"Takeaway 2010" - Lessons Learned, Memories Made and New Dreams Cast

In all of the excitement of the New Year and all the looking ahead we do, I wonder if we sometimes forget to look back. Not for long, I mean, but just a glimpse, almost like a life review. I’ve done that this year; maybe because it was such a good, full year in 2010, and I don’t want to close the proverbial door on it until I’ve grasped every bit of what I was supposed to take away from it.


I’ve realized recently (like earlier today!) that I had a meaningful and enriching year of life in 2010. My family and I experienced many things here in Texas we never expected we would when we were still living life back in the desert southwest. Like playing at the ocean, not just once, but over and over! We mowed a lawn all year long! The kids have seen alligators, cottonmouths, and the world’s largest water park. Oh, and the friendships we’ve developed here in Katy are really unbelievable to me. In the one year we’ve been in fellowship with some believers here, we’ve bonded in ways I’ve never experienced in the body of Christ. You know, friends who are like comfy slippers – they fit perfectly, and they don’t mind being stepped on every once in a while!

Not that those things are what life is all about, but it really helps to live life surrounded by warmth. Good days are bathed in sunshine, love from family and friends, and really good cookin’!

So, one of the lessons I learned was to stretch a little more in life, even if where I’m at feels comfortable. It never hurts to try something new, go somewhere I’ve never been, or make a new friend in a person I’d have never thought could feel like a sister! In the career area, I learned that I don’t make a good working-outside-the-home mom and it’s ok. I make a really great work-at-home-mom, and the kids and hubby are so glad I figured that out! I also decided I am a well-rounded person, but don’t like being a “round” person, and I am pursuing health in a new way in 2011!

So as I walk through the doorway from 2010 and step over the threshold of 2011 into newness, I carry the treasures of my memories and lessons learned with me. They will be cherished, revisited, and inevitably recycled into new ones! I have nothing but the best expectations for this brand new year in front of me. I’ll do some things right, and probably lots of things wrong, but the dreams that I’ve dreamed for 2011 will be pursued, and I am, and will be, blessed!

What about you - what are your feelings on beginning 2011? Are you excited about something new in your life this year? Tell me about it, I’d love to share in your enthusiasm!