A New Year

I can't remember the last time I made any New Year's Resolutions, but in the days leading up to January 1, 2013, I felt really hopeful and excited about change in the coming year.  There's nothing on our family calendar so far that is new or different or exciting, but I felt excitement over a fresh start.  (And as Anne Shirley says, "You never know what's around the bend in the road."  I'm always looking for something unexpectedly exciting to happen.)

Every morning offers a fresh start with renewed mercies of the Lord, and an entire new year of fresh starts seems hopeful.  

I read something last week that challenged me:  "A goal without a plan is just a dream."  I was blog-hopping through several new year posts, and that phrase stuck with me.  I wondered if writing down my goals for the year would help me make steps to meet them.  I didn't want a list of rules; I know I'll break them.  But having goals I actually try to meet and new habits I build into my day seemed like a good thing.  

I made my list yesterday.  Before I wrote down my goals I wrote a list of four priorities, because no matter what I might hope to change or accomplish in 2013, I wanted to remember and keep focused on the most important things in my life:  loving God, loving my husband, loving my children, and loving others.  Keeping up with a cleaning schedule can't get in the way of spending time with my kids.  It's not worth that.  I really found that writing things down yesterday helped me keep my mind focused on the things I really wanted to accomplish with my time throughout the day.  It kept me from wasting time and made me choose to do something with Ella when I might have just sent her to her room for quiet time and done whatever I wanted.  

I didn't meet all of my goals for yesterday, but I didn't beat myself up about it as usual.  Instead I just felt empowered to press forward, and it was a good day.

I remembered these encouraging words to those putting their hope in Jesus last night:

  

And we all, with unveiled face,

beholding the glory of the Lord,

are being transformed into the same image

from one degree of glory to another.

For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 3:18

I laughingly told KJ, "Now THAT'S change we can believe in."