Welcome to 2022, we see you!! Can't believe how fast this last year flew by. We thought it might be fun instead of resolutions this year, why not choose a word. This could be a word to remind you to do something, a word of affirmations or a word to take action.
Whether you choose a resolution or a word to lead, guide and inspire you for 2022, we hope this is a year full of many blessings & much love!
Gigi Lori
My granddaughter sang a song for me on grandparents' day in her preschool class. She looked directly at me and sang, "I've got joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart, where, down in my heart to stay." My eyes welled with tears. She is right; I have joy in my heart. This joy is not fleeting; it is a constant stabilizing force in my life. I can be drained of happiness but still have joy. Happiness depends on circumstances where joy comes from knowing Jesus and the sacrifice he made for me. It is his love that sustains me, his love and forgiveness that gives me hope. Hebrews 12:2 states, "For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." I love this verse, Jesus saw my face, your face, the faces of humanity before him. We are the reason he went to the cross; we are his joy. This makes me pause to reflect on the love relationship I have with my Lord and Savior. In 2022, joy is my word of reflection.
May the Lord bless you in 2022
Gigi Lori
Gigi Susie
The word that I am choosing to focus on in 2022 is UNOFFENDABLE - incapable of being offended. For those of you that know me know that I'm not a lady who gets easily offended. As long as you don't offend my husband, my kids, my grandkids, family or friends, I will not take it personally. Wait, I guess that leaves me with plenty of room to get offended doesn't it?
We all go through different seasons in our lives and with the exception of my family and 4th grandchild being born in 2021, it was a doozy of a season for me. My friend and neighbor recommended a book to me that helped her with forgiveness called Unoffendable by Brant Hanson.
In his book, he talks about "righteous anger" in the Christian faith and that myself, as a Christian should choose forgiveness over being offended. After she told me about this book, I immediately ordered it on Amazon and it sat on my counter for two months. I wasn't ready to forgive, wasn't ready to let go! One Sunday morning, after buying the book, our pastor began a series called Unoffendable. Oh my goodness, that's just how God works, isn't it friends? Gives you what you need, when you need it! I was going to hear about this book and this word whether I wanted to or not it seemed. A couple of points our pastor made in this series is that: 1) Jesus forgave us of our sins & who am I to not forgive someone else for offending me when the King of Kings died for my sins 2) the bible talks a lot about forgiveness; however, there is not a verse in the bible that has forgiveness and trust in the same verse. This was a game changer for me: he said forgiveness is something we have in our hearts; however, trust is something that is earned. Well said, Pastor Doug! A lightbulb went off in my head with that last statement.
Again, I'm hoping with focusing on this word that my life will be less stressful/more joy, have less anger/more joy, have less resentment/more joy, have less hurt/more joy! See where I'm going with this? JOY! I'm not saying that I will always succeed on being unoffendable as I am human and not perfect; however, I will try my very best. I will do this for my health and well being and to be an example to my grandchildren!
"Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other,
just as Christ God forgave you”
Ephesians 4:32
Wishing you all much joy in 2022!
Gigi Susie
xoxoxoxoxo
Lala Malana
When I think of New Year's resolutions it reminds me of all the things I said I was going to do but now unsure if I actually did them. I feel defeated before I even get started. There were many unforeseen events this year that affected all of us and I doubt I am alone in not completing some of our tasks we had set out to do. I have chosen PRIORITIZE as my word for 2022. I think if I truly prioritize my intentions I will be able to accomplish more. I often feel I am living in organized chaos. I usually accomplish what I set out to do but am easily swayed to put other things in front of my original task, taking extra time and adding a little more stress. I want to focus more on what is really important to me such as my health, my family, my friends and my home.
More organization, less chaos, more time for fun!
I wish you a very Happy New Year full of good health, happiness and new adventures!
Lala Malana
Mimi Jackie
I’m not a huge fan of New Year’s resolutions, however, as the end of the year approaches I do a lot of reflecting and will come up with a Word of the Year to lead and guide me to be more aware in the New Year. For me, having a word to focus on truly makes a difference on how I handle situations. My older sister recently introduced me to a book that Ive been listening to on Audible and it has really opened my eyes on a new way to approach just about every area of my life!! I have been implementing a very simple tool that was taught in the book and I will definitely continue to apply this tool as I move into the New Year! I believe it will help me in many areas of my life including personal, family, self care, etc. In 2022 my word and focus will be: INTENTIONAL.
Do yourself a favor and get the book by Mel Robbins, The 5 second rule. It’s a powerful book and useful for daily life and can be found on Amazon. It’s a very easy read and easy to implement immediately. You’ll learn to push yourself to take simple actions that will enrich your life in just 5 seconds!! How simple is that?! You can break a bad habit, stop self-doubt or negative self-talk and push yourself to take action and to be INTENTIONAL and to be your best self!
I would encourage you to consider picking a word for 2022 that you would allow to guide you through 2022 and also, as Gigi Lori stated to live with much joy.
Wishing you much love, light, memories and blessings in the New Year!
Xoxo
Mimi Jackie
Nana Alison
MOVE--That’s my word for 2022. I’m the kind of person who constantly has thoughts of “I should…” or “I need to…” or “tomorrow, I’ll…” Can anyone else relate? So in order to motivate myself, I’m taking the advice of my friend and fellow gigi, Jackie. She told us about this motivation countdown method: When something first enters your mind, you say “5-4-3-2-1 GO” and as Nike would say, you ”just do it.” I think by counting down, you are enabling your mind to prepare for the task of doing it now and being intentional (see Mimi Jackie’s word, above).
I think this will really help me to do the things I would rather put off. I have the tendency to hibernate, often in social situations, like when I’m invited to join a group or volunteer. I also have the tendency to procrastinate on health issues, like check-ups and exercise. With my word, MOVE, and the countdown method, I am going to change it to “5-4-3-2-1 MOVE” Even if it’s not something I can actually DO right at that moment, I can perform an action (MOVEment) to get the ball rolling. For example, if I think to myself at 9pm, “I need to start doing pilates”, I may not be able to actually do pilates right at that moment, but I can jump online and see when the next class is and sign up for it. Then I can lay out the exercise clothes right where I will see them to have a fresh reminder for the next day.
As I’m writing this, I am thinking of an audio book I listened to a few months ago. You have probably heard of it, as It is a best-seller from 2018, titled Atomic Habits. The author, James Clear, teaches how life change begins by starting very small habits that eventually grow into life changing big habits. So here I go! “5-4-3-2-1 MOVE.” I’m ordering the hard copy now, (yay, it’s been marked down to $11.98 on Amazon). I’m more of a visual learner anyway, so I will read the book this time and MOVE to become a “do-er!”
Let’s MOVE in the new year, Friends. I hope you all have a year full of accomplishments, no matter how small they may seem!
Happy New Year,
Nana Alison