It's Almost My Birthday...

...and I'm OK with that!

Last year, I remember being very impacted and upset about getting older.  I felt very, very old, which was somewhat unusual for me.  I have never been a person who is overly bothered by a number.  I think you're only about as old as you act or feel.  But last year, turning 47, I felt old.

This year, however, I'm feeling a bit refreshed and renewed.  I'm making changes in my life a little at a time, like allowing myself to try new things - that I may or may not be successful at - and risking failure.  I'm becoming more and more the person I want to be.  Oh, the journey is nowhere near complete.  It won't be, I think, until I draw my last breath here and wake up in heaven, where I'll be exactly who I was created to be, no more flaws holding me back. But I'm persuaded that the journey to that day is just as important as arriving there. And right now, the journey is going well.

So, next week...in seven short days when I turn 48...you won't find me lamenting the passing of another month, another year.  Nope.  I plan on celebrating! There are some amazing things happening in my life right now in this season, and I am embracing and enjoying every moment.  Yes, I'm looking mid-life square in the eye...and the view from here isn't half bad.

Moving Forward...
Angie
:-)

Music Reaches Me...

I've loved music for as long as I can remember.  My first radio was a little AM/FM receiver tucked inside a stuffed cocker spaniel dog.  I'd turn on the radio at night and snuggle up and listen to song after song laying in my bed, memorizing lyrics and falling asleep to 70's rock tunes from my favorite radio station.  I'm not sure how many 9-volt batteries I wore out with that little puppy...

My first concert was an amazing experience - for many reasons! It was here I first discovered that hearing music live is possibly one of the most incredible things you can do in life.  I don't care how good recording technology gets, hearing Journey and their (former) lead singer, Steve Perry, sing "Open Arms" live will trump it every time!  (I'm certain he was singing straight to me...it was my 16th birthday, after all!) 

Whatever I'm facing in life, there's a song that can tell my story.  There's not really a genre that I can say I don't listen to from time to time, but contemporary Christian music is probably what feeds my soul more than just about any other right now on my journey. And I came across this song the other day when my iTunes were on shuffle.

"Can anybody hear me?  

The silence is deafening.  

Why do You feel so far away 

When I know You're here with me

But I just need the faith to see

Nothing can separate me from Your love..."

Have the Conversations that Need to Be Had...

Today, I had the absolute joy and privilege of being taken to breakfast by a dear, dear friend.  We've only known each other well for a few years, but "Sis" is how we refer to each other, and it's very accurate because we truly are family - the kind that you choose for yourself, not the kind you're born into.

As we sat by a warm fire and enjoyed each other's company, catching each other up on the little things, the conversation eventually took a God-ordained turn and veered into deeper, bigger things. How are you really?  What's God doing in your life?  Those kinds of things...the very things this blog is about, actually.

The Audacity of Hope...

Audacity.  Shameless boldness.  Daring, with confident or arrogant disregard for conventional wisdom or other restrictions.

I've never really considered hope audacious, but perhaps it truly is.

You see, I'm hoping for some changes this year in my life as I concentrate on moving forward.  I've undertaken the task of examining my life - where I am, what I've accomplished as a wife, mother, daughter, professional, and perhaps more importantly, where I want to go and what I want to do with the time I've got left in this life.  I make no bones any longer about facing midlife head on and asking myself the difficult questions.  I'm generally happy and fairly settled in my life at this point, but there are these nagging unfulfilled goals and dreams that keep eating away at me.  It's time to do actually DO something about them...and it may well take some audacity to get them accomplished.

Moving Forward...

Welcome to 2015, Friends!  And welcome to my new blog!  I am by far not the only person beginning (or in my case continuing) a blogger's journey today, but I'm glad you're taking the time to stop by my neighborhood as you make your rounds.  Thanks!  Short of making new year's resolutions and beginning health improvement campaigns, writing a blog post may be one of the most undertaken tasks of the day today.  I'd be remiss if I bypassed the opportunity to add my voice to the cacophony!

Last year, I tried focusing on one word for the entire year and seeing how that word would play out in my life.  The word for last year was "create".  I spent 2014 looking for ways to express and ignite my creativity and was rewarded with many new creations - new relationships, new skills, new passions, and even new writings.  The novel I wrote is in its final stages...I think...and I'm busy acting, script writing, and doing life with people I have come to love dearly.  A very creative 2014 for sure!

This year, after meditating on it for a good while, I decided that my word of the year will be "forward".  I chose this word as my focus for 2015 because it's a direction that I often neglect. At times, I just roam...aimlessly...without much thought for what comes next.  There are days when that's fun, but there are nights when the lack of focus keeps me awake, wondering what I'm missing...hoping it's nothing vital, but fearing that it is.  So for 2015, my aim is to intentionally move my life forward.  I don't know what that will bring, but I hope that at the end of the year, I'll be able to reflect and discover that 2015 was just as monumental in terms of growth and satisfaction as 2014 was for me.