A FRESH START IN 2017!

                                           Coming soon in 2017.... A FRESH START


Many years ago now I founded and directed a Christian  outreach to troubled and at risk youth. We offered them hope in that they could put their old ways behind them and start a new life! We shared this Good News with them from "The Message":

 "Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with (Jesus) gets a FRESH START, is created new. The old life is gone, a new life burgeons ( begins to grow and flourish )!   ( Based on 2 Corinthians 5 :17 )

One of the fundraisers or mini business' that we began in order to raise support money  for this ministry was a gourmet coffee business. We called it, "Fresh Start"...Helping Never Tasted So Good! We figured that name fit pretty creatively into beginning a "Fresh Start in life" and beginning your day with a cup of coffee and a "Fresh Start to the day"! We thought it was a really "clever" idea!

My daughter and son-in-law had a coffee mug made up with the logo on it and gave it to me as a gift. It says "Fresh Start Coffee" on the bottom. The blue area of the design represents the cup and the brown areas represent both the coffee and the kids. A professional graphic design company offered their services for free to have this logo made for us. 

 

While I no longer direct this outreach, I am reminded each New Year that we can have a fresh start in life! In reality we can have this fresh new start anytime of the year, but especially at the beginning of a New Year I always feel that excitement of beginning again, having a fresh start...

Whether it's starting to eat healthier, getting in more exercise, growing spiritually, trying to simplify my life, being more intentional in ALL areas of my life, or whatever it might be, "fresh starts" give me motivation, energy, optimism, and excitement! 

In a couple of days we can all have a Fresh Start if we choose! It's a NEW YEAR! Create a NEW YOU!



 

WHAT'S YOUR STORY?

'You are creating your life on a daily basis. Make each day amazing, if even in some small way! Then you will be creating an amazing life!"  Sandy Cookman

A New Year is just around the corner. And with it, new beginnings, fresh starts, New Year's Resolutions, New Goals, and maybe even...

                                                                 A  NEW YOU!


So what would a NEW YOU be like? What kind of story do you want your life to tell? A story of courage? A story of bold endeavors? A story of how to live a life of serving others? A story of great faith? A story of how to live with Joy every day? 

There are 365 days ahead of you, like blank pages in a book. What kind of a story will you write with your life on a daily basis? 


Do one small thing each day that reflects the story you want to tell. Your life's story is told in every day matters. In the things that you do and the things that you say. 

"Live today the story you want your life to tell."  Sandy Cookman

To read about how to set "intentions" rather than "goals" this New Year's go to my other blog here

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR

 

WISHING YOU YOUR BEST YEAR YET!

 

NEW YEAR AHEAD...MAKE IT YOUR BEST YEAR YET!

If you read my last post you'll know that I'm sharing some tips on how to experience your BEST YEAR EVER in 2012! If you didn't read it, go back and read that first so you'll know what I'm talking about HERE. I hope you've found a cute, inspiring, happy journal or notebook in which to write.

By now you should also have written out a detailed description of what you'd like to be, do, and have in the next year, in as much as it depends on you. After you have your description, you should go through and LIST those things that you mentioned. So now you should have a list of things that you feel would make 2012 your BEST YEAR EVER! Well, ONE of the best anyway, assuming you've already had some GREAT years in the past. Hard to outdo marriages and births!  ;)

Take your list and set them into the following categories: personal ( mind, body, spirit ); relationships; home; financial; job/work; giving/serving. If you've not put something in each category, add an item to the category now. You need to have your life in balance by working on ALL areas of your life. Don't worry, it won't be as difficult as it might seem right now. In each category, prioritize them in order of things you want to work on first. Take your first item in each category and list some actions needed to meet each goal. Decide what actions you need to take daily or weekly to begin working on your goals/desires. Look to see if there are two actions you can combine doing at the same time. For example: Under "relationship" goals you might have listed,"to spend more fun time with my spouse". Under "personal body"goals you might have chosen to "walk daily for exercise". So why not do both at the same time by walking with your spouse ( assuming your spouse also wants to walk, of course ). But you get the idea.

The goal is to make this a fun way to help you accomplish your goals. It might seem like a lot of work doing all this planning but in the long run it will all be worth it. If you don't do everything you've planned on doing, don't beat yourself up about it. You're probably doing more than you've done before anyway, so be happy with that. Start again tomorrow getting back on track. It's a NEW DAY!

