Forgive me, readers, for I have sinned. Though I haven’t had technical difficulties, haven’t been sick or injured, and haven’t been busy (well, no more than usual), I just stopped blogging. For a few weeks I felt bad about it, but the longer I went between posts, the easier it got to let it slide. But if you’ll bear with me, I’d like to start up again. Since it’s been four months since my last post, I thought I’d start with a quickie to get us caught up with each other. So grab a cup of coffee and pretend we’re old friends catching up after months of saying “we should get together sometime” (or am I the only one who has to have that conversation six times before I actually get together with people?)

First of all, I am completely and totally healed up from last year’s knee surgery. And even better, my recovery and physical therapy were the catalysts I needed to start a regular exercise routine and to make some positive changes to my eating habits. I’m down 30 pounds, and for the first time I can remember, I actually accomplished my weight-related New Year’s resolution.

Speaking of resolutions, the other things I focused on in 2017 were committing to buying only Fair Trade clothing, shoes, and accessories for myself, and living out my word of the year, honor, by finding ways to serve, encourage, and love on others. If we’re grading this pass/fail, I’d say I passed on the honor goal, but failed on the Fair Trade resolution. I believe I made it 5-6 months before the need for things I couldn’t find Fair Trade tripped me up. And, typical Karah, when I slipped, I jumped right off the plan and gave up. But I think it’s a worthy goal, so I re-upped for 2018. Expect to see posts in the near future about Fair Trade and second-hand retailers. Mixing weight loss with ethical shopping is going to be an interesting challenge!

My word for 2018 is “warrior.” When I first started to feel attracted to this word, I was afraid. I still am, actually. I figure that God calls up warriors when there is a battle to fight, and I don’t really want to get into any battles, thank you very much. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that we all face battles all the time. Each of us has to chose if we are going to be a warrior or a victim.

So here are the things I jotted down:
2018 – My word is “warrior”
I’m done wishing, done hoping
I’m ready to fight.
– Learn what the Bible says about being a “warrior.”
– Learn to take orders: to go when called, to act when called upon, to shut up and obey.
– Do no harm, but take no *crap*
– Put on the armor of God
– Stand up and Fight!

If that doesn’t fill you with a mixture of passion and terror, then you need more coffee!

So I hope you’re up for another year of inspiration and information sprinkled liberally with faith and humor. As always, I welcome comments, questions, and ideas of things I can research for us. Leave comments here in the blog, or on the Food Shelf Friday Facebook page. Thank you and welcome back!