A Fresh Cup of Coffee: January 2026

Wednesday, January 21, 2026

WQ - What's My Motivation?

How are we all doing with our New Year's Resolutions? Or any of the changes or new habits we've decided to make in our lives, whether we made actual resolutions or not? Very often we set out with great intentions of something good we're going to do to better our lives, or a big project to accomplish, and run out of steam before we get to the finish line. We need more than good intentions, we need powerful motivation. A purpose and a why that keeps us focused when we get distracted or discouraged.

Desire is the key to motivation, but it's determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence - that will enable you to attain the success you seek. ~Mario Andretti

Some men have thousands of reason why they cannot do what they want to, when all they need is one reason why then can. ~Martha Graham

All of us perform better and more willingly when we know why we're doing what we have been told or asked to do. ~Zig Ziglar

That is certainly true for me. My attitude is not the greatest when I'm told to do a thing a certain way that doesn't make sense to me, but never told why it needs to be that way. This happens a lot at my job. They are constantly doing 'updates' to processes that we're told are going to be 'easier, better, more efficient' but in my experience that is not true. There are more steps to the task instead of fewer, and it takes longer. There are a number of tasks that seem to be monumentally inefficient, with me gathering information from a couple of different places, filling out a spreadsheet, attaching the spreadsheet to a smartsheet after putting most of the info from the spreadsheet right onto the smartsheet, and then waiting for someone somewhere else to perform the task I wanted done. There's got to be an easier way! Also, accounting jobs are like many other jobs in that you're never fully caught up. You can close the books at the end of a week or month or accounting period, but you will have to do the same tasks starting the next work day. So what motivates me at work? Often just the daily game of seeing how much I can check off the to-do list, and how clean I can get my inbox.

People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing - that's why we recommend it daily. ~Zig Ziglar

I'm often in need of motivation in my personal life too. I tend to procrastinate, and I often want to avoid starting a task or project that I don't think I'll have time to finish in the time I have available. Which is silly, of course, but I'd rather finish than pause and have to figure out where I left off when I come back to it. And like most people, it's hard to stay motivated to work on something when I don't feel like I'm doing it well or don't see progress.

Honestly, sometimes it is helpful to frame it as a competition. Even if I'm the only one I'm competing against!

Work hard in silence, let success be your noise. ~Frank Ocean

Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motiviation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it. ~Lou Holtz

I think the satisfaction of having done a job well is great motivation. I want to give it my best effort, and maybe learn something along the way, and often challenge myself to do a little more or get outside of my comfort zone a bit.

Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, because there is neither work nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom in the grave, the place where you will eventually go.

~Ecclesiastes 9:10~

That may sound a little fatalistic, but we only get one life and we aren't given a guarantee of how long it will be. The good things we want to accomplish won't always wait until another day, and we don't want to get to the end of our time and have regrets because we didn't do our best at the things that really mattered.

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

~Colossians 3:23-24~

That's often my motivation, especially for the tasks that it doesn't seem others notice or appreciate. It helps to remember that God notices when I do the right thing for the right reason. To bring honor and glory to him, not to me. Motivation boils down to knowing my purpose. The purpose for small day-to-day tasks is often hard to know, but the overall purpose of life is to know God and to live for him.

Every day I get up and look through the Forbes list of the richest people in America. If I'm not there, I go to work. ~Robert Orben

What helps you stay motivated? Leave a comment and let me know!

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Wednesday Quotes is a bi-weekly opportunity for bloggers to share their writing, poetry, photos, or stories inspired by our theme. We've chosen the themes as a starting point for your creativity, and the only requirement is that your post include at least one related quote. Feel free to combine or "double-dip" with other writing or photo challenges as well. Of course, we'd appreciate a link back to us, if you'd be so kind. Add your link and please visit others and leave a comment! The link is open for two weeks.

Thanks to Marsha at Always Write for introducing us to the Wednesday Quotes challenge, and for passing the hosting duties along so we can continue sharing great quotes! Wednesday Quotes is co-hosted by Kym at A Fresh Cup of Coffee and Sadje at Keep It Alive.

Quoting reminds me there are other people in the world besides only me.

And other thoughts besides mine, and other ways of thinking.

