Minnesota Prairie Roots

Writing and photography by Audrey Kletscher Helbling

Thoughts as the year ends & a new one begins December 31, 2015

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MY DEAR READERS,

I hope your year has been a mostly good one. Hope. That was my chosen focus word for 2015 and will remain my focus word into 2016.

My great niece Kiera painted this stone, which I got at a recent family reunion.

My great niece Kiera painted this stone, which I chose as a BINGO prize at a family reunion. Since then, I’ve had her paint a similar HOPE stone for a friend going through a difficult time. This HOPE stone sits on my office desk.

A strong visual reminder of hope sits on my office desk. It is a HOPE stone, crafted by a great niece.

There are days when we all need hope. Whether you are dealing with financial challenges, health issues, relationship difficulties, a personal loss, grief or anything else that weighs you down, may you see HOPE in the New Year. The flip of the calendar offers the opportunity to begin anew.

In four months, a baby girl will be born, making me a grandma. She is reason for joy. A new life. A new beginning for my eldest and her husband. A new beginning for me and my husband as grandparents.

May you, too, dear readers, find such joys in 2016.

Thank you for being a part of my life, for sharing your thoughts, for encouraging and supporting me and my writing and photography. I am grateful as 2015 closes and a new year unfurls full of possibilities and hope.

Audrey

© Copyright 2015 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

Hope, my word for 2015 January 1, 2015

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Inspirational quotes posted on my desk, on the shelf above my desktop screen.

Inspirational quotes posted on my desk, on the shelf above my desktop screen.

HOPE. It’s a four-letter word that holds so much promise.

Hope will be my mantra for 2015, after a year that’s been especially challenging.

How do you define hope?

I’d like some synonyms to stash in my memory bank, to pull out, to examine, to consider when life presents seemingly insurmountable challenges, when grey prevails, when I need encouragement. We all have days when we need nothing more than hope.

My blogger/real-life friend, Sue, awhile ago posted this quote from one of my favorite poets, Emily Dickinson:

Hope is the thing with feathers
that perches in the soul,
and sings the tune without the words,
and never stops at all.

Beautiful. That quote is posted on the shelf above my computer screen. A reminder of hope.

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HAVE YOU, LIKE my friend Beth Ann who blogs at It’s Just Life and inspired me to choose a focus word, selected a word or phrase that will take you into and through-out 2015?

For you, my loyal readers, I wish a year of contentment and true peace, days brimming with happiness and the love of family and friends, and an appreciation for the simple joys of life. Happy New Year!

© Copyright 2015 Audrey Kletscher Helbling