Farewell 2013 - Hello 2014 - Plus a Free Gift for You!

Butterfly Banner by Ben Wheeler

It's the final day of 2013 and many of us are looking forward to a better 2014. May God will it to be our best year yet! I have a New Year post planned for you tomorrow and the photo above (courtesy of my beloved husband) is a hint at what's to come.

Christmas Atrium - not sure if this is by Ben or Phyllis

But before we jump into next year I want to share some final 2013 holiday pictures from some of the Washington D.C. Smithsonian museums.

This poinsettia encircled cherub fountain was lovlier in person. I think I took the photo of it in the National Gallery of Art museum.

Like the Longwood Gardens poinsettias, I found myself liking the variegated type best. 

But this curly leafed poinsettia also caught my fancy. 

While you're contemplating this year and preparing for next year, I hope my little gift to you will be of service. It's an updated copy of my year end review spreadsheet. I gave more details on how I use it in this post last year but it's pretty self explanatory. You can do it in less than an hour or print it out and add to it over the course of a week or use it however you like.

While I normally do this at the end of December, with Moose the cat being so sick (although she is no longer critically ill, she is scheduled for surgery on January 2 and has needed a lot of extra care to nurse her through this difficult time), my husband's extended leave and my own health challenges, I'm giving myself a break and have some time scheduled next week to enjoy a cup of tea, relax and dedicate an hour to prayerfully filling it out. I'll set aside a different time a few days later to prayerfully make my action plan for 2014.

May 2014 be filled with all the blessings your heart can hold and may God's peace, joy and love fill your soul! If you are grieving or suffering in any way as you read this I pray that God will ease your pain and that you will feel His loving presence in your heart. If you would like more information on God's great love for you, I recommend visiting http://peacewithgod.jesus.net/. Peace be with you, dear friend!

Full link to your free gift: 
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AiikM6A7Ok-NdHVRclljeUpwMXRTcm5sSzlBd0FPRlE&usp=sharing

Related posts:
New Year Haiku Poems: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/01/two-new-year-haikus-inspired-by-god-and.html 
New Year Prayer Poems: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2011/12/new-years-prayer-haikus.html 
New Year Blessing: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/01/happy-new-year-haiku-and-blessing.html 
New Year Otter cuteness: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/01/cute-and-squeaky-river-otter-family.html

My Year End Review & A Free Gift For You

It's the very last day of 2012 and I'm excited about what God might bring in 2013! Before I start celebrating the New Year, however, I like to reflect upon and review the current year. I call it my year end review process but you could call it a year end wrap up or reflection session or whatever you like.

I used to have a very long and complicated year end review process. It worked for me at the time but now I have a much simpler process that I thought I'd share in case it might help you. It's three easy steps. I come up with my Top 20 amazing blessings of the year, top 10 achievements of the year and top 5 areas I'd like to improve on for next year. I just brainstorm them into a Google document as I think of them towards the end of December and then today I will narrow them down to the designated number. During the brainstorming process I just type up everything I think of related to each category and don't worry about numbers - usually I end up with a lot more than the numbered categories. I also add to it when I think of it in between creating the document and actually selecting the final 20, 10 and 5 items.

Coming up with my blessings list is a lot easier since I started tracking answers to prayer. God is so amazing! In 2012 alone, He answered at least 11 pages of my prayers (and probably more, because I don't write down everything and don't hear back from everyone who asks me to pray for him or her)! God has brought loved ones to salvation, healed sick friends, provided safe travel, relieved depression and far more. 

If you're wondering why I have the numbers the way they are, it's just my own personal logic. For years I've done a top 10 accomplishments list, but, as a Christian, I think it's more important to focus on God's work than my own so I wanted to have at least double praise for His accomplishments than my own. And, while I certainly have more than 5 areas that need improvement, keeping it at half of my accomplishments helps me stay positive about the changes I want to make. It works for me. If you try it, please let me know how it works for you.

My free gift to you is a blank copy of my 2012 Year End Review Google Document (the full link is also below for your reference)

May God bless you, keep you and inspire you to greater love, joy and peace!

Links:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AiikM6A7Ok-NdEpvNTBKUGZ2WWNSeFJWVFZYWHlSUVE
www.biblegateway.com