~Gregory Maguire~

Wednesday Quotes 2026 Themes

January 7 - Resolutions

January 21 - Motivation

February 4 - Eating Out/Restaurants

February 18 - Being Responsible

March 4 - Libraries

March 18 - Perserverance

April 1 - Simplicity

April 15 - Conquering Fear

April 29 - Making a Difference

May 13 - Family Ties

May 27 - Courage

June 10 - Teachers/Mentors

June 24 - Connecting with Nature

July 8 - Milestones

July 22 - Sunrise

August 5 - Patience

August 19 - Taking a Break/Rest

September 2 - Learning from Mistakes

September 16 - Best Friends

September 30 - Elegance

October 14 - Reaching Goals

October 28 - Dreams/Nightmares

November 11 - Integrity

November 25 - Generosity

December 9 - Beauty in Nature

December 23 - True Love

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©2006-2026 HS Coffee Break/Just A Second/A Fresh Cup of Coffee. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. This post was written by a human. https://morecoffeebreaks.blogspot.com/

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Sunday, January 18, 2026

Scripture and a Snapshot - Walk In The Light

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

~I John 1:5-9~

Thank you for joining Scripture & A Snapshot. Leave a link to your own post sharing a Scripture and a Snapshot. Take time to visit some of the other links and bless each other with comments.

I also link up at the Sweet Tea & Friends Monthly Link-up Party hosted by Grace-Filled Moments

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Thursday, January 15, 2026

Everyday Images #79

Welcome to my ongoing challenge and reminder to myself to take photos somewhat regularly. I'm not a photographer, but I enjoy taking everyday photos of things I find interesting or want to remember later, and I'm more likely to notice interesting things when I'm intentionally watching for them. Having some prompts that are open to interpretation has helped me pay a little more attention to what's around me. Here's how it works: Every two weeks I have a few words and phrases to focus on, and I try to find opportunities to take pictures of these things each week. The link-up post will be here every other Thursday, sharing my photos and offering a link-up for participants to share theirs. Right below the link-up is where you'll find the next set of prompts.

January Prompts - Everyday Images #79

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current season (quarterly)

organized

cozy corner

heavy

beginning and/or end

on the shelf

Monday mood

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current season (quarterly)

organized - one day I'll finish organizing my pantry. Probably right before we move.

cozy corner - not exactly a corner, but it is cozy

heavy - my prettiest cast iron pan, and it really is heavy

beginning and/or end - photos taken of the sky when I left home at the beginning of a day, and when I arrived home at the end of a day. Not the same day, but if I remember correctly, both photos were taken on Mondays.

on the shelf - my new raven lamp and new books acquired over the holidays

Monday mood - I guess this is more like Monday motivation, which will be a prompt at some point during the year. But chorus is what puts me in a good mood on Mondays, because I get to go sing with some genuinely amazing people.

And a few bonus photos:

We went on a brisk winter walk on New Years Day, and got together for dinner and games in the evening.

So fun to have most of the family together! A slightly different combo than we had for Christmas.

It's a busy couple of weeks for hockey. We had tickets to games last Sunday and this past Tuesday, and we'll be going to tonight's game as well.

I love this magnetic Scrabble game/message board I got for Christmas. It's hanging in the kitchen right now but I'm going to move it to a more suitable spot, as soon as I decide exactly where that will be.

These trailers at my work. Oh, they look nice and tidy all lined up there. But they are blocking most of the employee parking spots so this week I've wound up parking a good quarter mile from my door. While I do need the exercise, it's not fun to be trudging across the lot in crappy weather carrying all my stuff. I'm sick of it already.

We had a guest night on Monday and it was so much fun!

We got a surprise for Tuesday's game - a friend has club level seats for his company and they weren't using them for this game, so he gave them to us! Nice upgrade!

So glad the Blue Jackets posted a win to welcome their new coach! Although I wish it didn't have to be against my other favorite team, the Calgary Flames.

I am sharing my photos every other Thursday, along with my prompts for the next two weeks. You can use all or some of the prompts for your own photo posts, or none of the prompts and just link up a post featuring your photos. Simple rules: Your posts must be family-friendly; the photos must be your own; and the post must be mostly photos. If you do share I'd appreciate a mention and link to A Fresh Cup of Coffee on your post.

The Everyday Images link-up is posted every other Thursday, and is open for two weeks.

January Prompts - Everyday Images #80

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out for a walk (quarterly)

logo

at home (monthly)

inside and/or outside

good food

curlicues

texture

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Wednesday, January 14, 2026

Wintery Wednesday Hodgepodge

A hodgepodge is a jumble or assortment of things that might not appear to belong together. Joyce at From This Side of the Pond hosts a weekly link-up called Wednesday Hodgepodge that is a little collection of questions for bloggers to answer just for fun and to get to know each other. I always look forward to chatting with friends over coffee, so pour a cup of your favorite and let's visit for a few minutes!

