Some Positive Thoughts for the New Year

 

A new year has begun, and I have some positive thoughts for this new year.

I made out some resolutions for 2023, and I imagine many of you have. as well. My resolutions are mostly a continuation of last year's, like to be a positive thinker, feeler, doer, and speaker.

~ "Look at yourself. Love what you see. Go be the 'you' you're meant to be."- Andrew Blackman, Hallmark Writer

I also have some observations about a few things that happened in my life just recently.

During the cold spell that many of us just experienced, we were without water for three days. (It would have been longer, but Greg figured out a couple of solutions. He's, thankfully, very resourceful!) Sometimes an experience like that makes you appreciate the things that we so often take for granted. We feel so much more thankful now for all of our blessings, both large and small.

~ "When life gets sour, sweeten it with gratitude." -Unknown

For several weeks, I wanted a small pendant. I knew what I wanted, but I thought I'd have to travel a long distance to get one, but synchronicity came into play a few days ago when, before going out, I was trying to decide what jewelry I'd wear. I finally decided to wear a gemstone bracelet that I liked, but hadn't worn in a while.

It just happened, while I was out, that a lady noticed my bracelet, and commented on how much she admired it. I told her that I really liked gemstones, and that I needed a gemstone pendant since I had lost one that I loved and had worn a lot. She then told me about a place where I might find one to replace my old one. She referred me to a place in the town where I was visiting at the time, Johnson City, Tennessee. 

The shop was-

I went by the shop that same day since I was already very close to it. Although I didn't find one ready-made, the owner made me one to order right there in the shop in less that ten minutes! I love it! I like it even better than the one I lost!

I felt like I had been guided in the right direction when I needed a new pendant replacement. I feel happy every time I wear it, and I will wear it more than any of my other ones because it was exactly what I wanted to go with most of my outfits. 

Let the helpful people there make your gemstone/jewelry dreams come true. Check it out!

Finally, I was in line recently at the checkout in a small store in a small town when a woman in the front of the line wished the cashier and the others of us in line a happy new year. She seemed positive and very happy. Just being in her presence made you feel uplifted. Although it was after Christmas, it was like she was continuing the Christmas spirit. How wonderful if we could all carry that same spirit throughout the rest of the year!

Greg and I would like to wish you all a very happy 2023!

Positive Thought: ~ "2023 A Year to Be Free and a Year of Great Victory"- jgminternational.org

Thanks for visiting! Until Sunday, January 22, 2023, Becky

Positive Ideas for a New Year

Welcome!

New year, new decade!

Hope you had a wonderful New Year's Day! Greg and I celebrated by enjoying a traditional New Year's Day meal of black-eyed peas, collard greens, and cornbread for good luck in the new year. We added Irish potatoes, as well, since that's Greg's and my favorite food; besides, potatoes are supposed to be good for you.

Traditional New Year's Day Meal, Plus a Potato

Eating a traditional New Year's meal is a positive way to start a new year.  

In addition, on New Year's Day, I made out my resolutions for 2020. My first resolution was to take better care of myself physically which includes getting at least seven hours of sleep every night. Getting enough sleep helps you not only physically, but mentally and emotionally, as well.

Also included on my resolutions list was, of course, to be a positive thinker, feeler, doer, and speaker regardless of what is going on around me.

It's not too late to make out a New Year's resolutions list or to even modify an existing one. Why not do it now, if you haven't already?

Here are some other things you could do to make positive changes in your life for the new year and beyond:

-Believe in miracles! There are miracles, both large and small, all around us, if we just take time to look for them. There's the miracle of life and the beautiful world around us, the trees, the flowers, God's creatures, and much more. 

We all have our personal miracles like finding our soulmate, our dream home, our life's work, etc.

There are even mini-miracles, like my cell phone that seems to have nine lives, just like a cat. It's been through a lot. It's been run over by a car. It rode on the trunk of my car for over seven miles, but it didn't fall off! It fell out of my pocket, and when it hit the pavement, the back fell off and broke which I just taped back on. Otherwise, it was in good shape. It still works perfectly fine. 

