It's All in the Numbers

Benjamin decided to change his name to his Dads....

Well there has been numbers changing in our household the last five days.  Yes, in five days three of us changed our age.  I share my birthday month with my two youngest children.  Since out of six children no one shares my name, it is kinda nice to share my birthday month.  My husband found the most precious card from the two younger boys...and no, I don't receive cards from the older ones...I am sure that is just too old fashioned for my high-tech adult children.  The card hit the spot since at one time I won the June Cleaver award at my high school reunion.  Oh yes, I had the most children at that time...and that was only four!  I was also a stay-at-home mom....even in the 80's there were few of us, so voted June Cleaver.

Here are our numbers!

Year 2011 - we had 5 in common...yes, age 5, age 15, and I entered the big 50!!

Year 2012 - we had  6 in common - age 6, age 16, and 51 ( add 5 plus 1 = 6)

Year 2013 - we have the  number 7 in common - age 7, age 17 and 52 (5+2=7)

Just another number...another year....another time to see God's hand in all of our lives!  Happy Birthday precious sons...may you grow up to love and serve the Lord all the days of your lives.  My continuous prayer for all my children and their spouses and my future grandchildren....Love the Lord Your God!

Dare to Dream

Just listen to a child dream about his future or a newly married couple speak of their dreams for the future and you wonder "where did my dreams go?"

Many people have a wonderful way of never letting go of their dreams, but I would say the majority of us allow the circumstances of life to grab our dreams and rip them from our grasp.  I know there are times to let those dream match up with reality, but just watching someone like Susan Boyle win a talent show, thrusting her into her dream, we know it is possible. The world would mock it is "too late" for Susan as she wasn't in her prime of life, yet her dream manifesting tells us all to look at the dreams we have allowed to collect dust on a shelf.

In December I was reminded that age isn't a factor in our dreams.  While pinning on Pinterest I saw a book that inspired me to dig deeper, while I was also reading and delighting in the success of another bloggers successful year in business., I knew there was something I needed to hear.  Both women aren't in their 20's...I know the 20's generation doesn't think this is possible, and yet, their dreams were taken off a shelf and ignited into fulfillment.  I would love to share their inspiration with you.

Leslie at Farm Fresh Fun was one of my first followers and I one of hers.  I have no idea how we crossed bloggy lines to meet, but I have been inspired and blessed.  She and I share the common bond of being "wiser in age" mothers to young children.   She also had a dream.  She has pressed forward with her dream and the rest is just inspirational pictures which make my eyes tear up when I view them.  Her love for horses and training when she was younger opened the door to her new business.  As her family enjoyed the joys of "foxhunting" she shared how this too was an answer to years of dreams and prayers.  Her Christmas card held a picture of them riding their horses with these words to me, "Wishing your dreams come true too! Praying 2013 brings you closer to your dreams!"

I have linked the picture to her publishing house for purchase

Now if that wasn't enough then there is the author "Lisa" - of Hospitality Pursuits  (check our her side bar to see other dreams come true) and her artist friend Linda Merritt.

Well pinning I ran across a pin of a children's book.  As I looked down I realized that Alisa Brookins and "Lisa" were indeed the same person.  I commented, "Oh My! is this you?"  She graciously emailed me back the answer to my question.  As she explained, yes it was, she also laid out her "dream come true" story.  She had written the book and then the manuscript was put on the shelf to collect dust for 10 years.  She continued on in life with all the duties it holds...helping other reach their dreams.

God wasn't finished, therefore, He brought in a friend to help her dream come true....another woman who had a dream also.  This woman would inspire the creative juices in them both as she became the one who would illustrate her manuscript.

To Benjamin's and my delight we received a copy of her "dream" manifested book.  It is a delightful children's story, yet for this adult it shouted, "dreams still happen at any age."  The gifted illustrator is in her 60's.

So as we enter 2013 is there a dream you have put on a shelf and allowed to collect dust?  Do you need to ask the Lord for a dream?  Do you need to let go of fear or procrastination so you can dust off the dream?  Is it time for action?  I don't know about you, but I can say I am trying to answer all these questions!!!

Reflections in the Rear View Mirror

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I love to reflect.  It is probably a strength, as well as a weakness of mine.  As the year comes to an end, I always look back.  There are parts of the year that usually makes my skin crawl. But more than those events is always the prevailing truth that God has never left my side.  I also take in the fact that His sovereignty has always prepared me for what was ahead, if I would only listen.  So as I reflect through the rear view mirror at the year 2012, I see once again that He knew and prepared me.

I entered 2012 with a gusto to live "intentionally".  My words for the year were "spunk" and "meekness".  One word would characterize my zeal to bring fun back into my life. The other would be a process God would mold in my heart.
My beginning post on "spunk" - http://janettessage.blogspot.com/2012/01/spunk-or-moxie.html
My post on "meekness" - http://janettessage.blogspot.com/2012/01/meekness.html
In fact, every post in January 2012 prepared me for the year to come.

I can "spunkily" say that God allowed me to experience that word to its fullest.  I watched for every opportunity to experience it.  My neighbor laughed as I shared with her the day I pulled on my new pink bathing suit, wrapped my thunder thighs in a Hawaiian wrap, climbed on my pink bike and rode down the main street of our subdivision with my six-year-old to swim at the pool.  We both laughed at how one little event can make you feel alive again....she says she still has that picture in her head.  "Spunk"...you were a delight in 2013... from concerts, to filling my sand pail, to stuffing my stocking and sharing life through the eyes of a child.  I will not put my "spunk" on a shelf. Instead, I will continue to push forward with the joys of life.

Spunk helped me to feel energized when the "energy-buster" hit our family with unemployment.

During the year, the Lord let me come to terms with "LIFE". That is right, both the fact that it can be taken away in a flash and the fact that it never is what we imagined.  It is okay that life isn't what I imagined.  As I continue to watch God place pieces onto my puzzle of life, I was able to share with precious others that our pictures may look different... but they are OURS and that fact makes ours a masterpiece.

I left 2012 with more unanswered questions than answers for the new year.  I also picked my new word.... .....TRANSITION!!!!!!!!!!!!!  That is what 2013 will be, a season of transition.  Just like 2012, I know that what I think that word will mean and the final definition is all in God's hands.

My spiritual word last year was meekness...this year... Joy.  I don't want to cover the scars that God has allowed in my life, I just want to look at them with total JOY!  This again will be a heart issue like meekness.  I pray that both will grow from the inside out.

Because we will have two marriages in 2013 (one son and our only daughter), I am turning  to my "Silver Fox" and  take time out to re-new, invest and turn up the heat on our 32 years of marriage.  I think this will be fun.  We don't have an empty-nest yet, so these two gray-hairs (almost 60 for hubby) will have to be creative and possibly take some Geritol.  Life can really put a strain on relationships and it is time for us to patch some of the holes that the curve balls of life have inflicted on our marriage.

I am also picking an accessory for this year.  Now I know that sounds really funny, but stay with me.  I am picking shoes!  That is right - SHOES!!  Why?  Because I feel that God will be taking my feet to new places and with Him, I am going in style.  I have neglected my shoes for years in exchange for other necessities in life, but this year I believe He will even adorn my feet.

Welcome 2013....I am looking forward to all you will hold.  Last year was a good year of growth...and I am sure there is more to come.