1.01.2011

2011

From the start of this blog in 2008, at the beginning of each year I like to reflect on the previous year and make grandiose resolutions for the forth coming year. So, for the sake of tradition, (and we all know how much i love tradition) and because I can think of nothing better to write at the start of a new year, I will continue on with the ritual. 


The year 2010 seems to be quite a blur in my mind. I feel cheesy saying it, but time really does begin to fly by the older you are. Days and weeks begin to mesh together and years are marked with the small joys and moments that outline the shape of your soul and story. Many surprises took place throughout the year  and I would say at least 1/2 of what ended up framing our year was completely unplanned on Jan. 1, 2010.


  • We welcomed a new brother into the family when Andrea and Michael were married in February. 
  • We took a week vacation in Myrtle Beach, SC with the Ewing clan in June thanks to my Aunt Debby for graciously opening up her home. During this trip we had our first family "circle" ate lots of good food, sunbathed, read several books, visited Aunt Cindy, payed putt-putt golf, learned how NOT to put an umbrella in the sand when it's windy, soaked up the world cup.
  • We discovered my sister Cynthia (my older sister) was pregnant and moving to Nashville to start residency!
  • We welcomed two new house guests, Cynthia and John-Paul, from June - October.
  • I continued to play guitar, but lost momentum during the summer as our small group came to an end. 
  • We harvested wine in Campbellsville, KY and seriously considered moving there.
  • I participated in 3 weddings of dear friends. (Heather, Kristen, and Stephanie).
  • We miraculously made our way to France to visit Nate, Jo, and Ayla before their move to Africa. Lots of wine drinking, food consuming, walking, shopping, biking, train riding and site seeing was had (read about it here, here, and here. More to come later).
  • We joyously celebrated the coming of new life when my niece Annalee Grace was born on November 20th. 
  • We fixed our sink, and then fixed it again, and just found out yesterday we may need to fix it AGAIN!
  • I dramatically and courageously changed jobs from the non-profit sector marketing to country-folk to the for-profit sector marketing to country-folk. Good times.
  • I turned 26 and josh surprised me with a fabulous party filled with friends, wine, pasta, and words of encouragement for the coming year. 
  • We took two long weekend trips with the Michael family. One to Saint Louis where we watched baseball, played at the city museum, and found quite possibly the saddest fire works show ever by way of wandering around a parking lot like the Children of Israel. The other to Cincinnati, where IKEA was our worst enemy and an obscure German beer festival was our best friend.
  • I started the monthly girls-only wine nights which have become an outlet of cooking creativity, friendship, and shared life. 
Whew...i think those were the highlights for me. Looking back on the goals I had for 2010 I can safely say i accomplished two of the five. They were:
  • Finish reading the Bible in a (2) year(s) - Did get further in this process, but still have a ways to go...
  • write one hand written letter a month - did this for about 3 months and lost momentum, however i did receive one of my favorite letters of all time from my lil sis Emily as a result of this initiative. 
  • write one song a month - I wrote 2 songs all year...which equals out to approx. .1666667 per month...not nearly sufficient enough to call even a solid effort, but is more than I can say for my song writing in 2009.
  • write two blogs a month (at minimum) - Blew this out of the water once my momentum started in July.
  • incorporate the words magnificent, outstanding, and glorious into my vocabulary more often.  - I mean....you can't really measure this, but i'm pretty sure i remember saying these words more than usual...so...uh...CHECK!
So moving in to 2011 I really feel like this year is going to be marked with Growth and moving forward for me. I feel like 2010 felt a bit stagnate spiritually, relationally, financially, and even backwards health wise. I think God wants to partner with me to prosper and grow in all of these areas during 2011. In an e-newsletter i read this morning the writer, Dr. Ray Roberts said, "Without question, God prefers health over sickness, prosperity over poverty, community over isolation, and of course, mercy over justice." so I have to believe that God wants to partner with me for to see dreams and goals realized. 
  1. Finish reading the Bible in a (3) year(s).
  2. Write at least 12 songs that are suitable for an album.
  3. Record an album
  4. AAAAAND - stereotypical, but I want to work out at least 3 times a week.
#3 is a bit contingent upon #2, but that's OK. Also, I'm gunna go ahead and tell myself it's OK if these aren't accomplished this year. I don't take my new years resolutions as seriously as some people, but I do think it's smart to at least establish a few goals at the beginning of the year to try and focus on and work towards.

Lastly, another blogger I read likes to pray for a word from the Lord at the beginning of each year, and I think that's a great idea. I'm going to pray over the next few days and see what word the Lord has for me in 2011. More on that later! 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

5 comments:

  1. Happy New Year! Great resolutions!

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  2. I love the goal to write one hand-written letter a month. Seems simple enough, but we really take advantage of technology!
    Happy New Year!

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  3. Hand-written letters. I need to add that one to my list as well. I started writing my grandparents once a month say in august faithfully till december. Getting back on track this month and hopefully staying.

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  4. Yay! great posts! It's going to be a good year. As for your feeling that growth will happen this year, I cannot recommend Martha Kilpatricks teaching and writing enough. I have never been taught so deeply in my life, and the Spirit is just digging in...
    I am excited about album...and you can make an EP if need be!
    :)

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  5. Great post!!!

    (and congrats on getting up early...it does make the day go smoother, doesn't it?)

    Blessings!

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