Today we begin February, the second month in a new year. My friend, Anita Ojeda, is heading up a #Write28Days blogging challenge this month. She has several categories to choose from with something for everyone.
My choice is the Five Minute Friday category where Anita has chosen a one word prompt for each day following the Five Minute Friday pattern. I hope to share something encouraging each day using photographs along with poetry and/or scriptures. The first prompt is the word begin. I’m also using the #FiveMinuteFriday prompt which is the word where.
Mark where you begin
As you embark on the path
Adventures await
~gsw~
Begin Anew Each Day
Time keeps moving along, never stopping. Where will I go? What joys and sorrows await as I continue on my journey of life?
Every morning can be the beginning of a new adventure. Each new day I can choose to be thankful rather than voice complaints.
Because joy is my word for the year, my goal is to find joy in the everyday. In ordinary moments I will look for the presence of God. I will continue writing poetry, making art, reading books, enjoying nature and more.
May God prepare us for the adventures ahead!
I don’t know the future, because I’m not in control. But I know I am secure in Christ no matter what comes. God walks with me every step of the way. Nothing is a surprise to Him, so I do not need to worry.
Psalm 37:23-24 (CSB)
A person’s steps are established by the Lord,
and he takes pleasure in his way.Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed,
because the Lord supports him with his hand.
No matter where we are in this life of ours, God is with us guiding and supporting us.
What about you? Do you have goals or plans or a word for this year?
Or do you like to take each day as it comes? What do you do to find joy in the everyday? I’d love to hear from you!
If you are interested in joining with us for the #write28days challenge you can find all the info at Welcome to the Write 28 Days Blogging Challenge.
I’m also linking up with: #FiveMinuteFriday
My landing page can be found HERE where I will link up each post.
Visiting as your FMF neighbor. So much packed into such a tight space. I loved your intro —
Mark where you begin
As you embark on the path
Adventures await
~gsw~
I loved the imagery, not only the photos but the words as well. I can appreciate the sentiment of “I don’t know the future, because I’m not in control. But I know I am secure in Christ no matter what comes. God walks with me every step of the way. Nothing is a surprise to Him, so I do not need to worry.” And applaud your journey f finding joy in the everyday. “In ordinary moments I will look for the presence of God.” Amen and Amen
Thanks so much, Joe, for your encouraging words. I’m so glad we are secure in Christ and we can trust Him. Blessings to you! Thank you for visiting.
Dear Gayl,
I love it that you can share with us these beautiful photos from your time at the ocean! The wide open sky and sea make my heart want to follow that path over the bridge and keep walking to see what comes next. I am praying and asking God to open my eyes to see more of His compassion and love in my days, wherever He leads me. I am looking forward to reading more of your posts here this month, Gayl! Blessings, love, and hugs to you Dear poet/sister/friend! xoxo
Dear Bettie,
As always, thanks so much for your encouragement and your prayers. I’m so glad the photos bring joy to you, especially when you are having such cold weather. We will be on the road the next couple of days, so I may be a little late with some of the posts. But all in good time. 🙂 Blessings, love and hugs right back to you, dear poet/sister/friend! xoxo
Beautiful Gayl! I used both prompts today, too! (Great minds think alike!😉) My word for this year seems to be “pursue”. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about things and now it’s time to pursue God and do! I too am determined to find joy in the everyday. It makes life so much brighter! Glad we’re in this challenge together! Cindy
Thanks so much, Cindy! Yes, I agree – “great minds think alike” 🙂 Pursue is a good word. May God give you strength and grace to pursue all He calls you to this year! It really does make life brighter when we can find joy rather than complain. I really want to try hard to keep gratitude high in my daily thoughts. I’m also glad we’re in this challenge together! Blessings to you!
I love photographing anything in nature as my getaway :). It brings me joy. Even watching the birds at my feeders lifts my heart.
And your nature photos are fabulous! Being out in nature and taking pictures also brings me joy. God has created such a wonderful variety of life, of colors, of people and animals and plants, etc! How can it not bring us joy! Blessings to you and thanks for hosting this #write28days!
Love this, Gayl. Adventure awaits!
My word for the year is ‘BOOM!’, and lucky (?) you, you get irst crack at a sonnet thereon.
