Welcome to my eclectic journey of my life and delights. This year my theme is surrendering my writing pen to the true author, Jesus Christ, while looking forward to the future, reflecting on the past and dancing through my journey.




Sunday, January 2, 2011

My 2011 Face-lift!


Out with the old and in with the new...it is time for a face-lift... for my blog!
The surgeon... me, a non-tech person, started the process.  Beating the keys, hours of research,
deleted items, pictures not fitting and totally guessing along the way, the final, unknown results of the
surgery were completed.  Do you like it?  Please overlook the flaws... it is my first design surgery.

Last year, my starting blog reflected what God would do in my life through, what Paul Tripp calls
"the archeological dig" period of our life.  My shovel would uncover my past, my regrets, my sin, my 
failures, my "what ifs"and leave me looking daily for direction and the faithfulness of my Savior.
The blog template showed a journal with aging pages coming from an open book, along with aging roses 
around the heading.  The book reflected the "dig" I had begun, as I opened years of my own 
memorabilia throughout the year.  The rose reflected the stage of life I found myself in...an 
 aging rose at the end of  a stem of thorns. Even though my "surgeon's hands" were still unskilled, the face-lift needed to render a more whimsical, nostalgic and humorous view of life.  

The year 2011 finds me putting the "archeological shovel" back into the closet...it will surface in time.
I am replacing it with a garden shovel for planting new seeds for a new harvest.
My verse for the year is Isaiah 43:18-19: "Forget about what's happened; don't keep going over old history.
Be alert; be present.  I'm about to do something brand new. It's bursting out! Don't you see it? There it is!" 
(The Message) - verses have been confirmed through multiple confirmations. 

Excerpt from "Lost in the Middle" by Paul David Tripp:

Standing in a Pile of Your Own Leaves
    You're now in the autumn of your life, and you're quite aware the leaves are off the trees.  You're standing in a pile of the leaves of your marriage, your parenting, your extended family, your friendships,  your work, and your ministry.  These leaves of the past have grown wrinkled and dry, and you know you can not put them back on the tree.  It's tempting to sit down in the pile and examine leaf after leaf and wish you were holding a new bud from a new sapling, but you aren't.  The harvest has come in and it is what it is.  Yet in all of this, there is hope because your Lord is the Lord of new seasons.  With the new season comes the freedom to plant new and better seeds.  With the new season comes the expectation of a new harvest of new fruit.
     Stand up and walk away from your pile of yesterday's leaves.  Take the seeds of a new way into your hands, press them into the soil of your life and thank God that you will live to see a better harvest.

Welcome to my new face-lift...I have a vision for where I am going, if you come along for the ride,
I have already shown you the destination....new seeds, new planting, and new harvest!
Welcome age 50...I look forward to meeting you!!

31 Joining in with more words:

Rebecca said...

Happy New Year, "Dr." Janette! That Isaiah verse was one of the foundational verses to my husband's sermon this morning along with its counterpart in 42:8-9. Remember the faithfulness of God in the past & forget the failures (& any successes) that keep us from moving forward in obedience and confidence in our life with God...

I ♥ your reflections here today and look forward to more in the months to come.

Aliene said...

I like the theme. New seeds, new planting, new harvesting. Going to have to do a little digging in the Word and fertilize with prayer. The harvest should be great. Blessings!

Unknown said...

Love it!!! Really nice-I love Lucy too.
I loved this post a lot-some of my favorite verses are the ones that talk about the seeds being planted of different types of soil and what becomes of them so I really liked this analogy of the tree too.
I will let you know for sure about January 29th. I should know for sure by tomorrow actually. I am so excited! Like meeting your pen pal in grade school. lol
I hope that your 2011 is such a blessed year.
I look forward to reading more in 2011 and I am excited to see what God will be doing in your life and mine too.
Hugs
Jill

Karen said...

Girl, you are moving forward! I had a feeling you had done some "re-arranging" by your comment over @ my place. :) So I had to come & check it out. Wow! looks like fun times ahead for Janette. Fighting the weeds (stigma) surrounding the big 50? I think I'm going to take lessons from you - since we are in the same garden. But, I believe your seeds will sprout before mine does, so I'll be reading & watching for what springs forth in your garden for 2011.
Love you Janette!

Debbie Petras said...

I love your new look! And I love Lucy! Such memories from our generation. I know you are learning so much through these times of trials and testing. But you are doing so well as you also encourage others, especially me!

Love you,
Debbie

Amy said...

LOVE those words. Thank you so much. I also love your new look. The pictures at the top are super!

http://bitsandpieces-sonja.blogspot.com/ said...

well I just LOVE it!!! Fresh, new, full of life and hope, and ready for 2011!!! I'm right there with you my friend!!!

Sherri said...

I just had to let you know that your blog seems to be such a confirmation of my feelings of peace about the coming year. A year of resting in Him, settled in the peace and of His strength and timing in many areas for my family.