But if you're REALLY AGAINST goal setting, try this: Plan on doing ONE NEW THING a month. Call it "12 in 2012". Kind of like your bucket list. It doesn't have to be a BIG thing. Just something you haven't done before but have always wanted to do. Or maybe just something new you've thought of that you think might be fun. This could get you motivated for better things in the future and you might even want to start setting goals!

I'd love to hear what new things you've done so please share them with me here.
Hoping 2012 finds you HAPPY, HEALTHY, PROSPEROUS,  and MEETING NEW GOALS AND/OR COMPLETING YOUR "12 in 2012"!

NEW YEAR/NEW YOU

Christmas is over and already I'm thinking about my "New Year's Resolutions", though I prefer to think of them as "My desires for the New Year". I  love having new beginnings, fresh starts, inspiring ideas,  creative goals, and new desires  for the new year ahead ( OK sometimes OLD ideas but I keep trying! ).  I  like to find inspiring, creative, and lovely journals or notebooks in which  to write my new desires and goals as if I'm writing a book in which I will create a wonderful plan of what I want to be, do, and have in 2012 to make it THE BEST YEAR EVER! At least in those things that depend on ME! I DO realize that I am not in control of everything! ; ) For those things I CAN'T control, I ask for serenity.

The time between Christmas and New Year's is the best time for this creative planning so you're ready to begin when the new year rolls around. But you can start this new routine/habit/attitude ANYTIME so if you get a late start don't let that stop you! The important thing is that you BEGIN to assess where you ARE in life and where you'd LIKE TO BE so you can begin to make some changes. There's an old saying that if you DO what you always DID, you'll GET what you always GOT.  And even if you're happy with your current situation in life, you can always be a BETTER PERSON. No one's perfect so there's always room for improvement!

Journal with sweet bird for our birding friends...find here

Letter Writer shabby book found here

So where do you begin? I've found some fun journals on Etsy that may inspire you. They are upcycled vintage books that are lined for writing down your goals, desires, thoughts of what you'd like to do, be, and have in the year ahead. Check these out...

Find this lovely floral journal here

 

 

 

 

Collage/altered art journal...find here

 

 

 

Whimsical journal that also includes photos of nursery rhymes. Find it here

After you find something in which to write down all your ideas you are ready to begin. Start by writing out a description of the KIND OF PERSON you'd like to BE, the TRAITS you'd like to possess, how you would like to SPEND YOUR TIME here on planet earth, what you would like to HAVE, being as specific as possible. Write this in the present tense as if it is happening right now.

From this description, go through and make a LIST of the items you mentioned. This list is from which you choose what goals/desires you wish to seek after in the year ahead. You may not wish to work on ALL of them but we'll talk about that later. I'll go into more detail in the next few posts.

If you're one of the people who does not like to set goals, that's OK too. I can still show you how to have MORE of what you want in the year ahead so stay tuned. But DO find a creative book, journal, or notebook in which you can write down  your inspirations and thoughts.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Thank you to all of you who have hung in there with me, faithfully commenting or reading my random thoughts on this blog. I thought the snow scene above was a fitting end to 2010, at least around here.

MAY YOU HAVE A HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR!

PLANNERS FOR THE NEW YEAR

The New Year will soon be upon us and you will be needing a NEW PLANNER. How else will you keep track of all your appointments and all those important events in your life? But those of us who like all things vintage need to search hard for a VINTAGE INSPIRED PLANNER. Those plain black plastic notebooks just don't cut it. I don't know about YOU but I need something that makes me SMILE when I look at it!

Well, I've found ONE idea that might fit the bill. On the website "Handmade Spark" there is a tutorial by Cathe Holden using an old vintage book, a decorative file, and a new planner. Here are a couple of photos of it completed:

If you'd like to make one for yourself, hop on over to the tutorial at: Handmade Spark. You can also check out Cathe's blog at Just Something I Made. Cathe also has an Etsy shop called, Vintage Monograms.

If you have ideas you'd like to share about vintage inspired planners and organizers, let me know. I'd love to hear about them. But HURRY! 2011 will be here SOON and we want to BE READY!