So why would I start a blog and what in the world does mine even mean?  Contrary to what some people might think, I do not have too much time on my hands!

As some of you may or may not know, I’ve just finished my Lent Challenge.  I had a collection of things that I decided to challenge myself with:

. No added sugar (if you think that’s easy, try reading labels … what is sugar NOT in?)

. Do one nice thing a day for someone (when I didn’t feel like it)

. No shopping on Saturdays/Sundays (in all fairness – the Sunday part was pretty easy as I typically don’t shop on Sundays)

. Even harder than the sugar thing, was the limiting computer time to one hour a day (with the new Pininterest site out there … that was tricky).

                                                   
I did discover a few things once it was over ….

. there are lots of loopholes in life, if you want to look for them

. temptation is everywhere

. there’s satisfaction in knowing you didn’t cave

. you have to be intentional about a commitment 24/7

. having self-control is a huge effort some days.

. doing something for the right reasons doesn’t make it any easier … it just makes it the right thing to do

. knowing that others are aware of your commitment is a very good motivator!

 Seeing as I am turning 55 near the end of May ... I’ve been thinking on that considerably.  Had my first seniors discount recently … not as hard to take as I thought it might be but it was a grim reminder that I’m not the spring chicken I used to be.  Around me there are so many struggling with: health issues, surviving the death of a loved one, job losses, depression, wayward children, wayward spouses, … you name it, it’s out there. Can be awfully overwhelming dwelling on the list.  Even just watching people you care about struggling with the list.

It seems that so many have lost their way and so many have lost their joy.  Perhaps they never knew where they were going in the first place or maybe didn’t even have the joy to lose.  Not sure that I can do anything about either of those things for others, but I know that I can do a better job of seeking the JOY in every day life for myself. 

I just know I am not interested in waking up to simply ‘go through the motions’ until its time to pass out from exhaustion in my bed at the end of the day.  Don’t want to be counting the days until the weekend finally arrives. Not excited to live from pay cheque to pay cheque.  I think we were created to look at our circumstances and make intentional decisions about our actions day to day.  Today I choose see the joy and appreciation of waking up (because not everyone does), the joy and appreciation of going to a job I choose to find merit in (because not everyone does) and ‘to live in the moments’ finding joy and appreciation for those who walk my journey with me in this experience we call, LIFE (because so many won’t see the blessings that are all around them).

In celebration of my 55^th year, I’ve picked 55 challenges that I will blog about – 3 prior to my birthday. Each Monday, I will post the challenge I’ve given myself for the week.  They aren’t anything that others would consider exciting or maybe even blog worthy, but that’s ok.  This isn’t about them … it’s about me. I’m sure to some, they will even wonder what the point of some of them will be. I find that it’s generally the ordinary things in life that seem to drag us down and eat away at us.  They can waste our time, add to or take away from living a simple life or even just simply living our life.  As I progress through and ultimately end the year on my 56^th birthday … I hope to have grown along the way in my faith, my diligence, my gratitude, my generosity, my self-control, and my vision about being all that I can be in spite of circumstances.

                      Joy isn't so much in the destination as the journey,

                           Nor is it in the successes as the attempts.