An "Auld Lang Syne" Friday Five on Monday :)

From RevGalBlogPals ...

With that in mind, share five memorable moments of 2007. These can be happy or sad, profound or silly, good or bad but things that you will remember.

Bonus points for telling us of a "God sighting"-- a moment when the light came through the darkness, a word was spoken, a song sung, laughter rang out, a sermon spoke to you in a new way--whatever you choose, but a moment in 2007 when you sensed Emmanuel, God with us.

Okay, how fun!! Here they are, although my Friday Five is actually Monday More...

1) In March, I found out that my partner was not going to be able to move here with her daughter, as we'd planned. And because of the glitches we'd encountered, we had no idea when she'd be able to move and still don't! That loss was worth almost 10lbs and a bit of depression.

2) On April 9th, knowing we needed to have something good happen, I suggested we have a commitment ceremony over the phone, just me and her and God. So we did! I had a book of creative ceremonies that had prayers, invocations, poetry, vows, etc. It was wonderful!!

3) In June, I went back to Virginia Beach, where I lived for about 16 years, and watched one of my very best friends get married! I am almost tearing up (yet again) just thinking about it. As close friends do, we shared so much of our romantic discouragement, and encouraged each other over the years to hang in there, promising each other that one day we'd be past all the pain, both of us happy in love. And here we were, both having found the loves of our lives!! It was magical experience!

4) Late this summer, my partner and her daughter both came to visit and the four of us had a wonderful vacation together. The kids took to each other almost immediately and had great fun hanging out. In our hearts, we became family! And every ordinary "family" moment was precious to me.

5) Right after that, I found out that my landlord of 4 years was going to sell the Victorian duplex I had loved for all of those years and my son and I would have to move. I didn't want to move! But I am oh, so glad I did!! I love our new home, from the private entrance, to the stairs and 2nd floor living that Jonathan envisioned, to the screened-in balcony, to the courtyard full of trees that is my magnificent view every day, to the garden tub in my bathroom!

6) I had a strong sense that my partner and I would see each other in November, but had no idea why, how or when. But I have learned to trust this kind of intuitive information and I just sort of let it float around in my head. Well, around the last week of October, Shelly found out that none of the people at her work who had been scheduled to attend an upcoming workshop in Toronto would be able to go and they were going to send her instead (paying for her airfare, hotel stay and meals). We immediately made plans for me to join her there to get married, and that's what we did!

7) I have had an incredible Christmas season!! I found wonderful ways to celebrate, some big, some small, every single day and each moment of celebration was both charmed and meaningful!

8) I have two "bonus" memories ... months ago, I asked God to know more about God-as-feminine, as mother, and almost immediately afterwards, discovered the moon. And I mean, an incredible connection and really soothing, comforting experience each time I saw the moon. I also began to have some mystical experiences in nature, in general, that fostered a much deeper sense of loving connection with God.

My second bonus memory has to do with the wisdom of God in choosing Joseph as a parent for Jesus. In my post yesterday, I wrote much more about that, but yesterday's sermon really opened my eyes to ways in which Jesus seems to "take after" Joseph.

I am SOOOO deeply grateful for this past year! It was not without challenge!! But there has been so much joy. So much God, really :).

My Year in Review

Have you taken a look back at the gifts brought by your experiences in 2007?

Since this is the year I got married and one of my best friends did, too, we've both said "what a difference a year makes" a few times this year!!

But other than that, I haven't yet taken a very careful, thoughtful look and today, I decided I would. My life coach, Ann Strong, who is a fabulous coach's coach, gave me a helpful list of questions to get me started...


Reviewing 2007:

Go wild! Acknowledge all your go(o)dness and greatness.One guideline: release criticism and focus on positives.

What did I accomplish that I am most proud of? Finding a wonderful new home to live in and going to Toronto to get legally married to the love of my life.

When did I have the most fun? Every time I was with Shelly. Even going to the grocery store is fun when we go together! (You think I'm in love?)

What experiences touched me the most? This question makes me think of my church. There have been so many wonderful experiences there that brought tears to my eyes!

What experiences were the most intimate? Looking into the eyes of my love and seeing her heart and her soul.

Most powerful? I have had some very powerful spiritual moments involving trees, moon, reiki, essential oils, nature walks, water, etc.

Most sacred? When we were saying our vows, in both the commitment ceremony in April and the legal one in November.

What difficult challenges did I meet successfully?
(1) I let go of a part-time job so that I would have more time to homeschool my son.

(2) I handled being outed at work by a co-worker.

(3) I found out that my wife and daughter weren't going to be able to move here this past summer as planned. We still don't know when they will be able to move.

In meeting the challenges, what did I do best? Relying on guidance and support in my relationship with God and in my marriage and support from my friends.

What lessons did I learn? That God is taking care of me all of the time, that He has good plans for me and that I can trust my life to unfold as it should.

How would I describe my power in those situations? I would say I did a lot of co-creating with God. The year as a whole was empowering!

But, you know, there are more questions that occur to me...

Here are questions I would ask as a healing practitioner...

1) What are you most grateful for that healed this year?
2) How did you become more of who you are at the core? In what ways are you living more from the essence of who you are?
3) What blocks were removed? What are you more open to, where are you more free?
4) Which limiting beliefs did you release? And what wonderful new beliefs did you develop as a result?
5) Were there any specific memories you remember healing? That you can now remember with peace?
6) How has healing empowered you this year?
7) In what ways did you surprise yourself that you would attribute to the healing work you've done?
8) What's next?