One Little Word 2014 - First Quarter Update

I think I have been more true to this word than I have any previous OLW. I have stuck with it for three whole months, and I have repeatedly asked myself, "How can I have more joy in my life?" I kept finding myself coming back to one phrase.

Let it go.

Let go of the negative emotions, the grudges, the hurt feelings. Just let it out and let it go.

The funny thing about this is that this realization had nothing to do with the song, but once I heard the song, I knew it was perfect for me. It is kind of my anthem for the first part of 2014. 

I ended up letting go of my usual morning radio station this winter. I had listened to and loved a local contemporary Christian station for the past few years, but I found there to be a little too much silly chatter about The Bachelor and other pointless reality shows simply because they had featured or were featuring participants who were Christian. I'm probably in the minority here, but hearing that there is a Christian participant on those shows just disappoints me - it does not make me want to hear it recapped the following morning when I'm expecting to hear uplifting music!

I'm also in the process of letting go of a lot of junk that is in our house. I'm throwing away clothes that are too worn out to wear to school, I'm donating gently used items, and I'm making room for more people in our house. We are in a position where we may have house guests frequently over the summer and fall, and I'm just so determined to get rid of the clutter and be able to say that no room in this house is off limits to our guests. My spring break project will be finishing up a lot of this uncluttering work and dropping off donations at thrift stores in town. 

Overall, I feel like what I've been doing with the first few months of 2014 has been simply laying the ground work to have joy for the rest of the year. I am energized to clean out my house and unclutter. I'm excited to have less stuff. I'm starting off my morning with radio I actually like listening to again, and I'm not holding grudges or hurt feelings. 

2014, let's do this.