stacie's sacred space

11 best things about 20eleven

 

it's the countdown to twenty12!

 

first i have to reflect on 20eleven.

there were a lot of good things.

here are the best!

11. baking cakes ... more than i've baked in my whole life, i made this year.

10. publishing my first youtube video, "summertime." thank you so much, justin for helping me to create that imovie.

9. finding peace through prayer. having the focus on that word for this year was a great reminder during those times i was breathless and overwhelmed.

8. eating less carbs is good for me. i lost and found pounds learning this lesson. sigh.

7. taking the artist's way class ... creativity is exercise for my soul and deepens my spiritual life.

6. jogging, walking, and working out is good for my body, mind, and heart.

5. joining the greeting ministry. finding ways to serve brings us so much joy!

4. buying rain boots ... man, oh man, did we ever get soaked this year! it was a fun year to play soccer in the spring and the fall with all this rain, and it didn't just come during soccer seasons. we had plenty of rain through the winter, spring, summer, and fall. i think we set records here. rain boots help me look at dreary days differently. they are awesome for splashing in big puddles!!

3. getting a fortune cookie with the fortune, "the one who laughs lasts." (and actually remembering to laugh!)

2. signing up to be discipliship room mom for joey and janie. i was begged, and i said yes. it's good for me.

1. listening to and learning from people who cross my path on this earthly journey ... their stories, beauty, love, generosity, and thoughtfulness inspire me. i'm a better person because of all of you!!

 

 

 and one more: joey making his first communion ... grace is awesome!!!

okay, now i need to get back to our new year's eve homework.

we are having a heck of a christmas break!

it's awesome here at 391.

20eleven word of the year

i did it!

i picked my word of the year for 20eleven.

peace

meditating on these three things helped me seal the deal

• John 14:27 (noted above)
• Philippians 4:4-7
• the definition i reference here

i yearn for it all the time.

sometimes i find it.

sometimes i'm able to bring it to people around me.

i picked it for my word of the year so that i could get really grounded in it.

i want to find peace with what i have right where i am.

so if you see me wearing hip peace sign shirts or walking around singing "peace train by cat stevens," you'll know why!

ffc

we started something new this year in our home ...

family fireside chats.

we are doing 'em once a week.

we pray together, we talk through things together, we play games together, we encourage each other, we have fun!!

here's our family's theme and three actions we want to focus on in our daily living. during our fires we're gonna hit these points every time!

1. be kind.
2. find peace.
3. love more.

sometimes our fire will be a candle, sometimes lit in our firepit on the patio, and this month it's always been in our fireplace.

i love the light of a fire.

these kids get so excited for our ffc nights!

after dinner, they take baths and get in their jams, then they come back down to a fire lit ... and we start!

who knows how these will change with the seasons changing.

so far there's always been a special dessert. tonight it was mint oreo milkshakes. other nights we've done homemade cookies or a batch of my carmel corn.

there's also always been a story. tonight it was you are special by max lucado and we focused mostly on finding peace.

 

we defined peace for each other. we all see it a little differently.

the other weeks this month we did how full is your bucket for kids by tom rath and mary reckmeyer. those nights focused mostly on being kind.

the conversations are fun!

we laugh, we high five, we enjoy each other.

it's a good way for dave and i to stay on the same page as we form our kids.

life is busy. life is fast! it's so important for us to be together while we can.

 

 

 

and this is the song i want to dedicate to us being together for weekly family fireside chats.

twenty11 word of the year

i like this "word of the  year" business that i jumped on the bandwagon of a year ago (you can read about it here).

i PRAYed a lot in 2010.

a word that refocused me quite often.

i prayed a lot during the busy persons retreat i participated in last spring, i read a praying life by paul e. miller, i talked to friends who have strong prayer lives, i gave up sweets for lent by praying every time i wanted one, i committed to new ways of praying and strengthened my centering prayer practice, i have my own prayer board that the kids and i use, i prayed the scriptures more this year than i ever have.

all of this prayer strengthened my friendship with God.

my strong friendship is with Him is helping me to surrender to His will.

when i do that i find joy.

joy is really cool!

