I’m so excited to share my 2025 theme verb with you! It’s a good one! But before we get into that, I have to share with you what Josh and I did to better survive January this year!
As you might imagine, this all began with a very loving and generous mother. 🙂 For Josh’s birthday last June, his mom gifted him free babysitting! We were so grateful that she let us cash in on that gift in a big way! She watched the kids while Josh and I took a whirlwind trip to Disneyland! We left Sunday morning 12 January and were home by lunchtime on Tuesday 14 January! But we maximized every minute of that trip, and we are both so much the happier for having taken it. So thanks again, Mom! We are so grateful for you!
We got to our hotel in the early afternoon and so had lots of time to enjoy Downtown Disney that first day. We found some souvenirs for the kids (because we couldn’t very well go to Disneyland without them AND not get them anything!) explored the grounds of the Disneyland hotel, enjoyed the general ambiance, and even had a reservation for dinner at the Jazz Kitchen. Josh had a goal to eat at all new places this time and this was our first one. It was a fun New Orleans themed spot with live music–which we love! But the biggest thing of note about it was their shrimp and grits. It was next. level. The grits were so creamy and almost chewy-soft. And there was this gravy business that was so flavorful in the most unexpected and delightful way! I wonder if they share their recipe anywhere… Confirmation: the recipe is online! I’ll see you in 20 lbs!
Our in the parks day was so good! I was afraid that I would be the limiting factor in how much we could accomplish–if you know Josh + Disney parks, you understand. But I absolutely held my own! We arrived at Disneyland 15 minutes before opening and left 30 minutes after closing! In that time–thanks to Josh’s expert planning, the lightning lane upgrade we added to our tickets, the fact that it was the middle of January, and excellent speed-walking skills–we rode 30 rides between both parks!
Of those 30, 9 were new to me. I was proud of myself for having tried out so much stuff I didn’t know existed before. But I’m even more proud of Josh! There is one ride in Disneyland which his family (for reasons nobody knows) loves to hate: Storybook Land. And Josh has always taken pride in the fact that he has never ridden it. But, in the spirit of our adventurous couple’s trip, he swallowed his pride and rode it! ♥️♥️♥️ My analysis of the ride is that it was adorable, especially since I knew literally nothing about the ride before going on it. (It has always been a somewhat taboo subject, after all.) I actually really enjoyed seeing all the scenes from classic movies brought to miniature life! The commentary from the boat master was definitely cheesy, but it didn’t bug me. It likely will not make my list of favorite rides, but I’d definitely go on it again! You’ll have to ask Josh what he thought.
We had such a fun time doing Disneyland just the two of us! This is my first time to go without toddlers, and I LOVED doing it Josh’s way from dawn until far past dusk!
And then, it was over. The kids hadn’t even had time to miss us yet when I picked them up from school. They were disappointed that I wasn’t Grandma. 😅
Sigh… It was seriously just so good! But on to the new year with its new theme!
My theme verb for 2025 is Pray. There are a few reasons I chose this word. I had received a tip (from the Follow Him podcast) that I would be amazed at what the Lord would tell me if I would ask for very specific things. I really gave this some effort one week in November-ish, and was indeed amazed! It was then that I first decided that pray should be my word for this year. I want more experiences like that! It does take extra effort, and conscious planning, but it feels like that sort of praying is what people are talking about when they encourage us to live up to our privileges. Truth be told, I haven’t really engaged in that kind of praying very much so far this year.
Another reason I felt like pray was a good word for me this year is because I have had some struggles with the principle. Over the years I have often wondered what prayer actually does. Through years of study and, yes, prayer on the subject I feel like I have gained a testimony of prayer’s power to get God into me, so to speak. I know that when I earnestly pray to know His will, I will sooner or later get an answer, or simply be led to do it. I know that He will answer many of my questions through the power of the Holy Ghost. These are the parts of prayer that led me to choose the word in the first place. But there is a part of prayer that has been a source of deep frustration and even anger for me. In the scriptures, the Savior encourages several times to “ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you.” Amulek teaches us that we should pray to God for even temporal things like the crops of our fields that they may increase. I have been taught my whole life that Heavenly Father cares about the details of my life and wants to bless me (with a fish not a serpent, with bread not a stone). But I must confess, I sometimes have trouble seeing the bread or the fish, and what I receive in response to my prayers feels a lot like serpents and stones. And all of this has brought me to a place where I am wondering if I actually know the God I worship.
And that–TRULY knowing my God and His Son–is what I hope to gain from Pray2025. I want to use prayer this year to forge a real relationship with God. I want to use my faithful efforts of praying in earnest, meaningful ways to rekindle the hope in Him I feel I have lost. I want to begin my journey to the place where I can say, with Job, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.”
I’m excited for this new year! I am looking forward to the things the Lord will teach me and the ways that He will change me in 2025.
