I’ve spent the morning reflecting on the previous year. Over our cups of coffee, HB (aka my husband) and I have discussed our personal goals and improvements for the year ahead of us. They aren’t filled with your typical “eat healthy foods, get closer to God…” and so on. I mean, to me, those are just givens…something we should strive for every single day. Ours are more like, “this is the year we’ll clean and organize the garage!” And oh man, when that day comes, you’ll know it because I’ll be posting some really good pictures.

We talked a lot about pursuing passions; Him…finally learning to play the guitar (my Christmas gift to him) and my passion to write. You have no idea how nervous I was about starting this blog site, but it’s an area that will keep me accountable and my mind moving in a creative forward motion.

I’ve been a reader and a writer since a very young age, but you know how it is…we believe the lies we hear in our heads, that we’re really not who or what we think we are, that we’re just fooling ourselves – so we put off doing the things that we are passionate about – and for me, that’s been writing.

I took journalism when I was in junior high school, thinking this would teach me everything I wanted to know, but I didn’t care for the structure, so I really didn’t do well. (I tend to struggle with structure…I think way outside the box.) One day, I came to class without my homework…again. My frustrated teacher made me sit down and write a page as to why I didn’t do it. I started out with a bunch of excuses and figured it would just lead to more lectures, so I wadded up that sheet of paper and began again. I wrote about my abduction by friendly aliens the day before and the enlightening evening I had visiting new places with them, which didn’t leave me any time to get my homework done.

I still got detention, but she loved my story and encouraged me to keep writing. She was the first person, outside of my own family, to encourage me to pursue this side of me. But, for years, I have kept it to myself.

So…I’ve dusted through years worth of journals and I’m beginning to put my ramblings together into something useful. And today…I broke out my brand new journal for the brand new year.

Happy New Year!
What are your hopes and dreams for the future?
Pursue them!

…and thank you for joining me on this journey.

Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Psalm 37:4

~I am Cynthia Hallis~