Happy New Year to all of you! I have always loved the beginning of a new year. Having a chance to start fresh with new hopes, dreams and ideas always refreshes me and frankly this year I desperately need refreshment. My body, mind and soul is so weary and dry and it is my great desire to build some old and new things into my daily life that bring fun, excitement, depth and happiness to my life. I long to have my life to be a reflection of God’s great love for me and have the overflow of HIS tenderizing of my heart to touch everyone I encounter. I continue to have my heart burdened with the fact that God is so desirous to complete a work within me through the soil in which HE has planted me and I want to be a willing servant to allow HIM to perform that work. I am ashamed to admit that I have been so sporadic in giving HIM my heart and attitudes and I spent most of 2009 grumping and complaining about life as opposed to living in the fullness of joy through HIS calling. Each year I try to create a focus for myself in many areas of my life. I don’t necessarily like to use the term “goals” but would rather refer to my ideas in the terms of hopes and dreams. For 2010 I want desperately to live with purpose. Does that sound familiar? I did read that popular book a few years ago and loved it and will probably dig it out of my library for a refresher course but mostly I want the direction of my life to be much more proactive. I do not want to simple react to life as it comes at me with lightening speed but I want to engage, plan and purposefully embrace all that God has waiting for me in the upcoming days. I know this year will be one of exciting new adventures filled with some incredible opportunities and I want to have an attitude of submission and willingness to soak up every moment. So here is just a sampling of my hopes and dreams for 2010. Some are very practical while some have a little more meat to them…….
Physical
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? ICor. 6:19
I want live out this scripture through what put in my body and how I treat my body. So often I ‘react’ to the clothes getting a little tight or my face looking fuller in the mirror by going on a restrictive diet. Ultimately, I will lose the weight only to lose motivation and gain it back once I fall off the diet and fitness wagon. This year I want to act out an attitude of willingness to treat my body as it should be treated….a temple of the Holy Spirit. I want to eat healthy foods and carve out consistent gym time not because they will make the number on the scale decrease but because I want to be pleasing in the Lord’s sight. I also want to build into my day’s times of rest and relaxation. I go non-stop from the moment my feet hit the floor until I fall into bed at night which most of the time leaves me exhausted, stressed and foggy in my thinking. I plan to find some activities that bring about a calmer inner spirit. I have never tried yoga but I would love to give it a whirl. Here is the eating plan that I have followed in the past and hope to make it a part of my permanent lifestyle.
http://bodyforlife.com/But all things must be done properly and in an orderly manner. 1 Cor 14:10
I desire for my home to be more orderly and function more effectively. I realize how much of my stress is associated with the disorganization of my home. We live in chaos much of the time and then when it gets too much for me to bear (
or when we have guests over) I will go on a rampage, making everyone in my family miserable trying to bring about order. I want to work on building principals into my life and the lives of my husband and kids to organize our home in such a way that we all do a little every day to make our home function better. Here are two things that I am doing right away:
http://www.flylady.com/pages/flyinglessons.aspand I am going to hear this lady speak at my kids’ school next week
http://www.amazon.com/Too-Much-Stuff-Cluttering-Heart/dp/0834122561Emotional
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. Phil. 4:8
Oh this is a biggie….I want to have better control over my thoughts and want to think about things that encourage me to walk in the ways of the Lord. I have been so convicted in my thought life this past year as I have entertained ideas and attitudes that ultimately are displayed in my actions so I want to dwell on goodness and make it a point to record good thoughts and lifes blessings in my journal every day.
SpiritualYour word I have treasured in my heart that I may not sin against You. Psalm 119:11
I know that I need to engage The Word every day. It keeps my heart and mind in check and blankets my entire life with proper perspective but I have to admit that it is often the first thing to go when life gets stressful and busy. So I am jumping back into my ladies bible study. This does two things, it gives me a night out with some fantastic girls who make me laugh and encourage me as well as giving me “homework” every day that keeps me in The Word daily basis. I will be doing Beth Moore’s study Breaking Free this spring and oh I can’t want to get started. I have heard that it can be life changing and I am praying that I will allow the Truth to create in me a clean heart and a pure spirit.
Family
Don't you see that children are God's best gift? The fruit of the womb his generous legacy? Like a warrior's fistful of arrows are the children of a vigorous youth.Oh, how blessed are you parents with your quivers full of children enemies don't stand a chance against you; you'll sweep them right off your doorstep. Prov. 127:3-5 MSG
Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person. Col. 4:6
Finally, I want to be more purposefully in enjoying my husband and kids. I am so guilty of getting so consumed by the endless chores and duties of life that I let precious moments of fun pass me by. I don’t want to lose the valuable playtimes that Mike and the kids enjoy. I often decline offers to join in on family time in order to clean, do laundry, pay bills etc….. As a result I miss out on many opportunities to just have fun with my husband and kids. I also want to be more playful and joyful with my kids in everyday life particularly in the way that I speak to them. As I have taken time to listen to myself I realize that I have gotten a little nasty in my verbal expressions. Since we started homeschooling our kids and my husband retired I have grown weary of wearing so many hats when it comes to their daily lives and I have found myself in a constant state of nagging and fussing. I have determined to have more joy and build their little spirits throughout the daily duties.
WHEW! That was a lot and if you made it through this post you I admire your patience and thank you for taking the time to read my rambling and pray that somehow they encouraged you in your dreams for 2010. It is my greatest desire that by confessing these hopes for the year in print that I will be more determined to make them real in my life. I am so excited to see what God has in store for me this year. I know that He has already begun the work of orchestrating some incredibly miraculous things in the life of our family and I am looking forward to all that is expected as well as unexpected as HE unveils HIS plans for me. I wish for all of you a fabulous year filled with happiness and fun. Here are a couple of pics of one of my girls being silly. I was hoping to get some more comtemplative shots but she had other ideas. Oh how I wish I had her hair!
My girls absolutely love accessories especially the sunglasses. Funny thing is they seem to only like mine. Well, back to my glam of a life. We entered the world of Skype last week and my kids love it although I am not so sure I care for having to sit in one place while I am talking. But I have to admit it has been wonderful seeing faces of my mom, dad, sister and neices and nephews when we talk and Cody had a blast seeing and chatting with his friend Cole last night. We took a break from webcam fun to take in our first Denver Nuggets Basketball game. They were playing The Orlando Magic so guess who we cheered for? Of course, THE MAGIC! Although, we quickly realized that since we were seated in the middle of some very verbal and shall I say passionate Nugget fans we better cheer silently. Emily loved her first NBA game and affectionately referred to the Orlando players as "the Magic boys". The game was a fun outing but I have to say that my kids got an ear full of filthy language and an eye full of barely dressed "cheerleaders". Double UGH!!!!
Back at home left us computerless as a virus decided to attached itself to my computer so I was out of commission for a few days as it got some well-deserved R&R at the computer hospital and all the while the laundry multiplied along with the dirty dishes despite my bravest attempts to end the cycle of multiplication.
