It’s Been a Year . . .

I didn’t deliberately not write this past year except for a couple of entries. It seems that life got a hold of me and free time rapidly became nonexistent. My word of ENDURANCE for this year was most definitely the right one. The Bible verse below has been posted on my wall all year. When things were getting particularly crazy and my head was spinning, I would reread this verse and get back on track (or at least try to anyway!). Life can be a struggle, but fortunately I have a God who loves me very much and won’t ever leave me. That is certainly something to keep a tight hold of!

So what did happen this last year, you might ask? My biggest time consumer was my Master’s program in Education and Learning from Friends University. On top of my teaching and regular family life, I had little time for anything else. Summer consisted of 14 credit hours of juggling assignments.

Our family welcomed not one, but two grandbabies this year. My son and his girlfriend had a baby boy in May and my step-daughter and her husband had a baby girl in November. How blessed we are!

I was fortunate to be able to run a few races this year as well. Running is my stress release so it is important for me to keep up with my training. I ran 4 half-marathons, two which I ran with my husband. The gravel run was an incredibly difficult one that resulted in more walking that running as it felt we were running on rocks that would easily twist our ankles (in fact, it did, as my hubby’s knee wasn’t doing too well). It was also in July and it was warm. I ran two Prairie Fire half marathons (the back-to-back spring and fall) and amazingly enough managed to place 3rd in my age group in the fall race! A couple of weeks later, my husband and I both ran the Air Capital Half Marathon and placed 1st in both of our age groups! Next up, the 10 mile Turkey Trot where we both got personal records!

Powering through the Gravel Run with my hubby

 

Whew! We finished!

3rd place in my age group at the fall Prairie Fire! 

When the new school/work year started in August, the district where I work rolled out a new method of grading with Standards Referenced Grading for the elementary schools, which involved a significant learning curve along with reworking many lessons and altering the curriculum in order to better teach my students. It sounded like a great thing, but at the moment the work load is significant. It’s getting easier as the school year continues, but it’s still hard work. It helps, though, that I have an incredible team to work with, and our new principal is most definitely an asset!

So, this was just a quick update on a handful of things that happened this year. Now, I’m working on my new word for the new year – 2020!

 

My One Word for 2019

ENDURANCE

Earlier this year when I was contemplating what my word should be for this year, I was struck by a phrase that I remembered from many years ago. Back when I was in 8th grade, I had a middle school Science teacher that had motivational posters all over her room. I loved them, and told her as much so the next time she received a catalog for them, she gave it to me. I promptly cut up the catalog and taped my favorites on the inside cover of my binder. I later transferred them to the inside cover of my photo album and they’re still there to this day.

“The race is not always to the swift but to those who keep on running.”

So the word endurance came to mind. I vaguely remembered a Bible verse saying something similar, so I checked Google to see what it says.

Ecclesiastes 9:11 New Living Translation (NLT)

¹¹ I have observed something else under the sun. The fastest runner doesn’t always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn’t always win the battle. The wise sometimes go hungry, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don’t always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being in the right place at the right time. (bolded emphasis mine)

Then one day Word on the Way came up below:

I already know that this year may have its challenges. I started my Masters degree classes this month that I should finish by this December. I’m going to be a grandma at the end of April. My daughter is moving out. My youngest son just got his first car. My principal retires in May so we’ll have a new one come August. All that on top of the regular life with its stressors.

Hmmm . . . lots of things coming up. I’m hoping that my faith won’t be tested too much but I’m good for the growth part.  So I took it a little further and looked at the surrounding text around the above Bible verse.

² Dear brothers and sisters,^[a] when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. ³ For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. ⁴ So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

Life happens. Not everything is sunshine and roses. But what we do with it and how we approach life in general makes a huge difference. I will focus on endurance this year, because it’s not about winning but how I approach the race.

Did you choose a word for your focus for 2019? I’d love to hear about it!