2018--If I only had one year, I hope to spend it well.

I am pondering the year slipping from 2017 into 2018, and I keep thinking that there were people this time last year who had such great hopes and plans for this year but through tragic loss aren't here. And there are people who are living with the reality they may not be here for next New Year's Eve. And I keep asking myself one question:

 

If I only had this year, how would I spend it?

 

Praying for each of us that we spend it well,

not just for ourselves...

...but for those who love us and need us to spend it well for them and with them...

...for those who need us to spend it well because we will slip into and out of their lives in a moment or a day or a span...because of what we leave behind when we leave their presence...

...because of the ripples in time our lives leave even before they are ended...

...because eternity is built with seconds in the day, not years in a lifetime...

...because when it is over...the year and our lives...we want what is left to bring tears of joy because of what we have been and not tears of sadness because of what we haven't.

May 2018 be a year well spent.

Blessings,

Jerri L Kelley

www.jerrikelley.com

Living Decisively

Last I left you, I was hanging with The Pit. I still am. In fact, she is sitting beside me on the loveseat on the deck as we enjoy the last hour of warm sunlight today. From where we are sitting, I can look out over most of the acre of land that came with the house, and I am pondering.

My life is sliding toward the middle of a major transition. WonderGirl is a sophomore in college, and WonderBoy is now a freshman in college, and you may be wondering how you missed that. Don't worry. In Texas, dual credit is a great option for high school kids. Although he is still a high school junior, he will finish the rest of his school taking college classes. So, they are flourishing and exploding with all things wonderful. They both have their driver's license now, and in the next month or two, I will buy a car for WonderBoy and me to share. Although right now, he rides with WonderGirl, that could change this summer, so I want us to both be ready. With all the awesome stuff they are doing, they are needing my intense timing less, which frees me up to do other things, and that is what I am pondering.

I have always wanted to be a vegetable gardener. I have great memories of my grandmother and me working in the garden, picking the vegetables, and canning lots jars for the winter. Part of me wants to be more like her, I think. She loved gardening. She relaxed in it. I know part of the gardening thing is nostalgia, but part of it is that I love fresh food straight from the garden. It has flavor that you can't buy in a store, or even at a farmer's market. So I was talking to my cousin about it over the weekend. She is a good gardener. She cans her food. You would have thought she grew up on the farm instead of me. She told me about keyhole gardening, so I researched, and it does sound wonderful, but I have to be honest. I don't know where I would get a dumpster full of cardboard, the (not so much grass) green stuff, or the ongoing food to feed through the compost chute. Plus, there is the time factor, and that has me stumped more than anything.

For the first time in my 48 years of life, I am an adult with no one who needs me all the time. I'm not trying to work out life around a husband or focusing on what is best for the kids. Granted, the kids play a huge role in my life still, but it is strange to not need to be needed all the time. Understand, "strange" is not bad. On the contrary, it is beautiful. I love having adult kids. I love watching them working their flight plans out so they can leave the nest. They are amazing people, and it is fun watching them becoming even more solid in who they are.

So I am wondering what to do with this freedom.

I have had the privilege of being home with the kids their whole lives, and I wouldn't trade that for anything, but it is nearing time for me to contribute to the world in other ways. So I am thinking job. I am wondering about classes. I am trying to order my days so I get work done on the house, get housework done, spend some time writing, keeping people as a priority, and volunteering more.

In all honesty, I am in the best place I have ever been in my life mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, and physically, I'm working on it. Lost some significant weight, dealing with a plateau, but really liking the way my body is changing as I keep pushing myself with weights and construction projects.

In fact, I have considered volunteering with Habitat again. I really enjoy construction, and I know my way around a drill and hammer.

There really are a lot of possibilities, and it is easy to follow every whim that comes along. But right now, I have a dog I am committed to training sitting beside me, and she is not a small time investment. I am waiting to see how things shake out with some suggested programs at the sheriff's office, and I want to write seriously again. Plus, changing lifestyles is no small thing...or small time expenditure. Add the coffees and lunches and relationships, and I am wondering if a keyhole garden is a good thing, or a God thing. I've been caught in the trap of good v. God before, and I like to think I am not as easily fooled this time, but I didn't think I was being fooled before either. So, as the sun slips behind the fence, I am going to bid you good evening and go for a walk, listen to the quiet, and let the path come before me.

