2014 Word

A couple of years ago I participated in the trend of picking a word that I want to define my upcoming year. That year, I picked "love".

For some reason, the next couple of years picking a word slipped my mind.

I want to revive the trend again this year.

I've given it much thought and I've chosen to take a directive, voiced by a former co-worker, that I believe to be a message from God.

He said, "Be bold."

When he first said it to me, I was instantly puzzled and understanding at the same time.

I knew I needed to be braver, to speak out more.

At my next job, I was blessed to attend company Bible studies. There I learned more of what it meant to live for God, without inhabitation.

Still, I hold back.

My hubby and I have had a lot of  alone time together.
He's noticed that I don't fully embrace myself. That I hold back, shy away. And being a good husband, he's tried to encourage me to let loose.

So, my word to focus on this year is BOLD.

According to dictionary.com:

not hesitating or fearful in the face of actual or possible danger or rebuff; courageous and daring: a bold hero.

2.

not hesitating to break the rules of propriety; forward; impudent: He apologized for being so bold as to speak to the emperor.

3.

necessitating courage and daring; challenging: a bold adventure.

4.

beyond the usual limits of conventional thought or action; imaginative: Einstein was a bold mathematician. a difficult problem needing a bold answer.

I want to be bold for God. To have no fear of obeying or speaking out about him.
I don't want to hesitate to share my thoughts, feelings, ideas
I want to be courageous, daring.

I will be BOLD!!

The Ma'am Controversy

What you talking 'bout Willis?

Let me 'splain.

There seems to be some confusion up here about the word "Ma'am". People seem to think its an insult, being the opposite of "Miss".  I overheard a co-worker say she feels old when someone calls her "Ma'am".  I can see where they might be confused. But it ain't so.


Naw.

"Ma'am" is a designation of  respect, and when used in a certain tone of voice, among friends, it is a term of endearment.

Now, if I were to get short and snippy, and THEN refer to you as "Ma'am", thats an insult but not the kind you think it is. I'm trying to insult you while still remaining within the limits of polite society. I'm not calling you old, but a witch.

Even though you might be.

But thats not the everyday usage.

In the everyday sense, the word "Ma'am" does not convey age, but authority, position, rank or simply respect.

It's not a four letter word. Except technically.

It's not "Yes Miss", until you reach a certain age or can no longer deny your "wrinkleyness". Its "Ma'am", as soon as someone feels the urge to show you respect, whether it be a child or a customer-service oriented cashier.

I've been called "yes ma'am", since I was around eleven or twelve.

AND I LIKE IT!

And if you don't, well, maybe you should spend some time down in God's Country....

You know, down below the Mason-Dixon line :)






(I see I'm not alone. Check out this cute t-shirt.)

Love Lesson #1: Love is Patient

(Remember, I picked LOVE to be my 2011 word) I've had a hard time with this lesson lately. I'm not a patient person, but lately I've been unfairly unpatient with Mike. He's had a lot of health problems and trips to the emergency room over the past month. Wanting him to be better quickly, I would jump on the bandwagon with any pills or treatment that any of the myriad of doctors he's seen suggested. Even when he told me he truly felt like a certain set of pills would do him more harm than help. I pushed him to at least purchase the pills, in case he would change his mind. I was tired of the countless visits to the ER and postponed plans. I just wanted my husband back, and I wanted him back now.
After much prayer, on both of our parts, and more ER visits, Mike and I have come to the conclusion that the prescribed medication was not what he needed and that there was a deeper cause to his symptoms.

Slowly, I've been learning to be more patient, with God and with my husband. Somedays it takes a lot not to snap at him or get moody over something that he can't control. But I think it is no coincidence that my Bible study planned lined up to have me reading about Job's wife around the time this started. I've constantly had a reminder in my head that comes out everytime I get the urge to be mean or snotty to my husband when I'm stressed or even sometimes inconvenienced by his health issues. It whispers to me that I don't want to be negative like Job's wife.

It reminds me that I want to be supportive, helpful, loving and patient. That the things going on are not my husbands fault and that his suffering is even greater than mine.

As for a health update, he has an appointment with the GI to check out some things. Other than that I can't say much because he has expressed a wish that I not blog in detail about his health.

2011 Word

Leanne at From Chaos Comes Happiness has challenged her readers to select a word to focus on during 2011. Being the word lover I am I decided to give this challenge a go.

2011 is a new year full of new opportunites, possiblities, and challenges. What word should I pick to help me embrace the new year? I started by making a list of words that I thought I might like to focus on. At the top of the list were:

Create

Love

Appreciate

Learn

Simplify

All of the words I think would benefit me this year but I  think that since 2011 brings with it the first year of marriage, I choose Love.

I want to focus on loving my husband and on nurturing our relationship. I want to remember to  love even when times are busy, finances are tight and we are frustrated.

I want to focus on  loving myself. This means exercising, eating healthy,  learning to do my makeup and making time for my friends and hobbies.

I want to focus on my  love of learning and creating. I want to love learning to cook, love taking the 365 photo challenge, love decorating our new home and making our wedding scrapbook

Word to Changwon

When I get back to the states I want to make a flip book of all of the mistranslations I've come across. Here are a few- look closely. 

this one may not be unintentional but I'm not sure

Two ATM Favorite Quotes and One More ATM Favorite Food

These quotes come from the book Five, that I bought at a Starbucks. Its one of those quotes, inspitational books that trys to help you map out your next 5 years- hence the title.

Quote #1: "The human man is the fastest-working, coolest-running, most compact and efficent computer ever produced in large quantities by unskilled labor" - Bob Moawad

Quote #2: "I get up every morning determined both to change the world and have one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planing the day difficult." E. B White

Food:

I am loving Haagen- Dazs Vanilla and Almond ice cream treats. Creamy vanilla ice cream coated in hardened chocolate and almond bits. Mmmm. I think I'm developing a thing for almonds lately.

Catching up with Best of 2009: Word & Shop

I'm behind on this Best of 2009 Challenge, but I've been sick so I forgive myself. Anyway, on with the challenge.

I've learned quite a few new words this year, courtesy of Scotland. Many I've never seen in print though so I'm not sure how to spell them. The one I've heard the most is minging. (Thank you to Jules for providing the correct spelling. )Pronounce it as if the last "g" is silent. It means gross or disgusting. This word in no way encapsulates 2009. That word would probably be "new".

Now for my favorite shop of 2009 thats an easy one. This spring I fell in love with Aerie by American Eagle. This place has the cutest underwear ever. And I have a HUGE underwear buying habit. A girl can not  have enough cute underwear or cute shoes. And to add to my love of all things Aerie- the Alist Card where you can earn points towards discounts as well as (my favorite part) get a free gift every month. I can not wait until I'm back into the states so that I can hit up Aerie! (Oh and they have great smelling perfume too!)