This morning, for the first time, I rose at 4:20 am to go out running. I have wanted to do this for a long time but a precious little one has shared my bed until the past couple of weeks. He is a very light sleeper so if I woke, so did he. But this morning was mine.

It was hard to roll out of bed. I could hear a light drizzle. Maybe I should just stay in my warm, dark room snuggled with my husband. But I knew it would be worth it.I stumbled downstairs and went through my preparations on autopilot. It may be a good thing to get up early but it is not a bouncy, energetic thing.

I met my group while it was still dark and we took off. It was glorious. I had forgotten the stillness and beauty of early morning. It was quiet, the world was at rest.All the hustle and bustle still slowed. Maybe all that rushing around and noise is necessary but there is a part deep inside of me holding tight to the idea we would all be better off if we slowed down and learned to listen to the quiet. The sky lightened until the magically time of twilight surround us. Twice a day, twilight comes and it is my favorite time. With the shadows of twilight, the child in me thinks there just may be something to all the tales of magic, fairies, and their ilk. We ran quietly with th wind gently winding around us on our path. The soft rhythmic sound of our shoes hitting the road.

On this run is a nasty little hill, big hill actually. It is sneaky. You don't really realize how long or how hard it is until your are deep within its grip. But it is joyfully rewarding as well. When you finally reach the crest a euphoria carries you downhill and along a cobble path. The harder you work, the more intense the joy. This morning I was rewarded for my efforts not only by the expected rush of good feeling, but a stunning sunrise laid out before me. Gorgeous.

After my run, I came back to a sleeping house. My workout is done and my family still slumbers. I have written, drank coffee, and read my bible. It is the perfect way to start the day. May you have a wonderful day.

Year of Eucharisteo?

For some time now I thought of the coming year as the year of facing and overcoming my fears. I do that. I give the coming year a theme. I don't do resolutions or even goals, not really. I just decide what I want to work on in the next 12 months. So that has been the name of 2011. You can imagine my surprise when my heart said, "Nope, I don't think so. I don't like it." Of course my brain argued, "But its been decided! The invitations have been sent and the napkins are printed." With absolutely no remorse my heart replied, "Don't care. Don't like it." My heart won.

I fully intend to face life and my fears head on this year and hopefully, every year to come. But I understand where my heart was going. It seems wrong to give my fears, the very things I am determined to shred to utter insignificance, that kind of pomp and importance. Why put my fears up on the pedestal of my year theme? Just trounced them, put them in there place, and be done with them already. Why not focus on something positive and joy giving? My heart wants to live in the yes not the no.

Not only did my heart shrink from the fear title, there was already another idea on the horizen. I like it much better. It is about gratitude, joy, and love. It is about living a life of yes. It is about eucharisteo. Isn't that an amazing word? It is greek. It means to give thanks. And that is what I want to spend my year doing, giving thanks.

We are blessed beyond measure. We truly are. If I am honest, and I do try to be, we are blessed with an embarrassment of riches. I often am surprised and delightly to realize my life is this good. It is not the life dreamed of because it is better than anything I dreamed of. I have an amazing husband, gorgeous and wonderful children, family that loves me, friends that stand by me, more food and stuff than I could ever need, and God's infinite grace, mercy, and love. I am seriously blessed. And I want to spend this next year giving thanks for it all.

Another thing I intend to focus on is paying special attention to the relationships in my life. I am sad to say, I take them for granted. I want to give them the love and energy they deserve. I have some amazing people in my life. I hope to take special care to love and nurture them. Ihope to develop deeper relationships with my friends and family. I want to know John, Hannah, and Logan more intimately. They are incredible people and more fascnating with each passing day.

Living the life of yes. I long to have a yes face, spirit, and heart. I want to be more intentional and say yes much more often, especially with my beautiful babies. We all know that yes often brings with it alot of mess! But that is okay, it is good. I want my children to have the freedom to explore and create. I want them to remember a happy, messy childhood with a momma who embodied the spirit of adventure and openness.

I intend to be more present. I read an awesome essay the other day that we rob today if we are fixated on the things of the past we cannot change or become too focused on the futre that has not, and perhaps will not come. Each moment is fleeting and shall never come again. Each moment is a precious gift from God. I pray I will learn to savor and celebrate these moments. I pray to remember that those ordinary moments are often extraordinary moments under a thin layer of disguise begging to be discovered.

Finally on a purely personal note, I intend to explore the joy of movement as much as possible. I hope to hoop more and include as many other flow toys as possible in my life. I was gifted a pair of mini poi hoops for Christmas. I am so excited to learn to work with them. I am going to a movment workshop in a couple of weeks and one of the cool things is I will get a poi set (not hoops). I hope to learn aerial exercises and experience antigravity yoga. I am eager to discover what my body can do if I allow it the necessary freedom. Playing with flow and movement has given me more joy, more peace, and more happiness than I could have even imagined. It has encouraged me to find the rhythym of my breath and my heart. It has taught me about the beautiful, flowing rhythym of life. It has been an amazing gift.

This is my Year of Eucharisteo. This is the year to celebrate and give thanks for the blessings covering my life. So, what does your heart long to do this year? Is there something buried deep wanting your attention? Maybe something not so practical but beautiful none the less? Do you have the courage to follow your heart in the coming year and enjoy the adventure and journey along the way?