Sunday, January 08, 2012

B-day recap and my 2012 word



Welp, I really appreciated all the birthday love from last week that you sent my way. It just added to the sunshine of my day.

Although, I can't lie. My B-day did have some pits. I had already cried twice by 8 a.m. Just the expected mixture of high birthday expectations mixed with trying to get the kids dressed, fed, and ready for school. For some reason, I thought those steps might run smoother on my birthday. Um, yeah not so much. (It also should be against the laws of the universe for hormones to be wacky on your birthday too. Just sayin.)

But after the house was quiet, one special friend and her little lady came over with yummy breakfast treats and iced teas for us to enjoy. Then the three of us went to get pedicures. That was fun. I haven't had one in I don't know how long.

Next stop on the birthday train was the mall. Another sweet friend met us there, and I think the highlight (besides the coconut cupcake she brought me!) was wondering whether the individual in the Victoria's Secret marketing department passed all his or her spelling tests in school. One boxed Halloween costume on the clearance table featured a sub-classy ensemble for a naughty airline employee. The name of it was "Air Hostress." Hostress. Hmm. And speaking of school, when I showed Julie the jammie shorts I was buying that said "extra credit" on the back and said, "Look what I'm getting," she replied, "Of course you are," because she knows I am a recovering overachiever and still loves me.

The day of fun chugged along as I said goodbye to my pals, picked up the kids, and we all went to the harbor with some more friends for an ice cream. It was there that I started to notice my little guy's cough. I thought it was because he was running a lot. Except then he was suddenly congested, and flushed, and ...oh no. By the time we got home and I put him in the bath, I realized he had a fever and his cough was sounding awful. How fast those bugs can descend, huh? I knew we'd have to cancel our family celebration and get him in bed early.

After letting go of the plans and wrestling with feeling sorry for myself, I was reminded that God was still celebrating me. He was smiling on me, proud of who He has made me to be. Honestly, it really lifted my spirits to think about God being with me that night. My Immanuel, just like I talked about a dozen times last month. It's real. It's now, not just for Christmas.

Then I sensed a word that He's been bringing around me lately. I hadn't noticed it until that night.

It is HOPE. That's what He wants me to focus on this year.

Hope is the word I heard in a movie I watched.
Hope is what jumped off the page in my Bible reading the other day.
Hope was the name of the woman I was behind in line.
Hope is in the title of this free eBook I downloaded and read straight through last week.
Hope is and has been all around me.

He's been whispering it to me for days.

And on my birthday, I finally heard Him. It was His gift.

I'm really curious. What will He do with my hope this year? What exactly am I hoping for? And how intentional do I need to be with this hoping? There is so much to think about. Perhaps God is giving me that word because hardship will tempt me to forget. Perhaps heartache will leave me feeling hopeless.

So I have it, a holy admonition to HOPE.

Dear friends, through the ups and downs of this year, please help me not to forget.

Do you have a word you want to focus on this year?



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8 comments:

  1. RUN is going to be my word. I'm writing about it soon. Of course I love yours- Hope, it's such a small word with so much weight and value. it's a good one.

    love you, and love reading your words.

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  2. I love this post!! I'm not sure how I missed that it was your birthday. :( I love celebrating people so I'm sorry that I didn't know or you would have heard from me for sure!!

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  3. Hope was my word last year! :-) My word this is Pray. I want and need to make it a bigger part of my day and life. Whether it a short prayer or time for a longer one. To have an on going conversation with God during the day.

    Happy belated Birthday and I pray your little one feels better soon.

    Becca

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  4. I'm so glad that you had a good birthday, despite sickies and hormones :)

    I love your word too...mine this year is delight. God's been speaking to me big time about it, and I've been mulling it over for a while. It wasn't a word I really wanted to choose, it's seems kind of cliche. But it's a word that has definitely chosen me and I'm excited to see how it unfolds this year!

    Praying that you have a hope filled week!

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  5. go pick up "Jesus Calling" and read the January 8th entry. because i read it this morning and here's what it said [among other wonderful things, which is why you have to go read it]:

    "hope is like a golden cord connecting you to heaven. the more you cling to this cord, the more I bear your burdens..."

    i've been thinking about the entire January 8 entry all day long today. meditating on all the goodness there. go read it :)

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  6. Hmmm....I need a word for this year! I think it is going to be trust...I definitely need to focus on trusting Him!

    Can you e-mail me at royaldaughterdesigns@yahoo.com? I have an idea and I want to include you, but I couldn't find your contact information!

    Be blessed!

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  7. Some birthdays are like that... a mix of joy and sadness. I'm glad you recognized Immanuel being there with you... more than just Christmas. I love that.

    If you ask my youngest what Immanuel means, he'll say "instructions" as in a manual. It's our Christmas joke. :)

    My word this year is thrive. I've been surviving for to long... I'm ready to thrive. :)

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  8. im so sorry i missed your birthday!! but now Ill always remember bc its a day after Bethany's!! It sounds like it was great - and the "extra credit" jammies story made me laugh out loud! :) I agree with you that this will be a year of HOPE, and Ill be praying that for you and your family. Im so thankful to know you friend. Happy Belated!!

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