{"id":13497,"date":"2022-01-25T12:50:25","date_gmt":"2022-01-25T12:50:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ldhr.org\/?p=13497"},"modified":"2024-07-09T17:29:58","modified_gmt":"2024-07-09T21:29:58","slug":"great-way-to-start-new-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ldhr.org\/uk\/great-way-to-start-new-year\/","title":{"rendered":"A Great Way to Start the New Year"},"content":{"rendered":"
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My husband and I flew back to Orlando on Jan 1 after spending parts of Christmas with both of our families. Our time was invigorating and a bit exhausting. It felt good to be home. As I got settled back into our home, I could not help but think about the newness of 2022. Putting on the new year felt like putting on a new pair of shoes. Both have potential but might also cause pain or blisters as I start moving forward.<\/p>

Last year, I got away and spent a day talking to God about the new year. He marvelously met me, and I finished with hope and direction for the year. This year, reflection and planning time would need to fit between things. Possibly a healthier way to \u201cbreak in the new shoes.\u201d<\/p>

As I took snatches of time in the next week to remember each month of last year, God reminded me that times of slowing to reflect are valuable<\/strong>. He had provided many good things even in the pandemic slog. I still felt the \u201cslog\u201d– like going through life in slow motion at times, but I also felt the joy of time spent with our two adult children who were back at home for a few extra months. I was grateful for several weeks with my Mom after receiving her vaccinations, and I enjoyed my team\u2019s face-to-face meeting after going virtual for nearly two years! I counted many more blessings as I walked through last year\u2019s calendar.<\/p>

In all truth, I was a bit surprised at how hard I had to work to remember! But, God brought big things and little things to mind. There is a discipline to remembering.<\/strong> A friend encouraged me to reflect on the lessons learned and the year\u2019s challenges. I started that. Another friend mentioned some unique questions that helped her process the past year and the year ahead more creatively.<\/p>

After reflecting on the past, I turned to the future. Remembering is like planting seeds in a grateful heart, and planning adds water. The seeds bloom into hope for what lies ahead.<\/p>

Only God knows my future, but He gives me joy thinking about what He\u2019ll have for me. Sometimes planning is a two-edged sword. It can help me fit in everything or make me aware that I can\u2019t do everything. The last couple of years humbled planners like me; we cannot know what tomorrow will bring. So, I did not get granular with my planning. I just tried to hear from God what He wanted for me in this new year<\/strong>, which inevitably gave hope. Planning for me is an expression of faith in what God has for tomorrow.<\/p>

As you anticipate the year ahead, you might share the tradition of choosing a word for the year. Or you may set resolutions or goals. I\u2019ve done my share of setting resolutions and occasionally found an annual theme, but this year, I just wanted to start the year with moments of quiet before the Lord of the universe.<\/p>

He pours His love upon me and gives me hope – a great way to start the new year.<\/strong><\/p>

We\u2019d love to learn from you too.<\/p>

  • How do you reflect on or remember a past year?<\/strong><\/li>
  • What do you do to welcome a new year?<\/strong><\/li>
  • What has God given you hope for in 2022?<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    My husband and I flew back to Orlando on Jan 1 after spending parts of Christmas with both of our families. Our time was invigorating…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":25281,"featured_media":13504,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[417,146],"keyword":[],"class_list":["post-13497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-processes","tag-new-year","tag-planning"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ldhr.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/226\/2022\/01\/new-year-post.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"meta_box":{"_cloudsearch_visibility":"0"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ldhr.org\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13497","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ldhr.org\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ldhr.org\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ldhr.org\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25281"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ldhr.org\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13497"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/www.ldhr.org\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13497\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31975,"href":"https:\/\/www.ldhr.org\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13497\/revisions\/31975"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ldhr.org\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13504"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ldhr.org\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13497"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ldhr.org\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13497"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ldhr.org\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13497"},{"taxonomy":"keyword","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ldhr.org\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/keyword?post=13497"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}