Getting ready for the new year by contemplating the past

Posted on December 30, 2009 by moonbridgebooks

Michael Hyatt, CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers, a Christian publishing company, has a wonderful blog post addressing this time of the year between Christmas and New Year’s which, he says, is one of the most unproductive times of the year. (I beg to differ as that’s when I get caught up on a lot.) Businesses get quiet as employees and customers take time off, kids are at home and underfoot, only the retailers are scurrying (hopefully). Hyatt tells us this is a time to reflect on the past year as we look forward to the future, and follows with Seven Questions to Ask About Last Year:

1. If the last year were made into a movie of your life, what would the genre be?

2. What were the two or three major themes that kept recurring

3. What did you accomplish this past year that you are most proud of?

4. What do you feel you should have been acknowledged for but weren’t?

5. What disappointments or regrets did you experience this past year?

6. What was missing from this past year as you look back?

7. What were the major life lessons you learned this past year?

These are perfect questions for anyone interested in life writing, even if you are not planning to start life writing soon. Writing down the answers to all or even some of these questions is making a roadmap of the trip you have taken, marking in yellow the important landmarks, creating a guide to your own life that you or others may want to examine later. Grab a notebook and visit Mr. Hyatt’s post.

Linda Austin
“Cherry Blossoms in Twilight”
http://www.moonbridgebooks.com
Posted in holiday, lifewriting | Tagged | 1 Comment

Keeping spirits bright, even in hard times

Posted on December 18, 2009 by moonbridgebooks

I have been so unusually busy since Thanksgiving that only the other day I got the Christmas decorations up. Well, last weekend I did throw lights on the old yews guarding our front door and am reveling in our new remote control 3-outlet Christmas light switch (on sale cheap at Target). And thank goodness for the giant pointsettia, glowing in a corner, that my Japanese women’s group gave me as an outgoing president gift. The busyness and a death in the family have kept the Christmas spirit at bay. These are not uncommon scenarios at holiday times, and nowadays we have joblessness and frightening money woes gnawing at many homes. What to do when holiday songs don’t cheer us up? Well, don’t throw out Christmas (or Hannukah or Kwanzaa)!

Suzan Colon, author of Cherries in Winter: My Family’s Recipe for Hope in Hard Times, tells a story (One Family’s Secret to Surviving the Recession) of how in the midst of winter there is more reason than ever to hold on to firm traditions. Shopping and excitement may take a back seat, but there’s always time for A Charlie Brown Christmas, a special church service, baking one batch of simple cookies – and never, never think about ditching the Christmas tree!

PS: Passing by the Optimist’s tree lot today I saw all trees were 50% off!

Linda Austin
“Cherry Blossoms in Twilight”
http://www.moonbridgebooks.com
Posted in holiday | Tagged | 1 Comment

When death takes your holiday

Posted on December 18, 2009 by moonbridgebooks
You’ve heard the old line, “Death doesn’t take a holiday.” While it is true, Death can certainly take your holiday. When the dark scythe casts a long shadow over a loved one’s soul around a time of celebration, whether Christmas, Thanksgiving, or even a birthday or anniversary, that special time is forever imbued with a twist of sadness.

We lost my husband’s uncle this week, not altogether unexpected, but sooner than thought. Some in our family will not be ready for Christmas, and old St. Nicholas will be unable to make things jolly. It will be a bleak midwinter day. And yet death is a time of togetherness, the bonding over someone loved, the tidings of comfort if not joy. Our uncle will be there with us, a part of our hearts and our memories, and so he lives on. We may be sad that his physical presence is gone from us, but we can still speak to his memory, hold his hand in his remaining possessions, and see him in photographs. His spirit can remain alive within us. And so, any time, and especially on each anniversary of the day he left for heaven, we can bring forth memories of him – the peanut brittle he loved to make, that fruit cake he ordered each Christmas, the rows of pecan trees he planted, the bright yellow Cub Cadet he splurged on (oh, my goodness, it wasn’t a John Deere!), an old photo of a little boy and his dog – to celebrate his life and remind us of the good times we shared with him.

Christmas will come, and he will have a place at our tables. We can raise a glass in his honor, to toast his life and what he meant to us. I think he’ll see us, and know how much we love him. Merry Christmas, Uncle Harold, and may peace be with you – and us.
Linda Austin
“Cherry Blossoms in Twilight”
http://www.moonbridgebooks.com
Posted in death, holiday, memories | Comments Off on When death takes your holiday