I pray you have a glorious evening.

Shalom...

Christmas is about THE Gift, Not Their Gifts

Christmas is slipping in, and the frenzy is picking up pace. Kids are getting excited about gifts, and adults are trying to keep up the time demands of extra activities and wondering how to manage it all...or at least how to keep it all from totally managing them.

Can I make a suggestion?

Stop. Just stop.

Take a breath. Pick an afternoon and evening and whatever is on there (except church) erase it. Make an excuse. Don't show. Stay home with the people who matter.

You know, Christmas is supposed to be about a baby in a manger. The big deal in the story isn't the magi bearing gifts, but the Gift building relationships. We talk about keeping Christ in Christmas, but I don't think most people even know what that means. It's more than lighting an Advent candle or reading a Bible story or attending a church service Christmas Eve. It's more than giving toys or food to others in need, although that is a great gift to give. Christ is about relationship. It's about a God who knew the only way to get people connected with Him was to go right into where they were.

Keeping Christ in Christmas means we work on relationships, too, maybe even some that are really hard.

Maybe instead of doing what we've always done, we do what someone else needs us to do.
Maybe instead of making excuses, we make a phone call.

 Instead of giving a wrapped up box, we give ourselves.
You know, like Christ did.

May you realize the gift some people really want and need is you, and may you have the courage to be the gift.

Blessings,
Jerri

Noteworthy People

I love personal emails. The right words at the right time can do wonders for turning a bad day around or adding the icing to an already fabulous day.


As much as I love a good email, I love real mail even more. It is a thrill to open my mailbox and find an envelope with my name written with a human hand. There is wondrous joy in seeing that someone valued me enough to take time to address an envelope and jot down love on paper.


In the world we live in, love often takes a backseat and value gets hidden under to do lists. It takes a deliberate choice of action to make people the priority they need to be.


I choose to live deliberately.


During a lull in the day, I amass my supplies within my reach on the couch. Boxes with event labels on the end, pen, and home organizer notebook. My laptop sits closed on the floor awaiting its turn.





Beside me is my cup of chocolate milk or coffee, and before me, the TV glows soft with a heart-filled movie or TV show. The story of wounds too real becoming hearts restored plays on as I do my share to contribute to heart health.


I flip open the book to the blue sheets under the tab "Cards and Dates". Four columns per page. Each column a month of names, birthdays and anniversaries.





"Lord, show me the right card and give me the right words."


I open the boxes I have bought in bulk at the store--the only way I can find time or budget to supply so many cards.


I begin with next month's list. Three anniversaries. I read the cards sometimes more than once until I know which card goes with which couple. I write the name on the front and the date in the upper right hand corner--where it is easily covered by a stamp.


Next, I look through the names for children's birthdays. Then I find cards for the men (because there are always fewer of those). Finally, each lady on my list is given a card.





When I am done, three months of cards lay before me with name and date written on the front and a card tucked loosely inside.

Then I pull out my gold folder with the stationary musts. The stamps will be pulled out each week as needed, but for now, they stay snug and secure in their pocket. One sheet of return address labels is emptied as each envelope receives its own.




Finally, as the TV drones on, and I give it only fleeting attention, I open my laptop and pull up my contacts. Quickly, I place the envelopes in alphabetical order and start writing in names.


When the stack is finished, I reorder them according to dates, so they are easily pulled each week, stamped, and mailed. Before closing them, though, I pull out the seemingly impersonal card, pray for words of encouragement and wisdom, and write my heart of celebration, gratitude, and joy for the one who will find the joy of her/his name in human writing. Sometimes I write a prayer, sometimes a word of encouragement. Always something heartfelt.


It is my way of touching heart when hands are too far apart and letting someone know that in my life, they are noteworthy.