Starting Anew

A long time has passed since I last updated this blog.  It has sat here for 6 years, testament to my time in nursing school and getting my first nursing job.  For a while, I wanted to share my idyllic view of my dream world, but nothing ever came of that and instead I focused on my other blogs where I have shared my home, my art and stitching, as well as my travels.   Through it all, I've longed for a place to share my faith, my frustrations, my hope, my struggles ~ and yes, even my dreams.

Now I've come back to Rosebud Cottage to record my journey to a simpler life.

When I was in England during the summer of 2012, I wrote the following:

This trip has changed me.  Changed my expectation of what I want in life - though I was already headed in that direction - it sped it up.  I don't want such a busy life that I don't have time to pause and reflect daily.  I've loved  this time with my journal.  I've loved the time to walk daily, to spend time with people, to have the flexibility to decide on a whim what to do.  I want to live simply, surrounded by a few things I love but not weighed down with the excess.  Enough to be content and happy, little enough not to be a burden.  I need to watch the books!  Too easy to accumulate in large numbers.  I need to refocus on painting - watercolors and oil - and less of the fabric arts.  They don't stand the test of time... sadly.  And worship - privately, publicly - a day to day life of living God's peace and spreading His glory.   

A year later, I still feel the same.

There is much to share in the coming days about this journey.  It is my prayer that God the Father will have his hand on the journey, that his word will guide and encourage, that I and all who join with me in the journey will find their life enriched as the great Glory of God is shared.

postscript:
While the focus of this blog has shifted, I have left the original posts about my journey through nursing school.  It was time of tremendous faith growth for me and some may find it helpful to read through that journey.