Time Capsule: The Fire. And the Rest of the Reflection.

Yesterday morning, my heart was soaring. I had surpassed my running goal!  I was celebrating!

By 2:00pm, my heart was crashing. We were eating in a restaurant when we got a call that my daughter’s and son-in-law’s shop where he creates beautiful guitars was burning.

I love my son-in-law. To see him watch his dream burn when we arrived was awful. He is 25, and he has building this dream since he was 15. In addition, this is a loss of income, of course. Five trucks and several vehicles, frantic phone calls on the way, billowing smoke columns seen from miles away, even to us as we drove there with our hearts in our throats–a nightmare.

Today, my sweet son-in-law posted this status on Facebook: “The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

So as I prepare to enter my second time capsule post, “My 10 Disappointments in 2014,” as part of a year-end reflection, let’s just say that 2014 went out with a bang AND a whimper. Here are a few pics. My son-in-law is in the brown coat.

Won’t all of the other disappointments pale in comparison? Even so, I’m going to record what I had previously noted for this exercise:

9. I neglected to register for a half-marathon.

8. I didn’t keep up with journaling or blogging.

7. My weight crept up, which proves you can’t outrun what you eat.

6. I didn’t read as much as I would have liked, but I will add here that I did add East of Eden to my Top Ten Favorite Books list.

5. Extended family issues remain unresolved.

4. Anxiety receded for a while and then returned for no rhyme or reason.

3. I became lazy about eating well, especially in December.

2. I didn’t always respond well to certain people who trigger negative feelings.

1. I missed quite a bit of church.

Three Game-Changers:

3. I quit my job at Youth for Christ to care for my mom and Josie better.

2. Mom began to require more care.

1. Josie became much more mobile. She is currently 23 months old.

Three Things I Focused On:

3. Eating gluten free. This has greatly improved my psoriasis and eczema.

2. Running.

1. Genealogy

Three Things I Forgot:

3. To drink more water, which means any water at all, because I cannot seem to remember to drink, even with meals. I’ve been this way my whole life.

2. To take statin meds. Gulp. My yearly physical is in one week–that should prove whether I truly need them or not.

1. To take my supplements, which is important because they, too, affect my skin issues.

Reflection: Plans for Next Year?

I would like to keep this question in mind throughout the year: “Three months from now, how will I thank myself for this decision?”

I would like to focus on memorizing scripture.

I’d like to jot down thoughts about my favorite daily devotional which I read every morning before getting out of bed unfortunately entitled, Jesus Calling. 

I’d like to be more regular with posting. After all, how much harder can it be than status updates?

This is a big one: I’d like to break away from sugar, specifically Peanut M&Ms, my downfall. But also I’m watching hidden sugars in yogurts, etc.

I must drink more water. I MUST! KIDNEYS! SKIN!

Register for a half-marathon.

Devote time to scanning and saving family photos and genealogy research.

Complete the book challenge I started on Pinterest.

Run 750 miles in 2015.

So here we go. It’s January 1, 2015. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.