A Fresh Start
Happy New Year, everyone! With the new year almost upon us, it's easy to fall into the groove of making all those New Year's resolutions that sometimes stick, and well, sometimes fall away into the grind of everyday life. Don't get me wrong; it's great to make resolutions and goals for our lives, but we have to be realistic and yet at the same time, optimistic about them. It's important to make sure that they have a lasting, eternal effect, whatever they may be.
I always get a little excited about this time of year because it's a fresh start, a chance to officially wipe the slate clean of the last year and start anew with a renewed sense of purpose and fresh faith. I've been thinking a lot about goals I could set and things that I could write about here, but it can get overwhelming if I try to make a huge list of things I want to do in 2009. So, I'm just going to wipe my slate clean. I'm going to start out by forgiving myself for my shortcomings and all the things I could have handled differently in 2008. After all, it's a new year, a new day! Sometimes it's easy to ask God for forgiveness, but at the same time we have to learn to forgive ourselves and move on. He wants us to have a joyful life, and if we are still stuck in that rut of unforgiveness towards ourselves, it's not going to be so joyful; it's going to be filled with guilt. Once God forgives us, He forgets and wipes our hearts clean.
Another thing I am definitely going to do is to read through the Bible in one year. Whether I read it from my Bible or listen to it online or even read online, I'm going to do this. Think of the spiritual growth that can come through this. If you would like to take part, you can check out the One Year Bible Blog. In 15 minutes a day, I can read through both the Old and New Testaments. I am very excited about this because so often I try to follow a plan, and I get discouraged or sidetracked. This will help me to stay more accountable.
Another thing I'm working on is being there more for my children and husband. I know, this is not supposed to be a resolutions list, but this is definitely something that is important and has eternal effects. I want to give them more of my time, for it is the single, most important thing I could ever give them. To give Jacob and Jaden my undivided attention and talk to them and give them the sense that they can feel safe and secure in our home is of major importance to me. Also, to do the same for Dan, giving him more of my time and really listening to him with my eyes and ears is something I want to do more of because so often it's easy to just keep on working, listening in part, but not fully. I know you mothers all know what I'm talking about here. My sister said something a long time ago that I have constantly remembered but that is slowly coming to mean more to me....."You have to put your husband before your children." And it's so true; we are a team. Without that team effort, I may as well be a single parent. This is something I have to wrap my heart and mind around and work on because it's so easy to sometimes ignore the needs of my husband in lieu of the needs of my children.
Last of all, not only do I want to be there spiritually and emotionally for my family, but physically as well. I really want to shape up physically. I want to first of all, make sure my spiritual body is beautiful but also work on the physical. It starts by eating more healthy foods and actually exercising. I am definitely not motivated to exercise, but it's something I want to do because not only is this good for myself, but it's good for my family. It gives me the opportunity to be at my best not only for myself but for them. Also, I want to fill my brain with all kinds of good things by reading, writing (I hope to start a book), and just listening.
So, there's all the things that have been going in and out of my head concerning this post. I know it's kinda a novel, but I hope it helps you to see my heart and can encourage someone out there who may be struggling. What are your thoughts in this New Year? What do you want to accomplish this year? I'd love an accountability partner/s. I'll leave you with this video, which was on the One year Bible Blog and is just so cute.
Happy New Year, everyone! May you start this year with a clean slate and fresh new beginnings!
There is one thing I constantly find myself doing, though. I find myself underestimating his abilities. I guess since he is in first grade, my mind automatically thinks that certain things might be too hard for him. Lately, though, I've really had to make sure he is focusing on me when I tell him something, or he just won't hear me or "get it," which probably is normal. We will be going through a lesson, and I will start to teach something, and I will automatically think, "This is going to be too hard for him; he is not going to be able to grasp this concept." Yet he surprises me again and again. In Language, we are going through the Level 1 book of Shurley English, and he is just flying through it. There are things in there that I thought would just be way over his head, but he is just taking it all in and "getting it." It's amazing to watch him, my first grader, label a sentence now with 4 different parts of speech. I attribute quite a bit of it to the way the Shurley English presents the material, but that's another post. He also surprises me constantly in other things that we are studying. So, if you homeschool or even if you don't, never underestimate what they can do or think or learn. I've been fortunate in that, for the most part, I haven't let it stop me from teaching him the things I thought would be too hard, and it has been a blessing to see him excel in those things. If we underestimate our children's abilities, we may miss out on something extraordinary, and so will they. I remember a movie we watched called, "For One More Day," where in a scene the mother stood up to the librarian for telling her son that a book was too hard for him to read. That has stuck with me, and we should stand up for our kids' right to learn anything and everything they can. Homeschooling gives us that ability, so I hope this can be an encouragement to any homeschooling families out there to keep teaching and never underestimate the vast capabilities of your child's brain. Have a wonderful day! 
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