Lapiz De La Guerra

Hello bloggy world, and Happy New Year!

It’s been awhile since we’ve chatted.  A lot has happened since then! We moved to a new apartment, Michael’s sister Michelle got married, and we made it through the holiday season in one piece. Phew!

The dust has been settling slowly but surely, and these are the things on my horizon:

Resolutions – I’ve refrained from making an actual list this year, but my tradition of keeping a theme for the year has not changed.  After hearing the same phrase pop up a few times on different occasions at church, I’ve decided the phrase “be faithful in the little things” is my theme for this year.  It comes from Matthew 23:25 and Luke 16:10 and I think it’s a really powerful phrase to hold close to my heart.  I think it’s God’s way of telling me that I need to slow down and pay attention to everything around me.  I have a tendency to rush things to get to the end result faster, sometimes cutting corners or people, and while I might get what I was looking for, I find myself dissatisfied because I didn't truly enjoy the journey and the experience.  I know this isn’t necessarily the original intent of that scripture passage, but God speaks to each of us in His own way.  And for me, I feel that I need to slow down and be faithful in the little things this year.

Esme Barrera & Ben Breedlove – if you’re not from Austin, you may not know who either of these people are, but they are extraordinary nonetheless.  Ben passed away from a chronic heart ailment at the age of 18 on Christmas Day.  He left behind an incredible YouTube video about his near death experiences that inspired a lot of people and touched a lot of hearts (the link above takes you to Part 1 of his video, which will then direct you to Part 2 when you're ready).  Esme Barrera was brutally murdered in her home on NYE and her death has rocked the live music and arts communities here in Austin.  She was virtually unknown to the rest of the world, but her kindness, generosity, passion for music and helping others (particularly kids), along with her cheerfulness are all anyone can talk about.  An article in the local paper moved me so much, I pasted it on my wall in my cubicle as a reminder of the kind of person I want to be like.  Hearing the stories of these two remarkable young people has left me humbled and inspired.

Forks Over Knives – Michael and I watched this documentary the other night.  We’ve been meaning to eat healthier for a long time, but after seeing the documentary and doing some subsequent research, changing our eating habits is long overdue.  My biggest challenges will be ditching the bacon, cheese, and sugary treats, but the possible benefits of a whole foods plant based diet are really motivating.  If it can reverse diabetes and heart disease, why not asthma, allergies, and chronic anxiety (my triple A’s!)?

Babies – after seeing so many babies over the holiday season, both Michael and I were hit by baby fever HARD.  We’ve decided that we’re going to go ahead and start trying for baby #2 this year.  This time though, we’re not going to stress about it like we did with Sybilla. If the Big Man Upstairs decides to grant us another child in our life, we will accept that blessing according to His schedule.  If it’s meant to be, it will be. And if it's not, we're ok with that too.

Financial Peace University – our church is starting off the year with a great series about finances, and they’re starting FPU classes. Michael and I have waffled on it before, but this time, we are
absolutely certain we want to do it.  We’re tired of feeling like we can’t really live our lives because of our finances.  It makes me cringe when I think about how we've treated our money in the past.  It makes my brain hurt to even think about changing the way I view money (much less actually change that viewpoint), but when I think about continuing to live my life the way we have, it makes me sad and miserable.  I’d rather buckle down for one year of my life and enjoy the years after that than live all of my life in misery.

Writing – I’ve been putting off a lot of my writing the last few months because of work, moving, the wedding, etc, etc, etc.  I threw myself a huge pity party and woke up the next morning with a mental hangover.  As I sat there kicking around the imaginary beer bottles, I decided enough was enough and vowed that 2012 is the year that I’m dumping my inner critic and telling her to piss off.  I’m going to get published, y’all.  I don’t know when, I don’t know how. But it’s gonna happen.  I guarantee it.

That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.

Happy (belated) New Year,
Kelly