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.