2010 A Year of Blessings

Count your many blessings,

name them one by one,

and it will surprise you

what the Lord has done!

Johnson Oatman Jr.

I don't know about many of you, but for me 2009 was a year for the record books in the Burnett household. It started out with my Grandfather loosing his battle to cancer. Then my husband lost his job. That was followed up by a friend fighting for his life after a major heart attack. The year closed with my mom getting sick and battling cancer and me dealing with some medical issues of my own. It is very easy to get depressed over everything we have had to deal with this past year.

I once learned a very important lesson about driving. One morning I was out early for worship practice at church. As I was driving I noticed the gorgeous flowers that were blooming...oops drove off the road. Went down a little further and saw the neighbor had redid the front of their house boy did it look nice...oh no off the road again. By the time I had arrived at church I had driven off the road about 4 times (which is totally unlike me) and I went "Lord what's going on?" The answer that came back was "You'll drive towards what you focus on."

That is such a simple truth, but such a profound thought. What am I focusing on? Am I focusing on the bad things? Or am I focusing on the good (or God) I see in a situation? It's easy to look back on 2009 and because of all the "bad" not see the good. Not see the things the Lord did through my friends life because of the heart problems. Not remember the trip to Disney where I got to "relive" a childhood dream (that my family has joked about for 28 years!) Forget about going to a fabulous party for a 360th birthday. Forget about the fact I was treated like a VIP at Fiskars headquarters. Forget about the lessons learned the blessings the Lord has shared with me of family that loves me and friends that support me.

Because of this, instead of a "New Years Resolution, I decided instead that in 2010 I was going to "Look for the Blessings" I'm going to focus on the good in a situation, how God is working. No this won't make the problem disappear, and no I'm not going to play "ostrich" and burry my head in the sand pretending bad things won't (or don't) happen. I'm going to simply try to remind myself of the blessings of a situation. Rather than focus and dwell on the bad and horrible in life, I'm going to focus on the good, the blessings and try to drive towards it. I know it won't change the situation, it will change my outlook, maybe even my mood! It will help remind me that even in the midst of the dark times the Lord is there with me lighting the way.

Therefore I challenge you as well. Focus on the blessings this year. Try to hunt for the good.

I'm going to be trying to record my blessings this year as well. I will be hosting a scrapbook challenge for the year (both here and on FaithfullyYours.net)

2010 Blessing Challenge

This year I am going to try and create a "blessing book." Each month I will choose a topic/verse for the month and try to have a two page layout done. One side will be the topic/verse the other side will be a finished page waiting for journaling and/or a photo to share how I was blessed that way during the month. Not only will it be a good reminder to look for those blessings that month, but will give a way to "not forget" those blessings that month. (You don't have to do your pages at the beginning of the month you can wait till the end, but I will post the topic at the beginning so you can think on it for the month.) It should fun (and easy cause I'm doing an 8 x 8 album and only 2 pages a month...totally not overwhelming) but the reward at the end of the year will be great! A record of my blessings for the year! I can't wait to get started. I'll post more details a bit later until then I'll leave you with the cover... Happy New Year! May it truly be a year of blessings for your and those you love!