It’s almost time to get back to life as usual. We’re finishing up our holiday celebrations/travel today. Justin goes back to work tomorrow. School starts up again next week. That makes me smile 🙂  I’m anxious to get home and get back to normal life. Holidays are fun, but they are also stressful. I’m ready for simple, everyday life again.

I’ve set my goals for 2013. Now it’s time to start breaking them down into manageable steps. Here’s the plan for January

1. Writing – Write articles for RFH and GRNL. Look into the details of creating a monthly newsletter.

2. Photography – Start reading my new book on food photography. Experiment and update photos of one recipe.

3. Healing – Get test results and decide how to proceed.

4. Homemade food – Try to recreate one of the boxed foods in our cupboard – crackers.

5. Relationships – One “date” with my husband. Call my sister once. Mommy/daughter date (TBD).

6. Rebecca – Lots of speech therapy and psychologist appointments – see what they bring and go from there.

7. Crafts – I will be taking a break from this in January. I might browse pinterest for ideas.

8. Cakes – I will be planning my nephew’s 5th birthday cake. I have had the honor of making his birthday cake every year. I can’t wait to get started! Possibly a cake for my parents’ birthdays.

9. Declutter – Organize Abram’s drawers/closet/clothes.

10. Acceptance – Read Bittersweet. I got it for Christmas. I think it’s one of those books that has come to me at exactly the right  moment and will be life changing. I got it a couple days ago and would gladly read through it in one sitting if I could. I’ve already read some. I feel like Shauna is telling my story through her story. Her sentiments are exactly what I’m feeling. I’ve had the privilege of hearing her speak in person. I’ve read her other book (Cold Tangerines). Her writing is so easy to read and so easy to relate to.

The book is about change, grace and learning the hard way. Life isn’t all sweet. There is also bitter. But the best is the bittersweet…experiencing them together. Accepting the bad and making the sweet that much sweeter.

I’ll end my post with a couple of quotes from the book. I hope you enjoy them and even these few quotes make you think a little differently about change and difficult times.

“If you dig in and fight the changes, they will smash you to bits. They’ll hold you under, drag you across the rough sand, scare and confuse you. But if you can find it within yourself, in the wildest of seasons, just for a moment, to trust in the goodness of God, who made it all and holds it all together, you’ll find yourself drawn along to a whole new place, and there’s truly nothing sweeter. Unclench your fists, unlock your knees and also the door to your heart, take a deep breath, and begin to swim. Begin to let the waves do their work in you.”

“When life is sweet, say thank you and celebrate. And when life is bitter, say thank you and grow.”

“I’ve learned the hard way that change is one of God’s greatest gifts and one of his most useful tools. I’ve learned the hard way that change can push us, pull us, rebuke and remake us. It can show us who we’ve become, in the worst ways, and also in the best ways. I’ve learned that it’s not something to run away from, as though we could, and I’ve learned that in many cases, change is not a function of life’s cruelty but instead a function of God’s graciousness.”