Happy New Hodgepodge!

What better way to start off the new year than to join Joyce for a brand new set of Hodgepodge questions?!

1. How did you ring in the new year?

Very quietly, in bed with a book! I really didn't even intend to be up, but my girl was at a sleepover and my boy had a friend come visit so I stayed up a bit longer than usual.

2. What is one thing you are looking forward to in 2013?

My man and I will celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary.

3. Steven Spielberg is quoted as saying, "All of us every single year, we're a different person. I don't think we're the same person all our lives." What say you?

Overall, I think that's true. I certainly hope I change (for the better!) and grow as the years pass.

4. The Pantone color of the year for 2013 is emerald green. Like or dislike? Do you already own something this color? Will you add something in this shade to your home or wardrobe in 2013?

I am not a fan of green. Except for money! I do have an emerald drop on a necklace.

5. Speaking of emerald...what's your favorite gemstone?

Well, diamonds are really nice. I also love sapphires.

6. Share a favorite book or movie from 2012.

I can never pick a favorite book! That's like asking me to pick my favorite child! And I rarely go to the movies. I enjoyed Les Mis when my girl and I saw it last week.

7. What is something you want to tell yourself at the start of this brand new year?

In light of the fiscal cliff mess and the fact that we will have two kids in college this fall, this passage has been on my mind a lot lately:

Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.

The Sovereign Lord is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to tread on the heights.
(Habakkuk 3:16-17)

8. Insert your own random thought here.

New Year's always puts us in a purge mood. Yesterday we went through closets and some accumulated "to deal with later" piles and now have a huge load to donate and recycle. We could easily do it again and come up with at least that much more. Lord, deliver us from stuff!

Ironic #8 in light of #7. . . . LOL

Blessings to you as 2013 begins!

View blog reactions

A Prayer for 2013

I love this old hymn and especially like this arrangement by Selah. It's a great way to focus our minds and our hearts on Christ for the new year.



Blessings to you as you begin 2013!

View blog reactions

TSMSS - Happy New Year!

I don't know if Amy is hosting Then Sings My Soul Saturday, but I had to share this song since next week is when many celebrate the Epiphany. I heard this song for the first time last month and immediately fell in love with it but thought I'd save it for this week.

A lot of people are making resolutions as the new year begins. It reminded me of this great hymn - the best resolution one could ever make!



Happy New Year! I hope this is the beginning of a blessed year for you!

View blog reactions

Flashback Friday - Auld Lang Syne

How did your family celebrate New Year's when you were growing up? Was staying up on New Year's Eve a big deal? Was it a date night for your parents or was it a family occasion? Did your family have any particular traditions for New Year's? Were resolutions emphasized? Did you do fireworks? Watch parades or bowl games? Were there church activities you attended? Did Christmas activities extend into the new year? Was the Epiphany a focus?

My folks generally didn't do much for New Year's Eve. I always wanted to stay up late, and I may have gotten to stay up a couple of times (but only if I took a nap in the afternoon beforehand!). When I was in high school, our church had what was called a Watch Night Fellowship and Prayer Time that was always lots of fun. Everyone would show up about 6:00 or 7:00 on the 31st and there would be games and snacks. At 11:30 or 11:45, we all went to the chapel and sang a few songs and prayed the new year in. I always enjoyed that - it made New Year's Eve fun without having to deal with crowds and alcohol. I haven't heard of a church doing anything like that in 25 years!

Firecrackers were illegal in the Houston city limits, but that didn't stop some people, and I always dreaded going to bed on New Year's Eve because I knew there would be so many! I was scared of the noise and the fact that they were illegal made me more nervous, even though our family never did them.

During my childhood, New Year's Day was always predictable. I never missed the Rose Bowl Parade; the elaborate flower-covered floats still fascinate me. After that the bowl games were on, and since those were the days of the Southwest Conference, the Cotton Bowl was a priority, especially if UT was playing! On New Year's night, I loved watching the half-time of the Orange Bowl. They always had the best shows. I don't think they are near as cool now with all the computerized lighting and special effects; those old ones were the best! While we watched the parade and games, the Christmas decorations were taken down and the tree put out for the trash. We took off every one of those icicles that we had put on one at a time, and my dad carefully wrapped them in wax paper and put them in their box to use the next year. It always amazed me to drive by other houses and see icicles still on the discarded trees!

