God Prunes His Garden...

As most of you know the New Year is all about NEW beginnings. A new list on life. Ive been going through some changes lately. Some I am rebelling against, others...not so much. But in all this, I cant help but wonder--Lord, whats going on? I thought my life was pretty good. Why is everything changing? I am constantly reminded though, that God must prune a garden to make it grow. Each thing in our life is here for a reason. We have loved ones, friends, jobs, tasks, problems and situations as we need them...and then they too go away. Even those friendships that you pinky-swore would last forever are soon not as important anymore. Does this make me less of a friend? Does it make me a bad person? No, I dont think so. I just think I am moving on to bigger and better things. Kind of scarey though.

I remember a quote from DR. PHIL...YOU ARE GOING TO CHANGE, ITS UP TO YOU--ARE YOU GOING TO CHANGE FOR THE BETTER? OR FOR THE WORSE? Hmmm.....now, its easy to shoo shoo this off and say yeah yeah yeah. But when I look back over the last year, I am not so sure about myself. I mean...dont get me wrong. My life is great. I have a beautiful family. VERY loving. I have a gorgeous home, a nice car...we are all healthy--blah blah blah. But as a PERSON am I better or worse? Is there any aspect of my life that I can honestly say...YES! I am on top of my game? Staying Status Quo I think is as bad as falling in the toilet all together. So my game plan for the year....TO BETTER MYSELF. Not with my STUFF (ie: house, car, family....), but truly better my being.

I know God has a mission for me (tho I am still clueless as to what this is). He has been working in my garden for several months now. Removing things that distract me from His good. So as I head into 2009 I am in search of something greater.

So what? What makes 2009 any different than 2008 or 1993 or any other year for that matter? After all, doesnt EVERYONE make resolutions? Only to have them fizzle out by oh...lets say February? I guess my outlook on this is that I am not making resoloutions. Yeah I do intend to shed a few pounds and read more and be better with my house work. But truthfully I just want to make some good decisions this year. I want to leave this world (and no, I have no intentions of leaving anytime soon) having impacted it. So people can look back...and say--Wow, what a lady! Im not seeking to win a Nobel Peace Prize (though--wouldnt that be so cool?) or become the next Mother Theresa, but I do want to make a difference.

Since the recent Ash/Sludge spill here in Kingston and I heard that Erin Brockovich was making an appearance here on Monday--I have been surfing around her site. On the very front page it says:

stick-to-it-ive-ness: n. informal- unwavering pertinacity; preserverance

Wow! I like this! Talk about a woman who has made an impact huh? And I think THIS is her personal motto. I like it, I think I might adopt it.

So with any good garden one must also use fertilizer. You cant sit at home watching the soaps all day and think that your life is gonna just magically grow something fruitful. Ya gotta feed it something fantastic. So this week, I thought Id broaden the culture in my life and started reading Jane Austen's Sense and Sensability. *ahem* I didnt know it was possible for your brain to actually HURT after reading just one chapter in a book. WOW! Do they have cliffnotes in ENGLISH for this stuff? Its a challenge, but one I think my brain is liking. As I cant hardly wait to pick it back up again. Then, I jumped to the opposite site of the spectrum and started reading a book in the Diary of Georgia series. Trying to decipher the young Brittish talk is almost as mind boggling as the early English of Ms. Austen. Afterall, do YOU know what the heck SNOGGING is? And did you know that SNOGGING has a scale? And did you know that it is possible for a person to do a FULL FRONTAL SNOG? Its absolutely hilarious tho--true fluff and lots of fun. Then to add some normalcy to my reading--I picked up Ellen. Just loooove her! She is so real. So--call it like it is. Anyone who knows me...knows I am ALL about this. So I wonder...what else can I do to add depth to my being?

Titus 3:14

Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order that they may provide for daily necessities and not live unproductive lives.

Unproductive lives. Hmmm...lets you and me, seek to avoid this okay? Now go--feed your mind. Encourage your soul and broaden yourself.

Bless someone!