad cars surrounded the place and they came begging a hanger, so they could break into the back door. They returned again to ask if he was positive that the burglar was still in there. He assured them he had been watching faithfully. A few days later, he learned that the man had shut himself into the large cooler and passed out. Lucky for the burglar (an ex-employee who had already broken in once before), they found him and saved his life. My dad ended that paragraph with, "No, we haven't gotten a free pizza yet." Ha!

Here's a flyer I found for one of our Salvation Army outreach events, showcasing a photo of my baby brother, Tim, playing an Alto horn:

I had to text Tim a photo of a letter he sent to me with highlights from his vacation when he was around ten. He detailed every state they went through, even including multiple ones "where nothing happened," and every item he purchased. He finally explained that he had saved up $51 from his paper route job and spent all but 13 cents of it. He ended by saying, "Well, I guess I should get to bed. I started at 3 and now it's 10:27." He texted back, "What's going on? This letter took me 7.5 hours to write!! I'm so glad I gave such a detailed account. Even of the states where nothing happened! Hilarious!"

See what I mean? Great fun poring over items hoarded from the past. This is the reason I'm a pack-rat. I cannot bear to part with the detritus that makes me smile. Still, after 2 months purging work, I'm making some progress!

December 2024 This and That

Somehow I didn't finish a re-cap of events in December in time to post at the end of the year, so bear with me as I look back now.

POEM:

Early in December, my sister (who is an officer in The Salvation Army) requested I write up a poem for her to use for her 3rd Sunday in Advent when she would preach on the wise men and the shepherds seeking. Initially, it was merely a poem. But just before I sent it to her, my devotional mentioned the song, "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing." What good fortune! It fit the meter and rhythm perfectly. So, they sang my poem, "Longing for Christmas," to that tune on the 3rd Advent Sunday.

I posted the lyrics on Facebook. A friend who lives in another country took me to task, saying I only shared part of the story. This person argued the emphasis should not be on the birth, but always upon the death of Christ, because that provides atonement. They said the Bible doesn't emphasize Christ's birth or provide a date. While I agree that atonement only was possible because our Savior died on the cross, I celebrate His birth, because without it, we would still be in darkness (and indeed, it often feels as if we are still in darkness in the current state of this world). I will give this more thought (couldn't during preparations for Bryce and Elizabeth's Christmas visit). Perhaps I will add a fifth verse to emphasize the Light willingly entered darkness and separation from the Father on our behalf to reconcile us to God when we trust Him and accept His gift of salvation from sin (as purchased through His death on the cross).

PURCHASES

Our old navy couch set was becoming unbearable because the pressure of reclining had caused the foundation to sag. In 2023, a friend and her chiropractor husband visited. He couldn't even bear to sit in our loveseat. He jumped up and made an excuse to stand during the visit. Thus, on Black Friday, we snagged a holiday deal. I'm thinking now, the pressure for a snap decision, within the sale window, was detrimental. 

I went in with two options in mind, but neither were available to sit in and try out (no floor models for those less expensive sets, of course). The sales clerk led us to the pricier models and encouraged us to buy a set with power reclining (our previous was a manual recliner). When I sat on the loveseat of the one we settled on, I could not believe the softness of the fabric. It was a lighter color than I'd wanted and more expensive than I wanted. Still, the window was closing, and we needed to decide. Because of the extra expense, my husband vetoed the protection plan. I'm a catastrophizer. The whole drive home, I had images of the dog vomiting on the couch or someone spilling a drink on the loveseat. But what's done is done.

The set was due for delivery on Friday the 13th. Hmm. What a fright we received when only the couch arrived. I again jumped to worry, envisioning our holiday visit with only seating availability for 3 people. Thankfully, my husband called and arranged the loveseat delivery on the Thursday prior to Bryce and Elizabeth's arrival. Once both pieces were in place, we realized the set didn't blend well with our carpet. We ordered an area rug, but it did not arrive until after Bryce and Elizabeth returned to Dallas. I'd love to say I feel no regrets, but I'm not sold on this new arrangement. Since the couch is so tall, my feet cannot touch the ground when I sit on it. The power reclining requires longer to right itself than when you just pull a lever. The color is not what I had hoped for. Again, what's done is done, sadly.

