A New Year

I wasn't planning to post on New Years resolutions because...well...I really don't do them very often.  Sure I strive to do better, to be better, in all sorts of areas (I am certainly not immune to the desire to lose weight every January, I can guarantee that!) but I usually don't wait until the beginning of a new year with my list of all the things I want to change.  If I am serious about improving my life in a certain area, I'd rather just work towards doing it immediately, regardless of what the day it is on the calendar.

Even though I really don't make a list of resolutions, it doesn't mean that I don't love reading those of others.  I'm constantly finding myself inspired by friends and total strangers who share their resolutions on their blogs and I'm definitely drawn into the feelings and emotions behind many of them.  I was so inspired this past week that I decided to jot down some thoughts of my own after all.

A couple of years back I wrote a post called Priorities where I outlined the things I wanted my life to focus on in the coming year and truth be told, I still want all those same things for each and every day.  My heart's deepest desires are the same today and I strive daily to strengthen my relationship with God and rejoice in Him at all times; to love, support and honor my husband; to guide my children towards the Lord and fill their hearts and minds with love and confidence; to make our home a comfortable and clean haven from the outside world (my biggest struggle!); to use my God-given gifts, abilities and passions to serve others and bring glory to Him.

I never wrote about it, but last year I chose a word to be my "mantra" for the year.  My word was intentional and I tried to live with real intention in all areas of my life.  It completely changed the way I viewed things, from the mundane to the major, when I was intentional with my thoughts and my actions.  When I fully realized that I could bring honor to God (and others!) with just about every single part of my day, I found that not only did I often make different/better choices, but I was blessed for them as well.  From sharing one of God's truths with a gentle voice while changing a diaper to talking on the phone for hours with a friend going through emotional/spiritual battles to opting for a walk in the beautiful sunshine with my kids instead of watching more tv to taking a meal to a family in need...all these moments, big and small, impact not only my relationship with my Maker but my ability to witness for Him as well.

Please know that these are my goals for a reason...because I've definitely not perfected them!  I still struggle with many, many things on a regular basis.  I may not neglect my children or use profane language or get drunk on the weekends, but I get jealous, I'm easily angered, I can be judgmental and hold grudges.  I need God's grace and mercy as much as the next person, trust me!

I am really prayerful that 2012 will be a year of spiritual renewal and growth for me.  I want to seek God's will for my life more fully than ever before.  That can be a scary thing, letting go and letting God, but I am so ready to quit making my plans and to live more fully for His plan.  I want to be molded and used over and over and over again.

I once read something that author Marjorie Pay Hinckley (who has some of the best quotes you can imagine...seriously, Google her!) stated and I completely fell in love with it:

“I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails.
I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp.
I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbor's children.
I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden.
I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder.
I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived.”

Pastor Steven Furtick said something similar that really resonated with me:

"The goal of life isn’t to make it to a point where we can breathe easy. It’s to get to heaven breathless. Tired because we’ve been faithfully and passionately following God - through mountains and valleys."

I think Steven and Marjorie have some thing figured out.  I don't want to breathe easy.  I want to be breathless.  Not only in 2012, but every day that I'm on this earth.  And it looks like this new year is as good a time to start as any.

Happy 2012 friends and family!