Well I did it! I won the last Scrabble game of 2019 – making me the champion!
My last post told the tale of my husband’s effort to catch me.
My husband did his best – but couldn’t catch me. He tells me he is now depressed. (A joke only – he’s fine.)
But guess what his New Year’s Resolution is? You got it!
To beat me in 2020.
Happy New Year to all my readers!
Those of you who have followed my posts for awhile know that my husband and I are Scrabble addicts. We play with a super scrabble board. It has more spaces for words than a regular Scrabble board and 200 tiles instead of 100.
We have kept a record of our scores since 2008 and are very competitive.
As we come to the last day of 2019 I am one game ahead of my husband. He is determined to end this year with a tie between us as we did last year.
So this evening we will play our last game of the year.
If he wins and we end in a tie – all is well.
I did it!
But if I win – I will end the year two games ahead.
Champion!!!!
Of course, you know I’m rooting to win and be the champion for 2019. However, if the last two games are any indication of how it will go – I’m nervous. Most of the time our scores are very close but the last two games he has not only won but beat me by over 150 points. NO!
In our game last night he had three seven-letter words. For those of you who don’t play Scrabble playing all of your letters in one turn adds 50 extra points to your score. NO!
The game tonight will be our 829th game since we started keeping scores. This year we played 136 games. My husband has figured out that if we play 171 games in 2020 we will reach 1000 games.
So – while I am sure I will at some point today or tomorrow be more serious about goals for 2020 – for now that seems like a worthy goal.
Think we can make it to 1000 games in the coming year?
Think I can win the game tonight and be the champion?
We still see.
For all my readers, Happy New Year! May the coming year bring you God’s peace and joy!
I’m not really one to make new year’s resolutions but this year I have said I want to write more consistently and also to add to the blogs I now follow.
So, how am I doing? Well- it’s is now the 4th of the month and I am just now starting to write again. Funny how our best intentions can get sidetracked by life itself.
Today I had an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon (going to have to have a knee replaced). The doctor’s office is in the state capital about 20 miles from our home. Since we are new to the state, we got up very early to give ourselves time to find the office.
My husband went out to warm up the car and found we had a flat tire. By the time we got it fixed it was too late to keep my appointment.
But God is good – our insurance covered the cost of getting the tire changed so my husband could drive it to a repair shop. They found a screw in the tire, fixed it and aired up all the tires. When my husband asked what the charge was, the owner said “Just buy your tires from me when you need new ones.”
The surgeon’s office has a policy of charging a $50 fee if you do not give 24 hours notice for cancelling. But they were understanding and did not charge me for the cancellation. Finally, I was afraid I would have to wait several weeks to get a new appointment, but I’m scheduled for next Friday.
This is good because I have had to really talk myself into making this appointment. I had one knee replaced 3 1/2 years ago and have had nothing but problems since. That plus the fact that it is the most painful thing I have ever experienced, I have put off this day as long as I can. Now my courage needs to be built up again this week to keep that appointment next week.
So – reading new writers will give me something to keep my mind occupied and I’m sure I will find some new blogs to follow. Several ideas are going through my mind and I hope to start actually writing them tomorrow.
In the meantime, I would like to share four blogs that I have been following closely the last few months. They are great writers and I recommend you take a look.
https://becominghistapestry.com/
http://parentingisfunny.wordpress.com
Check these out and enjoy!
Time for another New Year! For most of us this time of year leads to reflection over the past 12 months and many of us make plans or resolutions for the coming year.
On New Year’s Eve in 2017 I went through that thought process. My husband and I made plans for the coming year. Trips we hoped to make, family we wanted to see, changes we would like to make in our house, flowers to plant in the garden.
But in all our planning for 2018 we had no idea that before the year was over we would be living in a new house in a new state moving to an area we knew nothing about.
We also had some dear friends die this year – some expected – some a surprise.
As I look to the New Year I realize more than ever that while I can plan and make new year resolutions, I need to live each day with the realization that only God really knows what my future holds – and that is okay.
The writer to the book of James reminds us:
Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.”
As I face 2019 I face it with great hope for a year of both being blessed and being a blessing to others.
Happy New Year to all follow my blog. I appreciate that you take time to read my thoughts. If you enjoy my writing, please share with others.
A new year! As we look back at 2015, hopefully we all can say “It’s been a good year.” Whether the year was a good one for you or not so good, we probably all can think of events that we would have handled differently if we could do it over. Times when we wish we had remained silent – or maybe wish we had spoken up. Times when we wish we had not attended that event – or maybe wish we had gone to an event. Times when we wish we had loved more – times when we wish we had pulled back from a relationship.
Looking back we can always see areas in our lives where we could have done a better job of communicating, sharing, being brave, being restrained. But the year is past. What’s done is done. Like Paul, the apostle, we need to say:
I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.
This is a time we often make new year resolutions. We are going to work harder (or devote less time at work and more at relaxing), we are going to lose weight, we are going to be more faithful in our Bible reading, our exercising. The list often goes on and on.
Here is one list of top ten New Year Resolutions
For many of us a New Year’s Resolution might look like this
My goal for 2016 is to accomplish the goals I had for 2015 which I should have done in 2014 because I promised myself I would do them in 2013 after much planning for them in 2012.
While it is always good to have goals for the coming year – may I suggest a goal that would really be of the greatest benefit in 2016 – a resolution to not just read, but really study the Word of God this year.
God’s Word is an excellent instruction manual for our lives. 
There has been so much violence and discord in our country in 2015. Who knows what the coming year will bring. But, whether this year sees peace or war, prosperity or difficult financial times, excellent health or too many trips to the doctor, we can find strength in God’s Word.
Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. Joshua 1:8
How can a young person stay pure?
By obeying your word.
I have tried hard to find you—
don’t let me wander from your commands.
I have hidden your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you. Psalm 119
There are so many aids and helps in learning more about God’s Word. One of the greatest ways to get into God’s Word is an organized, consistent reading plan.
There are excellent plans out there. Visit biblegateway.com for a listing of many that can be sent directly to your mail each day.
I have never been one to make New Year resolutions. My experience has been that most New Year resolutions are broken before the first week in January is over.
As 2014 came to an end, I found in my spirit that there were areas in my life I needed, with God’s help, to change. Some were spiritual matters and others were physical.
So on January 1 I wrote down a list of resolutions for 2015. I made four commitments to myself:
At first I was not going to share with anyone my resolutions – after all it is a personal thing and who really cares anyway what I decide to do or not to do. Isn’t it a little arrogant to think the world cares about my resolutions?
But I have decided I want some way to hold myself accountable. Maybe by sharing with others in a public fashion, I will be encouraged to keep going when I might get discouraged and decide to call it quits.
It is now 15 days into 2015. So far – so good. But have I already formed a new habit? How long will that take? It has been said that if you do something for 21 days, it becomes a habit. However, that statement is not based on any solid evidence.
While I like the “21 days” idea, I’m not sure it’s that easy. Sounds good because I would love to change my life in just three weeks.
Reading on the subject, I found a study published in European Journal of Social Psychology by Phillippa Lally, a health psychology researcher at University College London trying to determine just how long it takes to form a habit.
On average, it takes more than two months before a new behavior becomes automatic. The time involved also depends on the behavior, the person and the circumstances.
It will take me more than 21 days to really make these resolutions a real life change.
The study also found that making a mistake now and then does not impact changing my long-term habits. So – I don’t have to pressure myself – I can do it.
My life verse will keep me going/
For I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
Grandma's Ramblings 