Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

I hope the end of 2011 finds you happy and content.  And I hope that 2012 becomes your best year ever.  Do you have plans to make 2012 better than 2011?  Are you setting any New Year's Resolutions?

I have never been very good at keeping New Year's Resolutions.  By February they are out the window and my old ways have resumed.  It's kind of depressing, really.   But I do use New Year's as a time to refocus my priorities. And trust me, they need a lot of refocusing right now!  

On a similar note, I received an interesting devotional from Purpose Driven Connections the other day.  It talked about making a 'things not to do' list this year.  The devotional went on to say that so many things - even good things - can sidetrack us from our purpose in life. We can't achieve our goals, or do what's most important, because we're so busy with other things.  That is so true for me, a person who loves too many different things in this life.  So I plan to refocus on what's important and cut out some of the other stuff. I'm not sure how I'm going to do it, but I am definitely a work in progress!  I so often find myself tired and stressed, and I know that some of that is because I stretch myself too thin.

One thing I'm doing is decluttering.  My hubby and I are taking this week to declutter as much as possible.  We are sorting closets, cleaning the basement, and getting rid of old toys.  We have way too much stuff!  Stuff takes time to manage, organize, and clean.

I suppose I also need to give facebook the heave-ho.  Okay, not.  I love facebook because it gives me the chance to connect with friends that I don't get to see often.  But I think I'll try to keep account closed until the kids are in bed.  Or something like that. It's a great time stealer, that's for sure.

I'm going to keep my family at the forefront, as well as my daily devotional time (which I hate to admit has been sorely neglected!).  Thankfully, I can talk to God as quickly and easily as I can pick up my cell phone. But I do need to spend more, solid time in the Word of God, and not just read a few verses as I'm nodding off at night (although, falling asleep with God's Word on my mind is not a bad thing in and of itself).

  I need to do something about the food issue in our house, too.  We found ourselves so tired by dinner that we hit the drive through instead of making something good for us.  The problem with that, as you know, is the more fast food we eat, the more tired we become.  When we focused on all -natural, healthy food (think no preservatives, no high fructose corn syrup, etc) we were much more energetic.  Food for thought, I suppose.

So maybe these are resolutions, but I try not to think of them that way.  I try to think of them as a return to my values, a time to take inventory of what my family needs, and I time to re-purpose myself.   And I'm looking forward to making 2012 my best year yet!

Happy New Year's and thanks for reading!