Here are this week's questions - and my answers - for this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge.

1. What kind of winter person are you - snow lover, fireplace snuggler, winter adventurer, or indoor hibernator? Elaborate.

Let's see, I do love snow, and I do love a cozy fireplace. I love winter walks and explores but "adventurer" makes me think more of winter sports like skiing and snowboarding and I don't do that. I think that I'm mostly an indoor hibernator. I'm comfy and cozy inside, watching snow out the window. The fireplace is a nice extra, but I won't be found sitting near it all winter long. I'm excited to venture out to hockey games and for walks, but most of my winter time is spent indoors.

2. The Pantone color of the year is cloud dancer, described as a gentle, billowy off-white shade. The color symbolizes 'peace, clarity, quiet reflection, renewal, and a soft reset'. Of the terms just listed which do you need most in your life this winter?

I think I probably need more clarity. We're working through some decisions about housing and finances that will really impact how we move forward through the years and what we expect to do when we retire, so it would be a good thing to have that clarity and wisdom as we settle those questions.

3. Every cloud has a silver lining, on cloud nine, head in the clouds, storm clouds gathering, or cloud of suspicion . . . which 'cloud' idiom do you most relate to currently? Explain.

Probably the first one - every cloud has a silver lining - because it seems that over and over again, when something crappy or disappointing or frustrating happens in my life, I still find that something positive comes out of it. I tend to be optimistic most of the time, and at the very least I can pretty much always say that nothing "bad" that has happened is the worst possible.

4. Coconut, cauliflower, cottage cheese, mayonnaise, onions, ranch dressing . . . of the white foods listed, which would be the hardest for you to give up? Do you like all or any of the foods on the list?

Mayonnaise would be hardest to give up because I use it so often. Missing it for a day or two makes no difference but if I couldn't use it all for any length of time, that would be strange. I really like coconut and cottage cheese, but I'm indifferent to onions. I like the flavor of onions added to soups and chilis and those types of dishes, but I don't like the texture of onions. Other than the crispy onion straws (like Bloomin Onion style) some restaurants have, I never eat onions on their own and even actively pick them out of some dishes. I don't like ranch dressing except as an ingredient in something like buffalo chicken dip, and I detest cauliflower.

5. Thomas Wentworth Higgins is credited with this quote-

"How many lessons of faith and beauty we should lose, if there were no winter in our year."

Agree or disagree? Tell us why.

I do agree. Winter is a time of rest and hibernation, so in nature there are things happening below the surface and quietly that we can't always see. But my understanding is that the quiet and bleak looking wintertime is necessary for seeds to sprout and sap to run and animal babies to be born and many other things. The lesson of faith is that God is at work even if we don't see it happening, that when things seem bleak and lifeless, it may be that we are being prepared for something new or for a season of growth. The lesson of beauty might be in seeing the chill and silence with a fresh perspective and appreciation for how God is using it.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

We are getting a short reprieve from genuinely wintery weather today. It's raining and chilly so not a particularly cheerful looking forecast for the day. But apparently it will get a lot colder tomorrow and we'll be back to winter temperatures, and maybe more snow? I don't remember that part of the weather news.

We have tickets to two Blue Jackets games this week and one next week. Yesterday we had tickets to see the game when my Calgary Flames were in town. When I left work I texted my hubby about the dinner choices we had, thinking we probably wanted to have a quick light meal at home instead of spending big money on the yummy, but expensive, arena food. Hubby texted back and said we were going to have dinner at the game because a friend had given us his club level seats! The club level has a very good all you can eat buffet on throughout the game, and it's included with the tickets, so not only did our friend treat us to fantastic seats to the game, but it included parking and dinner too! And even though I was a little torn about who I'd cheer for, I was pretty happy with the outcome - a Blue Jackets win, a nice welcome for the new head coach who was just announced today.

The current Wednesday Quotes link-up is still open and you can find here: WQ - New Year's Resolutions. Next week we'll move on to the topic of Motivation, which I guess we'll need if we want to keep those resolutions! Stop by and share a few thoughts and quotes this week, next week, or ideally both! Tomorrow is the first Everyday Images photo link-up of 2026 and I hope to see your photos there!