My cell phone is a lesson for all of us. It teaches us that miracles do exist, and that we should all be as resilient as this cell phone, and that we should never give up!

-Always remember,

"The more you are thankful, the more you attract things to be thankful for."

-Nelson Mandela

-Don't just tolerate stuff. Make much-needed changes both large and small. 

For example, although I'm a pretty good organizer, and have even organized for others professionally, I still have slip-ups occasionally. For instance, there are my dresser drawers- I had a small amount of stuff in a large drawer and a large amount of stuff in a small drawer for years! And, a few days ago, it occurred to me to just switch the stuff in the two drawers which has made life a lot better in a small, yet large way!

Subconsciously, I was bothered by this chest-of-drawers concern, but I never took the time to make a change for the better. I was just tolerating what was.

How many things are we all tolerating that we could change that might make our lives and maybe even the lives of those around us more positive? These changes might include clearing clutter, house cleaning, buying new clothes, having a new lifestyle, finding new friends, etc. 

Don't just put up with stuff, make positive changes for the better!

-Go with the flow. Sometimes things that happen that we at first think is negative or bad, turns out for the best after all. 

For example, one day, we were delayed leaving our house on a little trip we had planned, but it turned out well because we got an important business call on our home phone that we would have missed if we had left on time. Another time, we didn't get a house we thought we wanted, but a few weeks later, we got a house that was perfect for us.

-Coal is supposed to have positive qualities, just like gemstones. For instance, coal is known to be a good luck stone. Also, it's grounding, protective, stabilizing, stress-reducing, and it may promote peace. It can attract abundance and success. It can turn the negative into the positive!

Greg and I each carry a piece of genuine Southern Appalachian Mountain good-luck pocket coal in the left pocket, and we also place coal with our money. We feel like our lives have changed for the better because of this.

I sell this good luck pocket coal for only $3.50 each, plus shipping. Email me at beckyarnottartist@gmail.com for more information.*

Good Luck Pocket Coal

Good luck!

May this be the happiest and most positive of new years ever for you!

*None of these positive qualities are guaranteed. Not for children.

Positive thought: "Life doesn't have to be perfect to be wonderful."-Annette Funicello

Thanks for visiting! Until Sunday, February 2, 2020, Becky

Resolutions for a New Year, a New You!

Welcome!

Since I was a young girl, I've made resolutions for self-improvement on New Year's Day, to help start the new year off right. I like to think that making those resolutions has helped propel me in the right direction. This year was no different. I made a few resolutions that mainly continue the ones I made last year.

In addition, I'm certainly in agreement with author Rhonda Byrne who has a resolution for the new year to be positive. In fact, being positive is her only resolution every year, because if you're truly positive, everything else should fall nicely into place.

Being positive is my main resolution, but I feel that I need other goals to aim me in the right direction. For example, for my business, I have goals I want to accomplish by a certain date. One of those goals is to publish another book no later than August 1 of this year. (I'll keep you posted on that one!)

Resolutions don't have to be made only on New Year's Day. In fact, I just added another resolution a few days ago, and that was to simplify my life. I was over a week late with this blog post this time, because I've just been trying to accomplish too much. I'm now trying to step back and to evaluate my life and to decide to do what's really important to me, and to just let the rest go.

It is never too late to make a resolution. If you've yet to make yours, or if you'd like to add another, what would it be?

Good luck with your resolutions, and may this be your best year yet!

Positive thought: "A positive attitude gives you power over your circumstances instead of allowing your circumstances to have power over you."-Joyce Meyer
Thanks for visiting! Until Sunday, February 4, 2018, Becky

People Living Positively

A big welcome to you, and to the new year, 2017!

This is the time of  year many of us make our resolutions, and one of mine every year is to live my life more positively.

This past fall, I got to visit with a woman I know who seems to live a positive, fulfilling life.

   

Her name is Vonnie.

I didn't realize how talented and creative she was until she took me on a tour of  her yard.

