Happy New Hodgepodge Year

Hello and Happy New Year to all my fellow Hodgepodgers!  The ball may have been dropped in New York City, but Joyce did not "drop the ball" on  (once again) coming up with seven new questions plus the chance for us to say something random. Thanks, Joyce! And cheers to you for continuing to host this fun meme week in and week out.
 


1. How did you ring in the new year?

In a very boring way.  On Facebook and Pinterest, sitting next to my husband on the basement sofa, watching the fun and frivolity happening in Times Square via the Idiot Box.  Then I watched a few fireworks being shot off above some distant neighbor's house.  I poured myself a glass of Asti and shared it with my hubby.   Then I checked blogs, and voila! Hodpepodge questions awaited, so I wrote these answers early on the 1st.

2. What is one thing you are looking forward to in 2013?

May I choose two?   Finding a new church home ASAP,   and our second son's wedding in June.

3. Steven Spielberg is quoted as saying, "All of us every single year, we're a different person. I don't think we're the same person all our lives." What say you?

I would disagree that every single year we're a different person. That seems a bit drastic. But I would say I agree with the second part: I don't think we're the same person all our lives.  And thank God for that! By His grace, those of us whom He has redeemed are being transformed.  However, at the root where personality is, we don't change a whole lot unless stricken with mental illness, severe trauma to the head, or a debilitating disease. Even then, I think only our ability to express our inner person is inhibited; the person we are at birth is pretty much the same for life.  I believe God gives us the personality He wants us to have as an expression of His creativity. 

4. The Pantone color of the year for 2013 is emerald green. Like or dislike? Do you already own something this color? Will you add something in this shade to your home or wardrobe in 2013?

I like emerald green, but it's a bit saturated for my decorating tastes.  (Sage is more to our mutual liking.) I used to have an emerald  top I adored  and would love to have one to replace it someday soon, now that you mention it.  Emerald was a color I was so in love with in high school that I ordered it for my school ring, even though our school colors were red and white.

I also see that peach is coming back in vogue. Blech! I can't stand it! Looks like strawberry vomit.

5. Speaking of emerald...what's your favorite gemstone?

Diamonds are number one perenially, but this past year I fell in love with blue topaz, but I also adore rubies, sapphires, and aquamarines.  I am what you might call an equal-opportunity jewelry lover.


6. Share a favorite book or movie from 2012.

I saw "The Hunger Games" on DVD, fully expecting to not "get" what all the hype was about. But then I found myself engrossed and couldn't get up even to get a drink.




7. What is something you want to tell yourself at the start of this brand new year?

Isaiah 26: 3  KJV   "Thou wilt keep in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee."   I want to repeat it over and over, having made it "my verse" for 2013. In fact, I think I will paint it in acrylic on canvas and hang it somewhere I will be sure to see often, every day.

8. Insert your own random thought here.
 
This phrase (thanks, Sally, via Pinterest),  rather well sums up the thoughts I had about the 12 Days of Christmas Kindness.  I kept thinking about ways throughout my life in which I had been shown kindness by others:

1.  Someone showed me the way (teaching, training, preaching, directing) or "shed light" on a situations so that I could see God clearly and my situation with hope.
2.  Someone bailed me out in a crisis (physical, mental, financial, spiritual, logistical).
3.  Someone supported me so that I could climb higher than I thought possible (through encouragement, finances, prayer, practical help).

When I was looking intentionally for ways to show kindness in December, I tried to think on those things:  Is someone seeing their situation through dark glasses? Can I be a light to them?  Is someone experiencing a crisis? Can I bail them out, or at least do them a big favor? Is someone needing support or encouragement that I can offer?  Those are questions I try to keep in mind all year, but admittedly sometimes all I see in front of me are my own shoes. I need to practice looking for ways to be a lamp or a lifeboat or a ladder. They are there. Not hard to see if you're looking.