Sunday, January 1, 2017

Time Between the Old and the New

I really love this time of year. For two weeks life slows down for me. I enjoy taking time to look back over the past year and reflect on the happenings of my life, while at the same time looking for the direction God is pulling me in for the new year. I love the crisp, clean edges of a fresh new year, a chance for a fresh start. A year full of empty and clean white spaces on the new calendar.

Shelly Miller, of the Sabbath Society, calls this time at the end of the year, "Sabbath margin - a sacred stretch of time between what was and what is yet to be". What an apt description of wonderful time of year. As I move from a year of "Rest" - my 2016 word for the year, it seems that the word "restoration" is calling me to spend the next year journeying with it. Restoration feels like it is flowing out of my time in rest. So I'm sticking with it. Let's see what the new year holds!

"Sabbath margin - a sacred stretch of time between what was and what is yet to be."

But I'm not quite ready to leave 2016 behind. This past Monday the day was overcast but in the mid-50's -  a treat in the Midwest winter! So we decided to get out of the house a bit and went to explore our city's newest park Middlegrounds Metropark. This park is located in downtown Toledo on the banks of the Maumee River on ground that used to house the roundhouse for railroad shipyards. So while it is on the river, it is also planted in the middle of old industrial buildings, which made for some great scenery for those of us who love paint-chippy, rusty vintage things - including buildings! On our way out we passed the old Oliver House Hotel which now houses The Maumee Bay Brewing Company and a few other restaurants. They have great old-school advertisements painted on the brick exterior. Enjoy the photos and have a Happy New Year!











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