I always dreaded meals on New Year's Day. Although he wasn't superstitious, my dad always made sure my mom fixed black-eyed peas and cornbread, the traditional Southern "good luck in the new year" meal. I hated both of those. I haven't fixed black-eyed peas on New Year's since I've been an adult!

I don't know if it was churches in general or just the Southern Baptist ones, but there was never an emphasis or even acknowledgement of the Epiphany on January 6 when I was a child. I had never heard of it until I was grown. The wise men were just lumped in with Christmas.


What about you? Share your New Year's Eve/Day memories and link up here!

View blog reactions

Another Year is Dawning

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
"Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years"
Genesis 1:14

Another year is dawning!
Dear Father, let it be,
In working or in waiting,
Another year with Thee;
Another year of leaning
Upon Thy loving breast;
Another year of trusting,
Of quiet, happy rest;

Another year of mercies,
Of faithfulness and grace;
Another year of gladness
In the shining of Thy face;
Another year of progress,
Another year of praise;
Another year of proving
Thy presence all the days;

Another year of service,
Of witness for Thy love;
Another year of training
For holier work above.
Another year is dawning!
Dear Father, let it be
On earth, or else in heaven,
Another year for Thee.

WORDS: Frances R. Havergal, 1874
MUSIC: Samuel Wesley, 1864

(Click on Frances R. Havergal's name above to read a brief biography of this prolific hymnwriter. She was only 43 when she died, yet she had written 80 hymns and memorized much of the New Testament, as well as the Psalms and Isaiah!)


Blessings to you on this first day of 2010!

View blog reactions

Another Year is Dawning

As we close out one year and welcome a new one, our thoughts and emotions can be as varied as the ways people choose to ring in the new year.

Personally, I'm glad to send 2008 packing! Since this was the year that 1) my FIL was moved into an Alzheimer's facility, 2) my mother died (in the middle of Hurricane Ike, which caused a 10-day delay in her burial), and 3) I spent the last 2 months of the year dealing with a broken foot and learning how advanced my osteoporosis already is -- I am ready to move on to 2009.

Of course, economic uncertainty coupled with a probable layoff at my man's company, as well as the less-than-encouraging political horizon, doesn't make me too ecstatic about the coming year, either!

But then I think of what the year has the possibility of being in spiritual terms. And as Habakkuk says,

Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,

I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.

The Sovereign LORD is my strength;
He makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
He enables me to go on the heights.
Habakkuk 3:17-19

There aren't too many hymns that focus specifically on New Year's, but you only need one when it's as good as this one.

In January, 1874 Frances Ridley Havergal sent her friends a New Year's greeting with a beautiful prayer of dedication she had written. She was known all over England as "the consecration poet." She was completely committed to serving God with her talents and abilities. She was "an accomplished pianist and vocalist, proficient in seven languages, possessing a keen mind (having memorized Psalms, Isaiah, the Minor Prophets, and the entire New Testament)."

Source: Amazing Grace: 365 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions by Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications, 2002.

This tiny church sings this beautiful song whose melody is the same as The Church's One Foundation.

ANOTHER YEAR IS DAWNING
Another year is dawning, dear Father, let it be
In working or in waiting, another year with Thee.
Another year of progress, another year of praise,
Another year of proving Thy presence all the days.

Another year of mercies, of faithfulness and grace,
Another year of gladness in the shining of Thy face;
Another year of leaning upon Thy loving breast;
Another year of trusting, of quiet, happy rest.

Another year of service, of witness for Thy love,
Another year of training for holier work above.
Another year is dawning, dear Father, let it be
On earth, or else in Heaven, another year for Thee.

WORDS: Frances R. Havergal
MUSIC: Samuel S. Wesley

May this be the prayer of all of us as we welcome 2009. Happy New Year!

View blog reactions