PUZZLES

In December, with extra time out of school, Sean and Claire and I worked on two puzzles. The first was a 1000-piece one with cereal boxes. Claire has wicked puzzling skills! If I couldn't figure out where a piece belonged, I'd hand it to her and within seconds she'd be popping it into place.

Our second puzzle was 3-dimensional and more difficult (I hardly helped at all). Here's the box and the final product of the Harry Potter Knight Bus:

PRESENTS

I received some fun presents this year. My husband gave me 2 purple t-shirts with phrases about reading, a book about C.S. Lewis's brother Warnie, and gift cards to my favorite fast-food restaurants. Bryce and Elizabeth gave me a wedding memento mouse pad, and a beautiful framed family photo (plus some chocolate - yum). Sean gave me a Harry Potter puzzle, so I see more puzzling on the horizon, but maybe not until spring break. Claire gave me a Harry Potter Monopoly game, which we played one day during the break (Sean won, but we all had fun, I think).

PARTIES

After Christmas, I went to a birthday party at a tea shop about a half hour away. They offer a British high tea and other such options. How thrilling to get a scone with clotted cream. We all wore tiaras, which was fun!

PROJECTS

I have gone back and forth about a project for the year. It feels empty, not picking up the prayer project I tackled two years in a row. I decided against printing out the whole Bible. My wrists can barely manage my morning pages (daily free association writing/journaling I do after my devotions each morning). Perhaps I could type a Psalm a day. That idea falls flat for me, too. 

Another goal is to spend time in fasting and prayer for my sons. I am starting slow, with liquid fasting (allowing only liquids). Then, I plan to build into more complete food fasting, until I'm fasting one day a week for the whole day. Again, I'm not sure I have the discipline and fortitude to see it through, but I hold the goal, nonetheless. Nothing is more important than lifting my children to the Lord.

I guess my primary goal is to purge excess junk throughout the year. I started off the first 3 days well and then fell off the wagon, forgetting to find 10 to 20 items to purge. On day 6, I managed my goal, only because I purged items as I put away the Christmas decorations. This is why a plan with structure is so important. I am trying to note how many items each day, so perhaps that will help me maintain the momentum.

How about you? Favorite presents? Puzzle exploits? Writing accomplishments? Goals or projects for 2025? I'd love to hear them. It might jumpstart my discipline and commitment.

Book Review: The Year of Less

I enjoy learning what others are reading via Goodreads updates. A friend highlighted this book as one she wanted to read. It sounded intriguing. Cait Flanders is the author of The Year of Less: How I Stopped Shopping, Gave Away My Belongings, and Discovered Life is Worth More Than Anything You Can Buy in a Store. As if to emphasize less, the title is all in lower-case lettering. Of course, the length of the subtitle is more. Crazy!

This book (part self-help, part memoir) is a fascinating tale of paring away inessentials and analyzing what drives us to buy when we don't need and cling when we should release. Since my goal is to pare down my belongings, I thought this book might provide insight and motivation. Flanders explains how emotionally fraught our purchase patterns are. Some people (myself included) overeat when they avoid feelings, some people binge watch movies (myself included), and some use retail therapy. For years, Flanders used alcohol, food, and pointless spending to assuage feelings of insufficiency. After success in getting sober and losing weight, she addressed the money/belongings issue.

As her bio on the back cover proclaims, she is "a former binge consumer turned mindful consumer of everything. Through personal stories, she writes about what happens when money, minimalism, and mindfulness cross paths." Her writing is fluid and easy to follow. She provides expert insight into her addictions. (Her biological father should be strung up for his role.) Her self-examination and her willingness to sit in the pain causing those behaviors endear her to the reader. 