BOOM! is my word for the coming year,
’cause it started with quite a bang.
Twice slipped on ice, fell hard on my rear,
and nearly ruptured my thang.
What’s a thang, you might well ask,
a Southern kind of ‘thing’?
Exactly right! You met the task,
determining what I did ding.
After the first, I sat on the ice
cursing from the pain,
thinking I wouldn’t want this twice
and next day did it again.
Learn from this, my fair friends;
save your pride, and your rear ends.
#2 at FMF this week.
https://blessed-are-the-pure-of-heart.blogspot.com/2019/01/your-dying-spouse-575-sometimes-you-get.html
Oh, Andrew, you made me laugh! I mean it’s not funny that you fell and actually did it twice, but the way you wrote about it is so funny. I’m so glad you can still use humor even when feeling so bad! 🙂 Thanks so much for visiting and making me smile! Blessings and love to you and your dear Barb! xo
Gayl,
I love the way that you use your imagery to communicate love and hope! You are such a blessings. You are so right, we do need a starting place. I will continue to read, comment and share. You are a blessing and I want to tell others.
Karen, Thank you so much for your encouaragement. You are also a blessing and a beacon of hope in this world. May God bless and keep you! xo
What a beautiful series this is going to be, Gayl! I love how you communicate such beauty and profound thoughts through words and art.
Thank you so much, Lisa, for your sweet encouragement! Blessings to you!
I don’t have a word for the year, but if I did it would be “grateful.” I am grateful for my family and the life I have with them. With these throughs, it’s a great way to begin each day!
Yes, thinking about what we are grateful for really is a great day to start the day! I want to practice gratitude more so that it becomes a habit to finally push away complaining. Blessings to you! Thanks for visiting.
Your post makes me think of one of my fave verses Psalm 30:5 “Weeping may come for the night, but joy comes with the morning.” I’m in the 45 spot this week.
Oh, yes, that’s a great verse! Thanks so much for visiting. Blessings to you, Tara! xo
Joy is my Word this year, as well! Love this!
Yes, it’s a great word, isn’t it? 🙂 Thanks for visiting, Karrilee. Blessings and love to you!
I love the haiku, Gayl, and the beautiful blue sky freedom image it is on. It’s often hard to see each day as a potential adventure, though that’s exactly what it can be when we follow God’s leading. I had the word “joy” last year and failed to fully explore its depths. Strangely enough, God has given me “deeper” this year, so perhaps I will be diving into the depths in lots of areas! I try to live each day as it comes because making plans can be fraught with challenge. Although I do make plans to keep in touch with my family and friends, and I also factor in the rest and pacing required to achieve it. God has been taking me on a soul journey over the last few years to notice the grace and joy wrapped up in the holy ordinary and to write about it too. I never tire of doing just that. Blessings and love to you, dear inspiring poet friend! xoxo
Joy, thanks so much! You are always so encouraging to me. I love that you have the word “deeper” this year. Maybe God will lead you deeper into joy and many other areas, too. I like to make plans, but sometimes I have to just take a day at a time. I think God meets us where we are and helps us through our days. I love how we both want to find more joy and grace in the ordinary. I may forget sometimes, but I don’t think I will ever tire of it either. Blessings and love to you, my dear poet/sister/friend. xoxo
A beautiful post to begin the week with. I’ve always enjoyed my visits here.
Thank you so much, dear Barbie. I’m glad you found it encouraging. Thanks for stopping by. Blessings to you!
You are always up to a challenge, aren’t you! I usually am but not this time. Homeschooling ONE class has kicked me into high gear. I think I may be getting old! LOL
I definitely understand how even homeschooling one class can take a lot of time! I’m sure you’re doing a great job!
I hope I’m up to this challenge. It’s going okay so far, but it will be so easy to get behind. I don’t want to write just anything, so it takes time to think of what is best to share.
Hmmm, getting old? Nah, we can’t possibly be getting old, can we? LOL I’m right there with you, dear Susan. Blessings to you! xoxo
Gayl, I love this, so lovely. Thank you for sharing. Blessings.
visiting from #write28days.
Thank you, Paula. I guess I’ve been doing #write28days longer than I realized. It’s a fun thing to do, though this year I’m on vacation so a little harder, but not impossible. Blessings to you!