My New Years Resolutions

I'm not normally a resolutions sort of gal.  It's easy to set a bunch of lofty goals.  But then when they turn out to be unrealistic, or the craziness of life gets in the way and I don't meet them, I just get discouraged and feel like I've failed.  So, it's easier to not have any goals! =)

But honestly, sometimes I can just get too.... comfortable.  Settled.  And I don't believe that's where God wants me.  It's easy to just become.... well, lazy.

So this year I've decided to set a few goals.  And I'm realizing that one of them has been set for me, whether I like it or not! 

My goals fall into three categories:  Spiritual, Physical and Family

Spiritual:
I'll be honest.  I'm pathetic at doing daily devotions.  Pathetic.  It's just that if I was to have time to get up before any of my kids for a quiet time, I'd have to be up at like 5am.  And when I'm on year 10 1/2 of broken nightly sleep, I just honestly  can't function with even less sleep.  And nights are out.  If I sit down in the quiet of my bedroom (or a chair in the front room) once the kids are finally in bed and the house quiet, I can guarentee I'll be sound asleep within 10 minutes.  So I find I have to squeeze in times in the day:  a rare moment when the house is quiet.  And that just doesn't always happen.
But my goal for this year is to be more deliberate about finding those quiet moments where I can sit down and spend time with God.  Like maybe I just skip checking email and do my Bible reading while Elijah is napping.  Or maybe I can take my Bible to the gym with me and read a chapter or two while running my mile.

Physical:
Ok, this is a little silly, but one of my goals is to drink more water.  I just find I don't often like the stuff.  So I drink more tea or juice or whatever.  I want to try to be more deliberate about drinking water.

I also want to cut back on my sugar consumption.  I'm not one of those people who can give it up altogether, but I can definitely feel the difference when I've been indulging too much.  I just feel sluggish and blah.  And when I exercise, oh boy, it's painful!  I've already started by drinking my coffee with less sugar, so that I feel like "this could use a little more", rather than "this is perfect".

Finally, I have my goal to exercise at least 4 times a week.  I try to get to the gym and run and lift weights 2-3 times a week, and then do Zumba or one of my exercise DVD's for the other couple of times.  I can totally tell how much exercise affects me and my emotional state. 

Family:
Life is busy.  Especially here where almost everything has to be made from scratch, laundry has to be hung and taken down, not just tossed in a clothes dryer.  Kids have to be walked to and from school multiple times a day.  It's so easy to get caught up in the daily chores (cooking, cleaning, etc) and not deliberately spend time with the kids.  So my goal for this year is to deliberately spend time with each of my kids each month.  Maybe do a special craft or project together.  Play a game.  Go on some sort of outing.  Read a book together.  I don't know.  I especially don't want Justin to become that "lost in the middle" third child.  It's hard when the baby is crying and needing to be held, or the older ones need help with special projects or homework or whatever.  But I want to just focus on being with my kiddos.  I know that the years are going to go by way too fast, and I'll regret the time I was so focused on cooking and cleaning and such and didn't spend enough time with them.

Finally, I wouldn't probably have chosen this goal for myself, but somehow it has come to me.
Get out of my comfort zone.  So, so far this year I will be helping out with the Tok Pisin VBS for national kids this coming week.  I'll be one of only a few 'waitskin' leaders.  I'm both excited and nervous about what this week will bring.
Also, I have some how ended up leading/co-leading my womens' Bible study this semester.  We are going to be going through the book Captivating by John and Staci Eldredge together.  I'm not sure how that will go... I mean, I really don't see myself as leader material  (there are several others in the group who I feel are much better/more equipped in that area) but there was a need, so I volunteered.

 

So, now that I've shared these goals with you, feel free to ask me on occasion how I'm doing.  Hopefully I'll be able to tell you that I'm doing great!  And if not, I hope your asking will encourage me to keep trying.