Friday, December 2, 2016

So, it's December, and I choose hope...{mish-mash and encouraging links}


Where has the year gone? I sit surrounded by boxes of decorations and ornaments with idea and to-do lists nearly writing themselves in frantic fashion. 'Tis the season! I use this phrase so much (all year round) that my kids make fun of me.

Can I be honest? I feel like I cannot escape negativity and pessimism pressing in on many sides, from within and without. So, I'll share a few links~there is good stuff happening in the world around us. CNN, MSNBC, and media in general have skewed reality, they do not hold the patent rights on truth, they are not concerned with infusing people with hope or joy or kindness or peace, they are concerned with ratings. The media, the people around us should not dictate our ability to hope.

Take a moment to watch this short video and read the article about ministry in "The Forgotten Southern City" of Fairfield, Alabama. 

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I saw an interview with the man who created the non-profit "My Block, My Hood, My City"~check out his work and mission in Chicago here

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A shout-out to Toyota for a commercial speaking to what our country so desperately needs. Let's Go Compassion.

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25 days to quiet the crazy of Christmas. Enough said.

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I liked this post that documents the simple and the beautiful from the author's autumn, from food to books to every day life. I walk through this pseudo-scrapbooking-journal process on occasion and it's good for my heart.

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LOVE this quote from Pollyanna:

"The influence of a beautiful, helpful, hopeful character is contagious, and may revolutionize a whole town . . . People radiate what is in their minds and in their hearts. If a man feels kindly and obliging, his neighbors will feel that way, too, before long. But if he scolds and scowls and criticizes—his neighbors will return scowl for scowl, and add interest!”

(For an encouraging family movie, I recommend this version of Pollyanna.)

This season and coming year, I choose hope. I choose joy. I choose to find beauty. I choose kindness, patience, gentleness, and self-control. I choose Jesus.

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{Coming soon: This years "wills and will nots" for December AND Christmas book picks. 'Tis the season!}

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