Better Late Than Never For some reason January is a blur to me. Usually I spend some of the quiet time after Christmas thinking over the past year and writing down at least a few 'intentions' for the new year. This year it seems like there has been no quiet time. It could be because the holiday schedule was thrown off by me contracting the flu right at the time I would have been making final Christmas preparations and when we were set to have our children and grandchildren here for Ranch Christmas. Then January started, and there was just one thing right after another.
But I have managed to get some things going for February, and if I had written down intentions, they would included three of these things: Draw and paint more, write/journal more, and get back to Bible reading and study. A very small online art group I am in set the challenge for February to be 'ten minutes and a pencil.' The idea is to make a quick sketch of something using only a pencil (not an eraser) and keep the work time around ten minutes. The sketchbook I chose has plain paper on the right and a lined page on the left, so I am combining my sketching with a little bit of journaling most days. We all are sketching simple things that are right in front of us-today was my Bible sitting on the side table, then my keys laying on a table. It does not take anything involved to get the psychic benefit of drawing and sketching.
My daughter was responsible for getting me started on the Bible study. She did a Bible-ina- year program then wanted to dig in more deeply. I wanted to work along with her so we could discuss. I have collected all the various translations I have and have added a few other reference books and sources. I am working through Genesis right now and am, honestly, flabbergasted by just how much is in that one book. Yes, I have read it before, but I have not done previous preparation before reading, have not stopped to look things up as I read, and I have not read other in-depth material alongside the Bible as I am doing now. It is so engrossing that I have a hard time putting down my books and getting on with the day's work, and when I do, a part of my brain continues to whir away on the day's reading. I have to say, it is a much better, more positive and constructive way to use time and brain power than anything on my phone or television. Journaling or something similar will be a part of this as I go on, too.
There is my dragging into the New Year story, but better late than never! I hope each of you has had a smoother start, sliding right into a successful 2026 from day one. Here it is, only a little over a month late: I wish everyone a happy and prosperous New Year!
SpringCreekArtsGuild@gmail.com