I love the New Year because it is a time to reflect, let go and start over. I cannot believe another year has come and gone. The old saying time waits for no man becomes more and more clear to me the older I get as I struggle to keep up. Looking back and thinking about what 2011 was like for us has been bittersweet, while my family had a pretty good year overall, I can think of countless others who have struggled and experienced pain and loss this past year. It has been sad for me to read the statuses on Facebook lately and see how many people are fighting illness, struggling through job loss and economic hardships, and facing the new year without a loved one. I feel very blessed that God has allowed us to be healthy and happy this past year but I also know that we are only one breath away from being where so many others are. I pray God's grace and mercy over us this year and I know He has a plan even when we don't understand.
I don't make resolutions because I don't like to set myself up for failure and disappointment, but I do like to set goals because they help me keep my focus and give me something to strive for. This year I have three goals I would like to work on.
The first one is a personal goal and that is to be a better steward of my time. God gives me the same amount of time as everyone else in the world and I need to start using mine for more productive things. I think about people in poorer countries who have to get up, take care of children ( a whole lot more than I have), wash clothes by hand, cook food from scratch, take care of cleaning, milking cows and taking care of animals, do errands, sew their own clothes, tend gardens, etc., etc., etc. I have to basically get up and take my girls to school, get some cleaning done with all my modern appliances doing most of the work and I complain that I can't get it all done. I think that has something to do with how much time I waste playing on the computer, reading, playing with the girls, talking on the phone, running useless errands, eating out- wow life sure is hard..haha. Praying that God will give me the motivation to plan my time better and stick to my plan.
My second goal is for Jason and I and it is quality time for us and our family. Before we moved Jason and I used to have date nights without children about once a month and Jason would take each of the girls on a date every other month, but now that family isn't close and work schedules are different we are lucky to have a date night once every six months and the girls haven't had a date with Daddy in a long time. I want dates! My goal is to plan better and more often. I also want to see our extended family more often. Jason and I have not been very good at traveling to visit anyone. I want the girls to see their families more. There is something I have been praying about concerning extended family and I am hoping that God will provide answers in some form to those prayers this year. I am trying to talk more openly with Jason about them and I pray God gives me the right words to say to open up the communication between us regarding this issue and that we will seek God's will together on what he would have us to do.
The third and final goal is for Emma, Lydia and I and that one is that I will be a more Godly example to them, commit to pray diligently for them now and for their futures, and that God will give Jason and I the wisdom to lead them closer to Him and salvation. I pray that God will show us the path He has for them and help us to lead them on that path of purpose for their lives. I want to show them through my words and actions what a woman of faith looks and acts like. I want them to see me pray more, read my Bible more, and as Beth Moore once said I want to fill them so full of Christ that they will miss Him and not know what to do with themselves if they don't follow Him throughout their lives.
May God bless you this year as you seek out your own goals and resolutions and I pray that He will guide you to meet and exceed whatever expectations you put on yourself. Here's to a New Beginning and a happy and prosperous 2012!
"No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven." Philippians 3:13-14