Friday Foto Friends and One Word for 2022

 Hello my Friday Foto Friends and everyone in Blogland! This will be the last post for the year 2021! Wow! I thought the end of this year would never get here!  Actually these past two years have been rather "long" and "challenging" for everyone.  I am certain that we are all anticipating much better days ahead in the new year of 2022.  May God hear our prayers and show us the wonderful plans He has for us, one day at a time.  I just want to share some random positive thoughts as we anticipate the New Year...

Jeremiah 29:11 

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

This is a new magnet my sister gave me for my refrigerator:

Remember this chorus to the beloved hymn, "Blessed Assurance"?

"This is my story, this is my song,

Praising my Savior, All the day long!

This is my story, this is my song,

Praising my Savior, All the day long!"

On this last day of 2021, let's sit down and have a cup of tea together...mine is Twining's "Gingerbread Joy", 

It says: "Lift your spirits this season with the ginger and cinnamon flavours of this irresistible black tea".

I love it when even my teabag encourages me to have joy, and to lift my spirits!

I was wearing this particular t-shirt earlier today...it was a Christmas gift from last year, and it just speaks to me...yes, "Life is good"...living peacefully under God's beautiful stars and heavens, enjoying all that He has done for us...

Ha Ha, I took this picture of our shed earlier today, because it reminded me of this little cabin in the woods, and it even looks like it has snow on the roof and on the ground in places...(which is actually our Florida white sand), about as close to a winter scene as you can find here in our neck of the woods.

At least a girl can dream...

So, in preparation for the New Year, I am getting ready to put up the new calendars...this one is an annual traditional gift from my sister:

She knows I love teapots and all things pertaining to tea, and so years ago she started giving me these calendars every year for Christmas. I actually save them from year to year, because the photographs are so beautiful and they often have recipes and stories to go along with the pictures that are very interesting.

Anyway, here is the picture for January...I believe this is an Arabian teapot...very lovely.

I love the quote below by Richard Francis Burton, from "Explorers of the Nile", (A British explorer, not to be confused with the actor Richard Burton).

I think as we begin this New Year we are about to embark on a "departure upon a distant journey into unknown lands." This quote says it is one "of the gladdest moments in human life".  Perhaps so...but sometimes the beginning of a journey into the "unknown lands" of life can be a bit frightening as well. We don't know what lies around each bend in the road.  But I know Who does know...and that is the Lord.  We do not need to fear the future when we put our trust in the Lord. 

And so, in anticipation of selecting my "One Word" for 2022 I began to pray and seek God's direction.  I thought I had decided on a word earlier today, and so tonight when I began to write about it my computer started acting up. No matter what I tried to do it slowed down, pages froze up, I couldn't get things to cooperate. I finally had to walk away from my computer for awhile and go sit down and read.

I picked up this new "Devotions from the Front Porch" book, again another gift from my sister (gee, Doris, you really gave me a LOT of wonderful gifts this year!! I am overwhelmed as I think about it),

but anyway, I began to read a few pages ahead and came to this one:

"Cornbread and Buttermilk" ! ?

I'm thinking, "who eats that?"  My husband does. But again, let's keep moving on here. I read the verse at the top:

"But his delight is in the law of the Lord,

And in His law he meditates day and night."

Psalm 1:2

and the word "DELIGHT" jumped out from the page. And immediately I thought of another verse that has long meant so much to me:

"Delight yourself also in the Lord,

And He shall give you the desires of your heart."

Psalm 37:4

And I suddenly realized that God had directed me to my new "One Word" for 2022.  Delight is the word the Lord chose. The one I thought it was going to be was "Steadfast", which is also a good word, but that's the one that when I tried to write it on this post my computer kept stalling and it wouldn't let me do it...well, maybe that was God not letting me do it, because He had something else in mind for me this year..."Delight"...Delight in God's Word, meditate on it day and night...Delight myself in the Lord...and He will give me the desires of my heart...! Well, that doesn't mean He'll automatically give me everything I'm wishing I had, no, it doesn't mean that at all...but it does mean that when I delight in the Lord, my desires will be for Him...and for His will...and I will be delighted in the ways that He chooses to bless me in this new year.   And just maybe you realized as you were reading this post above that I was delighted in so many wonderful things around me...little blessings that God has already given me...delighting in the ways that He shows His love for me. Delighting in His Word, the Bible, and all that He teaches us through His Word. Oh yes, I believe this is going to be a "delightful year".  I pray that God will open my eyes to all that He wants me to be delighted in and about.  It may not always be perfect things or a perfect outcome...but it's all about the heart...all about trusting God no matter what the circumstances...that's delighting in Him.  So there you have it. My One Word for 2022 is DELIGHT.

If you'd like to look back at the previous years that I've been doing this, you can click on the following links and read about the words for each year, all the way back to 2012, I believe.  (Oh, Believe! That's my word for 2021!)  Do you select a 'One Word' each year? How do you go about it? Is it always what you thought it would be at first?  I'd love to hear about your experiences with this as well.

One Word for 2021 - Believe

One Word for 2020-Joyful

One Word for 2019 Abundance-and all years before

Okay, I need to go for now...This will post tonight, on New Year's Eve EVE.  Most likely I won't be writing again until next year, so see you then!!