Blessings
Sherri

Thoughts for the day said...

Awesome new look.
I am 56 now and I do feel like I am living in the autumn time of life. That quote was wonderful I loved the imagery and the whole post.

Anonymous said...

Janette,
I'm looking at 50 coming up in a few months myself. So I'll be glad to join you in the journey!
And your profile picture looks terrific! As does your header.

Theresa said...

Love the new look, especially June Cleaver. One of my favorite shows :)

Elizabeth Dianne said...

See girl, I knew you could do it! And it is so cute. I love it!

Looking forward to 2011 with you--and fifty is wonderful--and gets better and better! smile

Love you,
D.

Sandy said...

I love it! Such a comforting
feeling to see Beaver's mom
there in the kitchen where she
should be! ;) You did a great job. I am looking forward to continuing the journey with you in 2011.
Thanks for all the encouragement
and laughs along the way.
Love,
Sandy

LisaShaw said...

Hi Janette,

Enjoyed reading this!

Beautiful face lift of some of the old favorites. I was/am still a huge I love Lucy fan!

Blessings to you as you walk with the LORD this year!

Debbie said...

Oh I just LOVED this...Perfect face lift in my opinion. My daughter is a really GOOD friend of Barbara Billingsly's granddaughter. Went to school with her. She has both met her and been to her a house a few times. A really neat lady she was...I am excited too to see what this year unfolds. Looking forward to your garden. HUGS!

Sue said...

Janette I love your new design, and you did a fantastic job. I have been working on my blogs and haven't quite got it right yet
Your thoughts today are awesome! it is exactly where I am at.
I will now begin to plant my seeds for this bountiful harvest. I thank you for the encouragement.
Much love,
Sue

INSIDE THE SHRINK said...

Janette, I so very much like your new blog. Even more, I love your fresh perspective about the new year. I'm all about replanting seeds and planting new ones. The quote from Isaiah is one of my favorites and I refer to it often. I have entered into my 6th decade and found it to not be as welcoming as the the 5th one. After I read your blog, I have changed my perspective. Thank you and know that God has used you. Bobbi

Let'sMakeADifference said...

Beautiful!!!! Congratulations on a gorgeous and successful facelift!! I LOVE your posts!! Can't wait to read the book about midlife by Tripp. This is the first time in my life where I feel like I am floundering around with no real purpose or direction! I might just return to your blog several times a day just to see the beauty!! :)

Cindy said...

Love this, Janette! I also really like the scripture from Isaiah.

A multi-dimensional life said...

This is great Janette! The post and your new look! I love it!
I also love Lucy!
Yes, God is the God of new seasons and it is so true "with the new season comes the FREEDOM to plant new and better seeds and the expectation of new harvest and new fruit!" ---So encouraging!
Welcome to Autumn...almost! :)
Bless you for your constant words of wisdom and encouragement!

Vee said...

Great post! Yes, I can identify with the desire to be too introspective trying to figure out what went awry. Perfect for new beginnings and your blog looks terrific!

Anonymous said...

Love the new look Janette! Wishing you a blessed 2011.

Finding Joy said...

Great surgery!! Change is as good as holiday so you should feel pretty good :)

Debbie said...

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this!!! It was a perfect read for me this morning. I love the imagery of sitting in the autumn leaves. How true that is. I was just moping about that to my daughter last night. I told her I wanted, just for one day, for her to be eight.

This is great, and I love it.

Debbie said...

Oh, and since I LOVE Lucy, I'm very fond of your little makeover. I grinned when I saw the little picture you're using.

Susannah said...

New beginnings... don't we all love them! So glad your spiritual dig is over and new seeds are being sown.

But tell us why you've picked the icons of the fifties as your header and avatar? (I can guess!) Is it because you're turning 50?

Blessings, e-Mom

Ginny Marie said...

How fun! I love your new look, even more so because you did it yourself! I love playing around with blog design -- it's addicting!

Anonymous said...

Janette,

Boy, was I in for a pleasant surprise when I saw your new blog header! The kissing 50's couple made me laugh! :)

I enjoyed reading the excerpt by Paul David Tripp. I can SO relate to sitting in those pile of leaves, wishing that I can make them "new" again, but knowing that's quite impossible. It almost sounded as if he was "reading my mind."

At any rate, I look forward to sharing this new journey with you. :)

Blessings,

-Lady Rose

myletterstoemily said...

all i can say is, "come on luci!" i expect
to hear some candy eating episodes
along with some "vita-whatever" spots.

press on sister, and i will be tagging
along behind you!

love,
lea

Gwen T said...

It's just lovely, Janette - how wonderful that you stepped out of your comfort zone and tried something new! :)

Debi said...

Happy birthday! No worries - 50's the new 40. I've been here a spell and it feel real good. I'm looking forward to what the Lord has for you.

The tree example is so true ...

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