It's finally here! The first day of October and the beginning of my challenge year. I woke up early this morning and went on the front porch to watch the sun come up. I wasn't sure when sunrise was officially so I just sat and enjoyed the quiet of the neighborhood until the sky seemed to be quite light. Once inside again, I checked and the sunrise had been at about 7:28 a.m. so I was definitely out there when it happened. The sad part is that I have trees blocking my view of the actual rise of the sun so it's hard to see it when it happens. I still love the peacefulness as the darkness turns to light so if that is all I experience with my 52 sunrises, then I will be happy. It's a great time to meditate on things and to pray. There's something about watching the sunrise that makes my day perkier.
I've decided that Sunday will be my letter writing day. It's usually a quiet time around the house since the girls like to take afternoon naps and Russ usually uses this time to watch a little golf or sports on TV. I think my first letter will be to a friend, Brenda, who just recently moved away. I'm sure she could use a little pick-me-up mail about now.
Sundays will also be my day to work on the art journal challenge. The link to the 52 week challenge is on the sidebar here. Basically I'll be creating on a deck of cards. I found an old deck from a halloween party that has skulls and crossbones on it. I don't think I'll have any problem covering up that art work with my own. The challenge for this week is "something you are proud of". I'm thinking I will do a little image transfer for this one with a picture of my kids.
The first bible verse group I'll be working on is Isaiah 40:28-31 which reads: "Hast thou not known? Hast thou not heard? The everlasting God, Jehovah, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary. There is no searching of His understanding. He giveth power to the faint and to him that hath no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary and the young shall utterly fall; but they that wait for Jehovah shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." I've had part of verse 31 memorized for years because it is seen on artwork frequently as well as a song we sing at church services but I love the sentiment of the entire passage. God never sleeps. He gives power to those who feel they are weak but sometimes we DO need to wait on God's wisdom to know what we need, when we need it. My plan is to memorize verses that give me comfort, reassurance, help me grow or help me teach others. The verses will be memorized in the American Standard Version which I've been told is one of the closest translations to the original Hebrew/Greek as far as the ordering of the words etc. I like this version the most.
I'm currently halfway through a book by Judy Duarte called "Mulberry Park" and will hopefully finish that one this weekend. I have a growing pile of books on my desk to work my way through as well as a few from the library. Reading is something I do daily so although it seems lofty, I think I can easily reach my 52 goal.
Today we will attend a pot luck and singing at some friends' house so I may try to find a new recipe to try for my contribution to the dinner. I have several saved on Pinterest that I hope to use as part of my 52.
I drank my final colas for the year last night. I had a Dr. Pepper with our pizza and another Dr. Pepper with popcorn while we watched "Lost". I really don't think I will miss them too much. I don't drink colas as often as I do tea. Who knows I may even give them up for life after being without for a year. We'll see. I also weighed myself last night for the last time this year. I hope to not be anywhere near that weight at the end of this challenge but I won't know until then how I did. (the mystery of it all will be fun)
So far, I'm feeling pretty good about the year ahead and think I am very capable of finishing all 52 things. It's not as overwhelming when I can break it down by week. Works out great that my age is the same as the number of weeks in a year. The challenge has begun and I'm off the starting blocks with high energy and motivation to do this. Pacing myself weekly with a new report will hopefully keep me moving forward steadily.
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