Tuesday, January 4, 2011

The New Year



Don't faint!! I'm writing a second blog update in the same number of days. I know! Shocking! But, I actually have a lot I want to share so there might be another one tomorrow! Who know?!

I'm not usually a big resolution maker because the way I see it, I'll have already broken it by the end of January so why bother! I do try to set goals for myself though (probably the same thing as a resolution, but it's not as daunting sounding). :) I thought I would share a few of them with you. I'd love to hear what your goals for this year are.

1. Fall in love with my house. I know, it sounds somewhat strange. When we moved into our house, I was not real excited about it. I was happy to be out of the condo and not be attached to neighbors who yelled at their kids to get up every morning, but the house itself was not what I was hoping for. We bought at the peak of the market so houses were selling as soon as they came on the market so we had to move fast. That being said, we closed at the end of August and moved in mid-September '05.

God has been showing me a lot lately how much I complain! Dan even told me yesterday, "You're never happy with the temperature!" I said, "I am. Just only when I'm not complaing about it." So, God has been pretty much smacking me around about it. So, I want to stop and first on my list is my house. God blessed us with our home and I want to see it as such. We have been able to pay our mortgage, keep it heated and cooled, buy furniture, etc. It's not perfect, but so what! I want to spend more energy loving it and being thankful for it than complaining about it. I've actually started working on my kitchen to spruce it up a little bit. We have one coat of paint on the walls so far and I'm making curtains for the window in this really great fabric I found! I even bought a new light for the room as well (all for less than $60). :) So, I'm going to take more pride in my home and fall in love with it!

2. I want to be more careful with my spending. I know I just said I spent money on the kitchen but it's all Christmas gift money so that doesn't count! :) I am an impulse buyer. I walk into a store, see something and buy it. Now, I never spend a lot, but I spend nonetheless. Ten dollars here and ten dollars there can really add up. I do what I can to save when grocery shopping so this is one more way I can "add" to the family budget.

3. I want to fall in love with Scripture again. My greatest struggle in the Christian walk has always been having a consistent time with the Lord. I can look back and see the times I was most content and happiest were the times I was spending time with God each day. So, I want to get back there. Right now, I am doing a workbook entitled 30 Days in the Psalms. There's no commentary, just some questions to get me thinking about what the writer was saying and how I can apply it to my life. So far, God has been faithful to meet me right where I'm at. I am surprised at how many of the Psalms deal with contentment in Christ alone. God is showing me that He is all I need and when times get tough, He is faithful! How cool!

So, those are a few of my thoughts. What are some things you're going to work on this year?

2 comments:

Melody said...

I'm working on reading through the bible in a year. I've never done that before (insert shocking gasps from the people who know I'm a pastor's wife - ha!)and like you, I want to love the Word and long to be in it. I've chosen the Message to work through although I usually study out of something different like NIV or NAS. And you know....I am seeing negative patterns in my thought process and complaining so this is something I'm really wanting to work on and replace with a joyful and positive attitude which I think comes from being in the Word and being Christ centered.

Marianne Elkins said...

I will admit I have never read it all the way through either! My church is doing an emphasis on EveryOne and part of it is the church reading through the Bible in a year together. I'm a little behind because of a study I'm working through right now but I'm determined to catch up!

I'll be praying for you as you fix the same habits I have fallen into to! Thanks for the comment!