What I learned in 2025

God’s Presence is Precisely the point. The point of history, the Point of Scripture.

My mind quits before my body does. I get tired of working out long before physical exhaustion sets in. This was sobering to realize, because in the realm of projects, housework, and homeschool I rarely quit, and yet in the realm of workouts I do.

To grow old is in fact a gift, but it’s also a place of great vulnerability. It was brought home sharply to me when I took my grandma for an outpatient procedure, how fragile time and age make us. But I also learned it anew, as I turned 38 and can noticeably see my body and face aging. I don’t feel “ready” to age visibly, and remembering that it is in fact a gift, has helped tremendously.

New Year’s Goals no longer look like big, magic life overhauls for me. Instead, in this season it looks more like going further, and continuing on. More like intentional practice than starting new things or building new systems.

Say yes to the things that scare you. It’s a huge motivator to study your craft, and to go further. Healthy fear is , for me , an excellent motivator to learn, practice, and grow as an artist.

Create community, and let your life back this up. Be available to help those who need it, to babysit, to put your friend’s kids on the bus. Part of creating community is making availability a priority in your life.

I had to give up a podacst that I loved dearly, and had listened to daily since 2018. This was difficult, but we had reached a few morality impasses.

Sketching on Sundays is life giving for me.

Seasons effect humans more than we realize or care to admit.

You cannot want “it” more than the people you’re helping. Whether it is health, healing , sobriety...

Dorothy Sayers books are layered. The more od clssical literature you read, the more you get out of them. The same applies to P G Wodehouse, C S Lewis, G K Chesterton. Authors of the late 1800s and early 1900s were masters of the literary allusion.

Small things in my appearance make a big difference in how I feel. $7 press on nails from Walmart make me feel more polished. Having all four of my kids home makes me feel like myself.

Bella’s Antique booth is yielding more lessons than I thought it would. And they are largely not economic or business based.

I’m longing for a simpler time. I get nostalgic for the early days of motherhood. I do wonder sometimes if it’s not so much simplier as pre-smartphone, and pre-social media. Before I ‘knew’ to compare myself with the entire world.

Don’t tell older women they “were” beautiful. They are beautiful now.

The power of thank you notes. I used to be far more diligent about these, but somehow I dropped the habit. Resurrecting it.

I do huge projects, and then forget and move on to the next thing, and pretty soon I wonder where all my time went.

Many of my problems, the things I worry about resolve themselves within a month. Maybe I should take a break from worry.

Being around my cousins feels like Home, in a way I had not anticipated.

Reading about the artists lives that I’m studying makes me love their work more. Reading art books in general draws me closer to God.