♪My grandparents lived on a beautiful acreage when I was a child. They had a large garden, a cute playhouse, and a big hammock slung between two old apple trees. The main feature during the winter months was the large, gently-sloping hill at the back of the property. One day in particular stands out in my childhood memory of that private snow hill.

♪My (nonexistent) artistic career came to a definitive end at Bible camp. Each summer, my friends and I would carefully select the skills we wanted to participate in during our fun-filled week. The craft option was always the most desirable choice, in our juvenile estimation.

♪ “God is omnipotent. All-powerful, mighty and strong. Unstoppable all the day long.” I listened on repeat during the 20-minute drive, the truth forming a firm foundation for me to place my disordered thoughts. The day was hard, but God’s competent control and care over all things was firmly secure.

♪My attitude can easily fixate on discouragement. Grumbling about the never-ending futility of capturing weeds and losing sight of the higher purpose. Not so with Caleb.

♪Do you remember learning about “above,” “beyond,” “in,” “of,” and the other approximately 150 prepositions that belong in the English language?

♪Have you ever heard of Horatius Bonar? He was a pastor in the early 1800s who wrote 600 hymns and poems. I tried to find a relatable comparison in my life. I figure that in 13 years of marriage, I’ve probably written close to 600 grocery lists.

♪I’ve slept through some of the best scenery in North America. Or, at least, that’s what my husband says. We’ve traveled along Oregon’s coastline, through the Rocky Mountains, in the Sonoran Desert, and along the Mississippi River.

♪ Either my pantry is shrinking or my kids are growing. I’m not referring to their caloric intake (though that does involve a pantry shrinkage of a different sort). I’m talking about the tiny pantry space itself, which multi-tasks as our official glow-in-the-dark testing station.

The bathroom floor seemed an appropriate place for a meltdown. My sympathetic friend waited for me to gather my thoughts. Though separated by a province, we were connected by phone and heart.

♪ I was thinking about Adam and Eve while I pushed my wheelbarrow full of dirt and weeds to my discard pile. What was tending the garden like for them?

♪ The snow had slowly melted, the sun shone, and the yesteryear’s leaves were brown and crispy, ready to be dislodged from the soon-to-be green lawn. We incentivized the children and sent them off as small conquerors of leafy kingdoms. The first day went well.

♪ AT THE BEGINNING of this year, I read that DaySpring, the greeting card company, had a Word of the Year Quiz on their website. By selecting a few personal descriptors and Bible verses that resonated with me, I could find a pre-baked, pithy word to construct my life around for the next 365 days (366 with the leap year).