The Loft ~ A Tuesday Link-Up ~ Reflections on 2014

The Loft is open, come on up!

This Week’s Topic: “2014 in Review” (We are getting introspective this week. Share the greatest lesson of 2014 or anything else about this year that you’d like to.)

Today our topic at The Loft (#TheLoft) takes us on a journey of reflection. We are to share the things we have learned, or been reminded of, in 2014. It would seem that at 50 years old, the learning would slow down, but NOT! I feel like I’ve learned, or re-learned, so many things this year. So, today, it is my privilege to share a few of them with you. Not because I feel that I have wisdom that is superior to another’s, but because I wholeheartedly believe that iron sharpens iron. I hope my list will be a blessing and encouragement to you.

These Things I Know

God can be trusted with our hearts and our lives. All the time, every day, in every situation.

Dementia is a crummy disease, yet there are little glimpses of beautiful in the midst of it.

I thought my head would explode over the two years that my small group studied the book of The Revelation. It didn’t, and I am so thankful for all I learned.

My time in The Revelation has reminded me that Jesus is intimately involved with His church, and His chosen people, Israel. He is not a far-off God, but He walks among us, seeing our actions and the intent of our hearts in every situation.

When God calls us to walk a hard mile or ten, He gives grace for each step.

How to do a flip-turn at the end of each lap I swim. Yay for old dogs being able to learn new tricks!

The body of Christ is a beautiful, living, caring, loving thing.

There is much to be learned from the older generations. They have wisdom to offer, and they deserve our love, respect, and time.

God’s timing is always perfect.

I love my husband more today than I did the day I married him. Our marriage has survived some rough spots over the past 20 years, and we are so thankful we stayed the course.

God used my sister, Leslie, in amazing ways over the past year, as we navigated the road of declining health and the death of our Mother. Leslie has been such a huge blessing to our family.

“Everybody’s got something”. This title from Robin Roberts’ memoir is really true. Everyone is dealing with something. I need to remember that, and give much grace.

God is more than willing to give us wisdom, if only we will ask for it, and receive it.

The time has come when Christians must take a stand for Christ. We must not bow to political correctness or peer pressure, even in the face of persecution. Yet, we must stand firmly in love. We must hold fast to the Word of God, and do it with a loving heart. If Jesus could do it, so can we.

Friends~those we see face-to-face, and those on our computer screen~are precious.

Invest in lives and hearts, rather than things and money.

There is much more I could share, but those are the ones that tug at my heart in this moment. I would love to hear what you have learned (or re-learned) in 2014. Leave a comment or email me. If you have a blog, please link up your 2014 Reflections post.

Now it’s time to link up!

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Next Week’s Topic: “Potluck: Best of 2014” (Be prepared to link up your best post from 2014. “Best” is defined loosely 🙂 )

About #TheLoft

The Loft is the place for conversation, community, networking, and Christian growth.

Each week we provide a topic to start the conversation.

PLEASE NOTE: While there are many link and leave blog hops out there, we are different in that we ask that your link stick to the weekly topic. This fosters community and conversation. It also helps us practice “topic” writing as bloggers. Oh, and please mention The Loft in your post! Thank you so much!

Monday night, at 9pm Eastern, the linky goes live and all week you can link up your post on that week’s topic.

We’ll have fun topics, serious topics, practical, soul-ful, holiday, and so, so much more…we can’t wait to get started! This is not only a great way to connect with others, it’s also a fun and easy way to establish a writing habit. If you aren’t a blogger, you are welcome to join in by leaving your comments in the comment section.

So grab your coffee mug and come on up! Hang out for a bit. We betcha you’ll be glad you did.

To Participate:

1. Be creative. Feel free to use words, photos, video, audio, your family pet, whatever, to communicate on the weekly topic. But please stick to the weekly topic 🙂

2. Listen twice as much as you talk. If you leave one link, visit two. Trust us on this one~wink.

3. Be a community. Include #TheLoft graphic and/or link back in your post so we can find each other. Also, share the great stuff you find when you visit around…we’ll be doing the same.

When you link up at The Loft, your link will appear on 4 blogs! We’d love for you to visit The Loft co-hosts and know who we are: Jen, Rebekah, Leah, Arabah