My "It" Word for 2011

Awhile back I wrote about how starting last year, I was introduced to the concept of picking a word that I wanted to focus on for the new year, you can read more about that here.

This was an awesome thing for me, I truly found myself revisiting that word over and over again and really applying it in my life. It made a big difference, I saw a lot of growth in my personal and spiritual life because of it.

I wanted to put some real thought into my "it" word for this year. I had a few things swimming around in my head, but wanted to wait to commit to something until I felt it was right.

This past weekend, a situation arised and it was really clear to me what word should be my focus for this year. "Meaningful".

How many times have we done something just because we're supposed to, without really thinking about how we're doing it? Made a decision about something and just went with the flow, not thinking about what the ultimate outcome would be?

I don't want to sound like you can plot and plan out every aspect of your life, because as we all know that isn't possible. Or that we have to make every decision we make into an monumental one. However, personally I know that many times AfTer a situation has happened I'll wish I had put more thought into it.

Experiences, we have them everyday. From the mundane to the extraordinary, we definitely can say that our entire day is full of them. The experiences that we have, they have the ability to shape our characters. To leave lasting impressions. The experiences that we create impact people under our roof, in our community, in our churches. They can shape, mold and form the children we raise and the family we love as well as those we don't even know.

If I take the time to make sure that the experiences that we have are meaningful, think of all the opportunities that I've made to show and model to my children what I'm called to. That doesn't mean that everything has to be a holy experience that unveils a bigger picture. However it does mean that what we do, how we spend our time, what we do with what we've been given...those decisions can make meaningful and lasting impressions.

How can you make more meaningful decisions and choices? What is an "it" word that you can focus on this year?

Stick Sunburst Mirror

So I've really developed a fondness for sunburst mirrors. I've made one before and it hangs in our bedroom, you can see it here .

As I mentioned before, I'm kinda going for a nature inspired look in the living room right now. I decided to make another mirror to go in there, but wanted it to look different from what I made before. I figured I'd try making it with sticks/twigs from a tree out in the backyard, and this is what I came up with. Not bad, right?

I made it the exact same way I did with my first project, but just used twigs instead. I'm really happy with the look. It looks great at night, the twigs cast some pretty neat shadows.

Here's a distance shot for perspective.

I'm still working on the living room overall, I'll get some more pictures up once I'm done.

Please click on "Linky Parties I Love" to see where I'll be linking up. How can you bring some nature inspired touches into your home?

Night Rides

Last night, after dinner we decided to go on a night ride. When the natives are restless, we load them up and off we go. We started off at dusk, so after playing around with my camera a bit I decided that I was going to take some "artistic" shots as my little point and shoot wasn't going to capture much else with the low lighting.

The horizon.

Sideview mirror and some porch lights.

Some approaching cars.

The freeway.

I don't know how I managed to pull off this one, but I love how the exit sign photographed.

Surprising amount of Christmas lights still up, those made for great shots. The above one is of a big tree that they decorate every year in the "old town" area where we live.

The tree close up, so neat!!

Streetlamp.

A home still decorated.

Night rides are good for my soul, I always come home in a better mood than I left it in. Definitely try it sometime if you haven't, it's a fun way to spend the night (and you can even go in your jammies!).

Linking up our evening adventures here: