Fireworks are going off. My parakeet, Liberty, is not happy. Koda, my border collie, is hiding under my chair. Pasha, who used to freak out about everything, is blissfully snoring because he can’t hear a thing. 🙂 Fireworks are signifying a new year. A fresh start.
Words that describe 2018 for me – hope, friends, surrender, strength, bravery, peace, solutions.
My formal New Year’s resolution
- less starbucks…. it kills my budget, and it is totally my way of coping when I’m not feeling good about life in general. What isn’t cured by a warm cup of happiness? Well, basically everything, but it doesn’t feel like that when I’m holding my cup. It feels like a respite from the pain for just a sec. The exhaustion of being a single mom and a high school teacher. The inability to keep my eyes open. Problem is, I want all that to come from the One who can solve it for real – not postpone the hard feelings. And He also doesn’t break my budget and make me feel guilty…. 🙂
- Reading the Bible with my kids every day. In the hectic pace of life, I seriously just feel like I’m surviving each day. If I wake up and manage to get back in bed 18 hours later to rest again, then I have survived. I always grab my alone reading time at night, after the chores are done, and things are finally quiet. But I’m missing out on sharing the joy of reading God’s word with my kids. We’ve listened to the Bible on audio book together. We’ve learned Awana verses, but we haven’t READ the Bible together without something else going on, or without an agenda or a box to check off the list. I want to dive into the love story of the Bible with my girls. I want them to share in the joy and restoration that His word is bringing in my life right now.
- Figuring out how to manage money. Yep, I’m in my upper thirties, and just figured out a budgeting program for the first time. Ok, so I haven’t figured it out. Thus the goal. I’m also going to files taxes for the first time in my life. Gulp. Yes, its embarrassing to admit that. I mean, I’m a mom of three. I’ve owned homes. I’ve worked jobs through college and since college. I’ve bought cars. I totally know about all this stuff, right? Lets just say some of my coping mechanisms from the last twenty years has been hiding behind ignorance. What you don’t know can’t hurt you, right? WRONG. I want balance. I want to feel like I’m managing the blessings of the life God has given me.
- Eating healthier. Similar to starbucks, my next go to coping mechanism is yummy food. I should totally be about 100 pounds overweight by now. Only God’s mercy has granted me a metabolism to hide it, but that’s not a good excuse. Here’s to coping with my emotions the right way – by giving them over to the King of the world. I’m pretty sure He’ll do a better job than my Chipotle burrito. 🙂
- Embrace being a wreck and be proud of it. Not proud because I’m a wreck…. but proud of the beauty that God is bringing from the ashes.
Awesome goals. I’m giving up buying more books until I read the ones I’ve purchased and joining you on the quest for eating healthier. Here’s to attempting great things but not letting the perfectionism get us down along the journey.
With you— in every way 💜— participating and supporting. Love you and so proud of you!