2015...A New Year...A New Life

Think back to the past year of your life. 2014. The good. The bad. The ugly. Those moments you can't wait to post on Facebook and those moments your thankful for His forgiveness. The beauty of the Christian life is that we have a heavenly Father who celebrates our successes with us and brushes our knees off when we fall.

It is so important to set goals yearly, monthly, and daily. The problem is...many times I don't do this. I get busy with day to day things and forget to be intentional about this life He has entrusted me with. I focus on the temporal and forget the eternal.  

As New Year's Day approached, I began to ponder over the happenings in my life of 2014.  

I recently listened to a podcast where Dr. Bob Barnes, of "Parenting Today", shared of his family traditions: 

1) Have a Special Dinner on New Year's Eve  
Allow your family to talk about the past year. The highs and lows. Successes and struggles. Rejoice and relish.

2) Celebrate Successes and Pray for Struggles. 
My family actually did this activity on New Year's Day- and remember YOU can start this anytime! We brought out the "Blessings Jar of 2014" and began to read the slips of paper we had periodically put into it - reminding us of those "successes" and blessings we forgot about. It's great for kids to hear us praise the Lord for those amazing memories and experiences.

Don't be afraid to share, as a mom, your weaknesses with the kids. Then, they better know how to pray for you. Humility is learned. We definitely aren't born with it! Children learn humility from us, as we share our struggles and those things we need prayer for. They will do the same.

3) Challenge each to set ONE goal for the next year. Something they can be intentional about. Something attainable. So many times we make this lofty list, in good intention, and aren't successful with any of them. Why not just focus on one thing?

Ask questions. Allow the kids to share their hearts and what THEY think should be their goal for 2015.  Then write it down for them to see.

We whipped out the white board,  took a photo of our family goals with our phone, and made a plan to print them out as a reminder of those goals we each set. Until its' printed, I have referenced those goals each morning to the kids.  Something we can hold each other accountable to daily.

A few days after we did this family activity,  I personally came up with ONE spiritual goal (DAILY morning quiet time with Jesus = having a heart to serve others more), ONE health goal (exercise 3-5xs / week),  and ONE financial goal (budget better = spend less at Starbucks!). I wrote mine down on a note card and placed it inside my Bible to remind me to pray for those things daily.

Nothing too lofty or unattainable! But three simple things to challenge me.

What are your goals for 2015? Were there some things you missed in 2014 that you would like to conquer this year? Set goals. Be intentional. Allow your kids to do the same. And watch Jesus work in your life. In the life of your family. Start traditions now that your kids can carry on into their adulthood. 

2015...A New Year...A New Life!

New Year's Resolution?

A resolution according to Google is a firm decision to do or not to do something. In my opinions that takes A LOT of discipline. My daughter and I seem to major in A LACK of discipline, so we have resolved not to have resolutions!

"But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you. They would say, ‘There’s the person who started that building and couldn’t afford to finish it!’ - Luke 14:28-30

We, for many years, have set yearly goals. There are measurable and attainable although challenging. We print, post them and every few months, we go over them. Sometimes they need adjustiing. We set them in a way that if we don't attain them, we are still better off than when we started the goal.

A result should not be your goal. Explore how to attain the result and THAT should be your goal. For example, "In 2014, I am going to go to the gym, three days a week" is probably not an attainable goal if you haven't been going to the gym on a regular basis. If you miss a few days, then a few weeks you  could get discouraged and quit. Instead, explore WHY you want to go to the gym? Is it to exercise? Then maybe a better goal is to exercise 3 times a week. Next, list 10 ways to get exercise, such as the gym, a walk with the kids, a bicycle ride, etc. This makes the goal attainable.

Next, measure your goal. Put an E (for exercise) or a smiley face on the calendar every time you exercise. This will both motivate you and implore your kids to keep you accountable (LOL). Even if you missed an exercise every week, at the end of the year, you would have exercised over 100 times!

Check your entire list of goals often to re-motivate or remind yourself of the goals. Keep your goals in prayer!

Challenge: Make a list of measurable, attainable goals. Have your children make goals for themselves. Maybe start with 3-5 goals for the year. 

A "New" Resolution or a "Finished" Resolution

You can hold me accountable.  My New Year’s resolutions have been challenged with the thought, “Just FINISH what you are already doing!”  I am inventorying all that I am already doing or have done and haven’t finished.

In the midst of my inventory I am again studying Nehemiah (if I didn’t struggle with short term memory loss I probably wouldn’t have the need to keep studying the same book.)  As I looked again at Nehemiah chapter 8, several parenting points challenge me.

1all the people assembled with a unified purpose at the square just inside the Water Gate. They asked Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD had given for Israel to obey.

2 … Ezra the priest brought the Book of the Law before the assembly, which included the men and women and all the children old enough to understand. 3He faced the square just inside the Water Gate from early morning until noon and read aloud to everyone who could understand. All the people listened closely to the Book of the Law.

5Ezra stood on the platform in full view of all the people. When they saw him open the book, they all rose to their feet.

6Then Ezra praised the LORD, the great God, and all the people chanted, “Amen! Amen!” as they lifted their hands. Then they bowed down and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.

8They read from the Book of the Law of God and clearly explained the meaning of what was being read, helping the people understand each passage.

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The parenting points that resonated were: read God’s Word to my children; teach them the importance of God’s Word; and help them understand the Word of God.  Yes, these are three things we have done with our children, but here is where the New Year’s resolution comes into play.

I need to continue and finish what I have already started.  Our only one at home (even though she is 15) needs to daily hear the Word of God from her parents.  We need to continue to give value and credence to the power and holiness of God’s Word and not allow it to be so familiar (through stacks of Bibles in our home, texts and phone apps) that it robs her and me of the deep respect it deserves. And finally, I don’t have to assume she understands it just because she heard it. I must explain and provide opportunities for there to be discussion about the “words” we read.

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     My new years resolution is to make reading and discussing God’s Word with our child a priority every day of 2013.  No, this isn’t a new resolution; this is the resolution I need to finish!!  Hold me accountable.