January

Hello All - 

I hope you had a most Merry Christmas!  We did.  Our Christmas was different this year, but good.  Praise be to God for His indescribable gift!  I'd rather have Jesus...than anything!

Here's a Christmas picture of our crew - 

Now let's talk about January.

A lot of people don't love the month of January, but I do.  I've heard January described as long, cold, and boring, but for me it's fun and exciting.  I love fresh starts, making plans, writing out goals, and considering new schedules.  So, what about you?  How do you feel about January?  

There are a lot of changes coming our way in 2015.  Some of the changes we are very excited about, others are going to be difficult - but healthy.  We've been talking them over as a family and praying.  

On New Year's Eve we usually eat a yummy meal, write out our New Year's Resolutions, have our Bible time, and those who are able to, stay up until midnight to cheer in the New Year.  What do you like to do with your family on the last night of the year?

I found something neat on Pinterest from While He Was Napping.  I think we just might use it this year (we'll just need to change the date to 2015).    

You can find it HERE.

Whatever you do to celebrate the new year I hope it's cozy and wonderful.  May God's peace and grace be greatly multiplied to you in 2015!

Hello, 2014.

I've always been a list maker and New Year's Day is no different.  In fact, two of my favorite things to do on New Year's Day are to make my list of goals for the coming year and to fill in our new family calendar to hang in the kitchen.  After filling in all of the dentist and doctor appointments we've already scheduled for 2014, and the birthdays of our family and friends, and all the other stuff we've committed to, I decided I would really like to keep those blank spaces blank - which brings me to my first goal for this upcoming year.  (I only have three goals because I'm keeping things short and to the point.)

Do less.  Less doing and more being.  I want to cut down on all the things I do and spend more quiet time praying, reading, writing, and enjoying our children. 

Simplify.  I have this wonderful/terrible ability to make everything overly elaborate and complicated.  I really want to scale back and slow down and simplify everything I do.  I'm talking meals, schoolwork, birthday celebrations, cleaning, everything.

Love.  What my family needs from me is love and that's exactly what I want to give them in 2014.  They don't need more nagging and fussing so I'm going to do a lot less of that.  I intend to be more gentle and thoughtful and much more loving.  I really don't want to be a noisy gong or clanging cymbal you know.

There you have it, my goals as we enter this new year.  What about you?  How do you find yourself starting 2014?  Happily optimistic?  Scared or afraid?  Burned out or fed up?  The start of a new year is a perfect time to do things a little differently, make some plans, and get going.  Perhaps this is the year you want to get really organized with your homemaking or the year you decide to move on from the hurt you've been lugging around or the year you decide to get out of debt (we are working on that too).  Whatever your plans and goals are just know you can do all that He has called you to do.  How do you feel about 2013?  Did you blow it, have any regrets, make mistakes?  (Me too!)  Don't allow discouragement to prevent you from finding joy and fully trusting in our great God.  With Him, all things in 2014 are possible. 

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say to the Lord, "My refuge and my fortress, My God in whom I trust!"  For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper, and from the deadly pestilence.  He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.  Psalm 91:1-4

New Year's Resolutions

• I will, like Paul, forget those things which are behind and press forward.
• I will, like David, lift up mine eyes unto the hills from whence comes help.
• I will, like Abraham, trust implicitly in my God.
• I will, like Enoch, walk in daily fellowship with my Heavenly Father.  
• I will, like Jehoshophat, prepare my heart to seek God.
• I will, like Moses, choose rather to suffer than enjoy the pleasures of sin.
• I will, like Daniel, commune with my God at all times.
• I will, like Job, be patient under all circumstances.
• I will, like Gideon, stand firm even though my friends be few.
• I will, like Aaron, uphold the hands of my spiritual leader.
• I will, like Isaiah, consecrate myself to God's work.
• I will, like Andrew, strive to lead my brother to a closer walk with Christ.
• I will, like John, lean upon the bosom of the Master.
• I will, like Stephen, manifest a forgiving spirit toward all who hurt me.
• I will, like the Heavenly Host, proclaim the message of peace and good will.  

-from Barbara Johnson's Fresh Elastic for Stretched Out Moms. 

The New Year's Resolutions

Have you done it?  Have you made your New Year's Resolutions? 

Everywhere I turn I hear people saying they don't like the word resolution.  I don't know why.  I looked it up in the dictionary and here's the definition...

resolution - The state or quality of being resolute; determination.  A resolving to do something.  A course of action resolved on. 

I like that.

At our house we always make a list of goals for the new year.  We have a lot of fun looking back at our previous year's lists and seeing how we did.  It is amazing to me how quickly each year goes by.  As we were making our lists on Sunday I was feeling as if we had just made our 2011 lists a few months ago!

I think the New Year is a great time to set goals or make resolutions.  It's a great time to dream and to plan.  It's the perfect time for a "fresh start".

I usually list my goals in categories.

Spiritual goals
Marriage goals
Parenting goals
Health goals
Monetary goals
Personal (sin/struggle) goals


I write my goals for the year in my notebook.  It's my personal notebook where I write information I need to remember.   It has everything from grocery lists, to phone numbers, to scripture I'm trying to memorize, to dates I need to remember to...you get the idea!  It's good to look over the goals periodically just to keep myself in check so having them written in my notebook means I'm going to see them pretty often.  Just the act of writing goals down helps to clarify exactly what I want to achieve.

Here are my New Year's Resolutions/Goals for 2012.

1.  Grow closer to God. 
I want this more than anything and it is my number one goal for 2012.  My goal this year for my life is more Him, less me.

2.  Let go and let God.
As cliche as that sounds that is exactly what I am resolving to do.  There are relationship situations in my life that aren't right, and aren't fair, and hurt me so badly and I can't change them!  I've tried!  This year I want to pray and let go.

3. Accept what I can't change.
This goes along with number 2.  I am resolving to accept that which I cannot change.  I can't change others but I can change me.  (And if God chooses to, He can change others!)

4.  Be more thankful.
I have a wonderful life, a loving husband, and 6 sweet babies!  I want to be more thankful in 2012 for the blessings I have and for all the things that are good in my life.  Less worry, less fear, less looking at what's wrong and more giving thanks!

5.  Exercise.
Specifically, 3 to 5 times a week.  And from that, hopefully lose weight.  I know!  Don't we all?  But I am setting this goal and I've already gotten started on it.  I don't care as much about being skinny like when I was 20, but I do want to be healthy and have energy to keep up with my kiddos.

6.  Show more respect to my husband and be a better wife.
I could write all day about this one goal.  There is no way to be a perfect wife but there are a million ways to be a good one.  

7.  Never yell at my children. 
Can I do it?  Can I go through all of 2012 without raising my voice?  I am praying and asking for the Lord's help to do exactly that.  My goal is to be a gentle mom. 

8.  Make a budget and stick to it.
My honey and I are working on this.  I don't know which is harder, making the budget or sticking to it!  It is a definite goal we have for 2012 to spend less and save more and give more and this can really only be accomplished with a budget.

9.  Read to the kids more.  A lot more! 
I've got big plans and lots of books but my struggle is with time.  The things that are important to us we usually find time to do so I'm making our reading time important.

10.  Do a better job of staying on my schedule.
Get up earlier.  Go to bed on time.  Carefully manage my time so I can accomplish more in my day.

My goals are nothing without the Lord's work in my heart and His grace in my life.  I can plan but it is His work in me that brings accomplishment.  My feeble attempts to get things right are pointless without Him.  Where I am weak, He is strong.  And really, where am I NOT weak?  I pray that He will be glorified in my life in 2012.