Chapter 1

I really wanted today to be special and I have been thinking about it for a few weeks. First, I decided that I needed a new journal. For whatever reason, I do best with notebooks and I love this one I picked up at Walmart. I am so excited to start it tonight. (oops - wrong picture. Imagine this same book only periwinkle blue. This green one is my garden journal for this year.)

Secondly, I decided to watch the sunset at Lake Hefner. The wind was not blowing and the lake was pure glass. It was so beautiful and peaceful. Lighthouses remind me of family, both here and in heaven.

While at the lake, I let off a balloon. I think that I find too much symbolism in things, but that too meant a lot.

I also chose a word for the year. I have thought a lot about it, trying to pick the right word. My word is - Diligence: the constant effort to accomplish what is undertaken. Sounds like hard work huh. But let me explain. Our trials can teach us much about ourselves, our strengths and weaknesses. I have a new appreciation for diligence. It is by the small and simpliest of things that great things come to pass. It is by diligently reading the scriptures that scriptorians are made. It is by diligent kindnesses that marriages are nurtured. It is by diligent effort that weight comes off. It is by diligent practice that musicians are created. I am not a diligent person. I am an emotional one, a passionate one. I soar in the heat of the moment but struggle with the slow & steady progress that my spirit needs. So, this year, my word is diligence & all of its wonderful applications. And in that spirit, I have not made any New Year's Resolutions. Instead, I am starting my own thing- Small Steps Sundays. Each Sunday I am going to choose a goal (or two) for the week & diligently report my progress either to you or some other form of accountability.

I love that today felt special, memorable. Go forth & conquer!