Although I am not a binge shopper, I am often lured into purchases under the guise of saving money. My frugality isn't economical when I buy what I do not need. Hopefully, by reading this and other minimalism books, I will get a handle on the excess in my life and strip down to a more meager existence. In some ways, I have no choice. If we move after our youngest graduates, we will not be seeking a home along the scale of what we now maintain. 

Indeed, we would not have selected this house if we weren't meeting family needs by taking residence. Previously, we lived in a two-bedroom bungalow in DeKalb, Illinois. Our oldest son's room wasn't big enough when our middle son came along, so Trevor's crib was in the dining room. Now, after years of filling the extra space we have, I am tasked with going back to a bare-bones existence. We shall see if reading books helps me face this challenge. It is easier to read about minimalism than to implement it. Thankfully, I will have my husband to hold me accountable.😇

A Multitude of Movies in March

I spent the first week of March watching quite a bit while staying with my mother. She calmed to every musical and somewhat when I watched the BBC's The Monarch of the Glen (a series I have no access to, but my parents own 7 seasons of it - I only managed 3-1/2 seasons). We watched her beloved Meet Me in St. Louis, The Wizard of Oz, The Sound of Music, Singing in the Rain, Les Miserables (a staged production), and my favorite, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. My house is very quiet. We don't watch television at all (don't have cable or any other access points). Still, the practice of watching must have influenced me because I watched more movies in March than I have in a long time.

Not long ago, I discovered my library access to a documentary/movie portal called Kanopy. It is like Hoopla (a certain amount of credit per month), but focuses on documentaries and movies. I watched a documentary about William's Syndrome called Truelove: The Film. Then I got on a Felicity Jones kick. I watched Like Crazy, about a British student attending college in America who overstays her visa. It was a sad and disturbing movie about how bureaucracy stood in the way of her marriage. Not one I recommend. My next Felicity Jones fare was the Masterpiece Theater production of Northanger Abbey, a book I read 5 years ago.

After that, I explored famous writers who lost children (don't ask me why). So, I watched the Roald Dahl story, To Olivia. Then, I watched the 1977 movie, Mary White. William Allen White was a writer and author in Emporia, Kansas. His 16-year-old daughter died when she struck a low-hanging branch while riding her horse. The actress who played Mary did an outstanding job of communicating the girl's spunk and convictions.

Sean was interested in the Mary White movie because it corresponded to a period in history that he was then studying in his AP US History course. I also watched another movie at his behest. He had read the book Into the Wild for another class. I regretted that choice because it had a few minor nude scenes in the telling. No doubt this is why the teacher didn't share the movie with the class, ha!

Watching some of the Viking TV episodes about Great Britain led me to seek some more British fare. Thus, I watched Irish Wish, a cute little movie set with gorgeous footage of Ireland. It is about a young American girl who makes a wish on an ancient stone in Ireland. She wishes to marry her best friend's fiancé. As her wish unfolds, she learns it wasn't the best wish. I also made a 20-mile trek to the closest theater I could find showing the movie One Life. I adored Anthony Hopkins and Helena Bonham Carter in the film. Yet, I think I would have been fine waiting for library access and watching it at a later date. In my opinion, the documentary my husband and I watched on Kanopy in February (called Nicky's Family) was a more compelling telling of Nicholas Winton's story. Oh well.

So, what did I do besides all that movie watching? Well, nothing much. It seems I've been expertly avoiding thinking about difficult things. I did, however, begin purging in the kitchen. At this point, I only have two bags and am through a third of the cupboards. I attended a webinar on memoir writing (not for myself, but because a close friend has asked for help in writing her memoir). I would love to pick up where my writing stalled out mid-year, but still haven't made that happen. If my friend can get me writing again, even in a quasi-manner, it will be helpful.