She makes beautiful pieces of art out of found objects.

Seeing these cute pieces makes you want to run home and make something!

She even has a mini-farm, complete with real chickens.

After going on her tour, (The tour was longer than I've shown here.) one could even sit on one of the benches, contemplate nature, and listen to the water from the nearby creek peacefully flowing over the rocks.

Not only is Vonnie creative, but she's also a success coach and an aromatherapist. She even started, and is the leader of a local business networking group. She stays active, and seems to really enjoy her life which includes her husband and son.

She's such an inspiration to be around, and is a great example of someone who is living her life positively, and is helping others to live positive lives, as well.

There are some other people I'd like to mention that inspire me to live more positively-

I really admire another talented, creative woman, a graphic designer, that I often work with. Although she has a serious, chronic illness, she is still a successful business person. She has a wonderful sense of humor which I believe has helped her live a more positive life.

Without her encouragement, I think that I would have had a more difficult time achieving the business goals that I have set for myself.

Another encouraging, positive person in my life is a psychic that I sometimes call. She helps me get back on the right track when I need some advice. Genuine psychics are great because they know the truth of what's really going on with us mere mortals! The bottom line is this, whenever I talk with her, I feel greatly uplifted.

Also, there's an older man who works at our local convenience center (garbage dump) who seems happy whenever he sees me, and he always has something positive to say. Boy, if you can be pleasant while working at the garbage dump, there's hope for all of us!

Finally, Pastor Joel Osteen is great! He has such a positive message for all of us on how to live happier, more fulfilling lives. Not only is he a minister of the largest Protestant church in the United States, but he is also a successful author of several empowering books.

Greg and I were lucky to see Joel at one of his recent book signings at our local book store. He was just as nice in person as he seems to be on his television show.

These are just some of the people that I know that tend to live positive lives. Their positive attitudes spill over from themselves which helps other people.

In this new year, let us resolve to become the best that we can be, to make the most of ourselves. We may not be a creative artist or a great speaker, but we are all talented and creative in our ways. We need to find that talent and use it, not only to benefit ourselves, but in so doing, to be a blessing to the world, as well.

"Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works..."
-Matthew 5:16, ESV

Want to be a better you in the new year? If so, just go to Mike Dooley's "Love Your Life 30 Day Project" on TUT. It's free!  See the website link below, and scroll down to find this project and sign up!

www.tut.com

Positive thought: "Positive thinking will let you do everything better than negative thinking will."-Zig Ziglar
Thanks for visiting, Until Sunday, January 15, 2017, Becky

A Toast to the New Year!

Welcome!

And, "A prosperous new year to you."
-Irish toast

"...the old has passed away, behold the new has come."
-From Second Corinthians 5:17

I love beginnings, a chance to improve things, for a fresh start. Each new year and even each new day brings new opportunities for a better life, a better future.

Have you made any New Year's resolutions yet?

New Year's Day, I made a general statement, and I'm still working on the details to follow for each day to carry out that resolution, to make improvements in my life.

In addition, this year, I'm trying something different, something that has really impressed me so far, that hopefully helps to improve your life. It's called the "Infinite Possibilities" 30 Day Project which was created by author and speaker Mike Dooley. Anyone can sign up. It takes only ten minutes of your time each day (The exercises are easy and fun!), and it's free!

If you are interested, just go to www.tut.com .

I believe it's good to have guidance when you're trying to change something in your life, and for me, this "30 Day Project" is perfect.*

A quote to remember for the new year-
"Family isn't always blood. It's the people in your life who want you in theirs, the ones who accept you for who you are. The ones who would do anything to see you smile and who love you no matter what."
-www.quoteeveryday.com

Positive thought: "May you have all the happiness and luck that life can hold-And at the end of all your rainbows may you find a pot of gold."-Irish toast
Thanks for visiting! Until next Sunday, Becky

*We're all different and I can't guarantee you would be helped in any way by following what I'm doing. I'm not responsible for anything you decide to do or not to do.