May WELCOME Check In

In case you missed it, my word of the year is WELCOME, described by the acronym below. For more details on why I chose this word go here.

Worship – Making room for God
Embrace – Making room for my family
Learn – Making room to grow my mind
Care – Making room for my health
Offer – Making room for others
Minimize – Making room by clearing a thing or practice from my life
Everyday Blessings – Recording the little joys that occur when I make room

WORSHIP
Goal: Concentrated prayer for specific prayer requests.

I’m still such a beginner in the realm of prayer, but I’ve found that general prayers produce general results. However, when I pray specifically for things and God gives specific answers, there is no room left for doubts as to if it was answered or Who made it happen.

Sermons this month seemed to focus on having spiritual victory in the spiritual climates of our current world and church world. Our new church had a revival meeting, so we heard sermons from a new preacher I had never met. It’s always interesting to get new perspectives on well-known truths.

I’m still following this Bible reading plan. I didn’t have much opportunity for reading other books this month while moving. However, I tried to make God’s Word a priority even on busy days. It is my lifeline!

EMBRACE
Goal: Stay close as a family during all transitions.

We fit a lot into this month, and it felt like each day we had new changes. Since everything seems different right now, we are focusing on the constant in our lives — the six of us! I tried to check in with each child and my husband often, and we’ve had lots of conversations ranging from the practical to deep heart things.

LEARN
Goal: Listen better, and read when possible.

Always, I’m learning through reading – one of my favorite pastimes. This month I read much less since we were moving and traveling. I did read a little bit, however. Anytime I recommend a book (or anything for that matter!), remember it is not infallible and I’m not recommending or endorsing every part of it. With that caveat, here are a few good books I read this month:

Homemaking: The Complete Book of Clean: Tips and Techniques for Your Home by Toni Hammersley
This book and Toni’s blog, A Bowl Full of Lemons, were helpful to me as I crafted a cleaning schedule for our new space. I’m still working out the details, but I may purchase this one as a reference.

Fiction: Two Reasons to Run and Three Missing Days by Colleen Coble
This is the rest of the series I started last month. I enjoyed reading them for a little down time in our crazy life.

Memoir (sort of): Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
I’m not sure how to classify this book. The perspectives and lessons were spiritually ambiguous. However, I found it interesting to look at them from a man who knew he was gradually deteriorating and dying. It helped me to think about what is important in my own life even if I don’t share all of his or the author’s values.

CARE
Goal: Walk as often as possible.

Most exercise this month was hefting boxes both in our business and in our house. I did walk a little, but by no means consistently. Future goals?

OFFER
Goal: Prepare and participate in music ministry, meet new friends and visit old ones.

This was a busy month as our family provided songs for two different church events. One involved a lot of traveling in the eastern part of the U.S. We got to see the Antietam Battlefield, visit a saw mill and make some new friends on that trip. The other was here in our new church. We also attended a milestone birthday party, had a few impromptu gatherings in our new home, visited family out of town a few times, went to the boys piano recital and visited a new ladies’ group in our new area (um, that was just me). We will host our first Memorial Day at our house this weekend, and we are super excited to share our new home with family.

MINIMIZE
Goal: Finish moving in — declutter as much as possible.

We are still working on moving in the non-essential type items like the memorabilia and storage items from our old house. We moved our family in the day before Mother’s Day and the rest of our belongings gradually ever since. I already have a full donation box since we’re trying to be very intentional about what we keep.

EVERYDAY JOYS
Most of the joys this month were images. I’ll include a few highlights from our everyday below.

QUOTES OF THE MONTH:

‘Oh, if I were young again.’ You know what that reflects? Unsatisfied lives. Unfulfilled lives. Lives that haven’t found meaning. Because if you’ve found meaning in your life, you don’t wan to go back. You want to go forward. You want to see more, do more. You can’t wait until sixty-five.”

– from Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

Let all guests who arrive be received like Christ.

-St. Benedict, as quoted by Brene Brown in the forward of Present Over Perfect by Shauna Niequist

Oh, the Cross has wondrous glory! Oft I’ve proved this to be true. When I’m in the way so narrow, I can see a pathway thro’; And how sweetly Jesus whispers: ‘Take the cross; thou need’st not fear, For I’ve trod the way before thee, and the glory lingers near.’

-From the hymn, “Is Not This the Land of Beulah?”

Christians ought to be decidedly anti-frantic, relentlessly present to each moment, profoundly grounded and grateful.

-From Present Over Perfect by Shauna Niequist

I hope you all had a lovely May and are ready for summer! I’d love to hear some of your goals in the comments or in an e-mail. I’ll be crafting my new goals for June while continuing to settle in to our new home, and I’ll update you on my progress next month.