I’m reading With Christ in the School of Prayer by Andrew Murray. Today’s lesson was “Alone With God.” In this lesson Murray encouraged me to find a secret place, an inner chamber, a place in my home where I can shut out the world and get shut up with God. This place should be beautifully appointed and visually appealing, and also warm, welcoming and inviting because it is, after all, the place where I am going to meet God in person!

Then I turned my attention to Day 1 of the 90 Day Jumpstart to Becoming the Woman God Wants You to Be by Donna Partow. This is a book based on Proverbs 31:10-31 where the famous/infamous Proverbs 31 woman is encountered and described. We’re taking a Jumpstart because there’s no way any of us will come close to emulating this paragon of virtue in a mere 90 days, yet we all have to start someplace, right? Today we’re challenged to write a Personal Vision Statement. Tomorrow we set up a Prayer Place.

Wow! Twice in less than an hour God has told me I need a special place set aside in my home where I can meet with Him every single day.  It doesn’t have to be a huge space–a corner of a room, a closet–but it has to be special. It is there to that place that I will fly every day for the great joy and high privilege of meeting with my Father, just being with Him, soaking in His presence. And I don’t have to come with a list of requests or demands. He already knows. I am free to just sit in the Secret Space, the Inner Chamber, the Prayer Place and listen to what He has to say to me.

I’m rather stoked about that. I’ve already scoped out the place. Now I want to add candles, scented ones, some pictures, my prayer shawl, a comforter/afghan– and my Prayer Basket. I will be all set. Maybe I won’t mind jumping out of bed on these cold winter mornings if I have another comfy place to run to. The hardest part for me of getting up every day is leaving the warm, snuggly cocoon that is my bed–where I feel so safe, so secure, so serene.

But for the pleasure of meeting Him face to face? Being in the Holy Place with the Holy Presence? Oh yeah, I’m so there.

It’s hard for me to believe today is New Year’s Eve, the last day of 2008. Seems like only a few weeks have passed since ‘08 arrived in its infancy, and I was filled with a child-like expectation for what it would bring. And now it’s over, and as I look back, I can say it was a good year, a very good year indeed. (To be truthful, any year in which I survive and even manage to be healthy and happy, is a very good year for me.)

This is the year that (i) the economy took a downturn; (ii) we saw history made during the November elections; (iii) the war continued in Iraq and too many of our young men and women were still on foreign soil away from their families and loved ones; (iv) the first female winner was crowned on The Biggest Loser; then another one back to back. Come on–everything can’t be serious. There have to be some funny, warm-fuzzy kind of moments in there, too. (And you can always make your own list if you don’t like mine!).

This year I saw the beginning of some new friendships, while a more established and cherished relationship detoured into new (and scary) territory and some older friendships  ended up in the Relationship Graveyard. Ah well–I finally learned that not all relationships are  meant to last a lifetime: some folks walk through my life  for one specific reason and others wander through for a particular season.

 On a more  personal note, I am amazed and thankful that I went the entire year, 12 whole months, with no health insurance. Thank God, I had no illnesses–maybe one cold–in all that time. God is so good. He’s the best health insurance there is.

I also realize that some of my friends and loved ones who started 2008 with me won’t be here to usher in 2009, but I believe they’re in a better place than I am right now, holding a seat for me until I can reunite with them someday. It’s been a year of miracles, tragedies, triumphs, defeats, excitement and letdowns and pleasant surprises–a virtual smorgasbord of emotional events. The year may be over; but I am still here, and I’m going strong, in spite of myself. That says something.  (Doesn’t it?)

Now, here I sit, sad to see 2008 go but anxious to experience the joys of 2009. I don’t make resolutions, but I am hoping to experience this year with no expectations of anyone or anything. That way I know for certain I will not be disappointed! I find that makes it easier for me to spot that silver lining in every situation, if I don’t already have preconceived ideas about the situation or its outcome.

I wish you a happy, healthy,  prosperous New Year. I plan on just getting better and better! Life is good, and I am enjoying the adventure.

 Here’s to new beginnings for a  new life and a new you in this  new year.

I am currently in the middle of an “unplanned vacation.” You see, I used to have a job, but with the economy and one thing and another, I find myself laid off. Temporarily. I found out the week before Thanksgiving.  For the first two weeks of December my hours were reduced. Then no hours for the next four weeks before returning to reduced hours for six weeks.  The long and the short of it is that I go back to full-time work (and income) the last week in February.

Now that’s quite a long time to be living on reduced funds. This is my third layoff in five years and my savings and retirement funds have long since been depleted. So how am I going to make it? By Faith. Because that’s all I have, and thankfully, I have that in abundant supply.

But I was watching a repeat episode of Cold Case last night where a man had lost his job right before his 4 year old daughter was diagnosed with a treatable cancer that is usually cured when caught in time. But no job, no health insurance, hence no early diagnosis–and his precious daughter died.

I think baby ants have more compassion than the manager who gave him the bad news about his job being shipped overseas. “It’s not personal. Sorry”. Then he tried to return a defective product to the store where he had purchased it, but because it was past 30 days, the store wouldn’t accept it. “That’s store policy. Sorry.”

Before his daughter died, he and his wife had taken her to the emergency room because she was in such pain, but she’d been  left waiting in the hallway for hours, untreated, unattended because “the computers were down. Sorry”

It was just example after example of people throwing out these stock phrases (which sounded suspiciously like excuses), always accompanied by “I’m sorry”, but no evidence of sorrow was in sight.  The poor guy finally cracked and started bombing people which is where the Cold Case detectives enter the picture.

Obviously, I don’t think violence is the answer and I’m not saying we should go around jacking up people who don’t feel our pain;  but I was struck by the coldness, lack of compasssion, caring and concern. When did we stop caring about each other as human beings? What happened to that old frontier spirit where the entire neighborhood would come over for a barn-raising? When did “policy” supersede “politeness”? When did “I’m sorry” become something you say automatically, like “Gesundheit” when someone sneezes?

Never mind when it happened. I guess the real question is  ”Are we too far gone to turn it around? To put people first, policies  and products second? Is it too late to care?”

Hi! Thanks for stopping by.

I’ve decided to join the 21st Century and start my own blog…for several reasons:

1.  I’ve always fancied myself a writer, and this is a wonderful place for me to journal, put my thoughts and feelings “on paper” to help me process them, and to help me open up and be more transparent by sharing these thoughts and feelings with others.

2.  I have lots and lots of questions, and so very, very few answers. It will be wonderful meeting each of you, if only for one post, to see if you can shed some light on the many things that I find perplexing.

3.  It’s free, and in this day and age, most things cost…. a lot. I’d be silly not to take advantage of a cool tool like this. Did I mention that it’s free?

All my life I’ve marched to the beat of a different drummer. Try as I might, I could never stay in step with the rest of the parade for very long. In my youth that bothered me tremendously because at that time I was so painfully aware of being “different”. At that time “different” was not a good thing. I’ve since made my peace with being different. In fact, I embrace my uniqueness and shun any chance to be “like everyone else.”

Given that, this blog is apt to be a hodgepodge of things. If you’re looking for a themed site, go someplace else. My posts will be all over the place, depending on what’s going on in my world at the time. I invite you to join me on the journey.