PRAY was a good word for me.

and i've been praying and thinking about what my word will be for twenty11.

i'm just not ready to commit to one yet.

it's on my mind and in my heart.

sometime this month, i trust i will know my twenty11 word.

my 2011 prayer

God grant me the SERENITY to accept the things I cannot change,

the COURAGE to change the things I can,

and the WISDOM to know the difference.

living one day at a time;

enjoying one moment at a time;

accepting hardship as a pathway to peace;

taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it;

trusting that you will make all things right if I surrender to your will

so that I may be reasonably happy in this life and

supremely happy with you forever in the next.

amen.

-Reinhold Niebuhr

goodbye 2010.

i enjoyed reflecting on this year especially because i've made it a priority to come to this sacred space and reflect often.

i may be wordy and my fragmented or run on sentences may be a little confusing, but when i share the stories of my life out here i feel good.

when i feel good, i know i'm a better person.

i know it will help me remember the "good old days," and enjoy the moments i have right in my hands as much as i can!

that made coming up with my top ten in 2010 pretty easy.

i like to see this list to remember just how lucky i am even on the hardest days of my life.

1. becoming better friends with God.

2. dating dave.

3. slicing and dicing our family dynamics.

4. taking vacations.

5. becoming a recovering perfectionist.

6. going to monday morning exercise class.

7. becoming one with my camera.

8. adding birthday crowns to our traditions.

9. doodling.

10. feeding the backyard birds.

1

becoming better friends with God.

i used to view church and faith as more of an obligation, now i feel the presence of God.

i hear Him speak to me in the scriptures i read or meditate on.

i've learned He is the way to deeper love, more peace and joy.

He knows my heart better than i do.

i go to Him in my stress, i go to Him for healing, i thank Him everyday.

i wanna surrender my will for His will for me.

my prayer life has led to a special friendship.

i'm so grateful for the people He brings into my life. all of you bring me peace, joy and love through Him. thanks for a great year!!

2

dating dave.

dave is my best friend and partner.

i'm learning to appreciate every day i have with him.

i am so lucky that no matter what i endured during the day even if we are too tired to really speak to each other, that i have him on the pillow next to me to kiss goodnight.

i feel safe when dave's around.

i miss him when we're apart (even for brief periods).

we are constantly figuring out how to work together as parents, roommates, best friends, lovers.

one thing we added more of in 2010 was dates.

we are making dates more of a priority because when we leave these four walls, we aren't as distracted with the chores, kids, schedules.

we let our hair down, get real, laugh, (i cry), share our inner selves.

we're gonna keep this up and hope and pray that we can find financial peace or retire someday after we shell out all this money to babysitters.

dave, i love you so much. thanks for absolutely everything you do. you work very hard to provide the life of my dreams, and i appreciate it more than i can even communicate very often.

 

3

slicing and dicing our family dynamics.

i'm so lucky to be a mama to four kids.

i always wanted a big family.

i love these kids more than i ever imagined i could love.

i didn't know my heart could work this hard and call it fun!

this year, they really changed a bunch.

with some changes came great challenges.

when we were challenged, we really started dating our kids and slicing and dicing the family dynamics in new ways.

of course they are gonna challenge us when they don't feel important, loved, accepted.

we can do that a little better when we take them away from the chaos and distractions of being inside the heart of our home.

we can slow them down and be curious.

our curiosity so often brings out what's really going on inside of them.

it's cool to get glimpses of who they are when they are away too.

i wanna be the mama who develops strong self esteem in these little people.

i wanna have traditions that make them remember more good moments than bad ones from their childhood.

i wanna let them express their anger in healthy ways so that they know who they are and what limits they have.

i wanna raise kids who are salt to the earth.

4

taking vacations.

we got to go to destin, florida in the spring.

that white sandy beautiful beach with the emeraldish turquoise water was so peaceful.

taking our family away from a normal routine is so refreshing.

we get real.

we play.

we rest.

we marvel at the beauties of the earth we walk and live on.

we dream.

we also got to go up north in michigan on lake charlevoix with almost all of the bowers' tribe (22 of the 24 of us made it).

again, we escaped busy normal routines, phones ringing, homework, football, laundry, keeping up with life at 391 ... to be with family on the water, around the campfire, laughing, talking, catching up together.

ahhhhhhh, this is making me feel so ready for another trip.

who knows where we'll go in 2011, i just know for sure we'll go.