New Year, New You?

It's that time again... a new year, full of hope with no mistakes in it yet! I love a new year for just that reason; it feels like a fresh start and to tell you the truth, I'm always ready for one of those. I'm always ready for a new opportunity to forget yesterday's mistakes, the things I shouldn't have done, the error I made at work, the yelling I did to my kids, and most often for me, the words I wish I hadn't said. Even though the Bible tells us that His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:23), I must tell you that I find it hard to feel hope about a fresh start each and every morning that my feet hit the floor. But a new year, that is something that always fills me with blissful anticipation and hope... hope that quickly fades.

We are all familiar with new year's resolutions... advertisers are giddy at the opportunity to plaster get rich quick and get skinny fast schemes all over the place this time of year. We've all seen them, fallen prey to some of them... lose 100 lbs by Valentine's Day, who doesn't want to give that fad diet a try at least once? We make a list of resolutions as long as our arms and as far reaching as the sky... I mean really, who can stay calm every minute, learn to speak Spanish fluently, cook a gourmet meal every night, lose 85 pounds, read the Bible all the way through, workout 2 hours a day, excel at work, have 2 date nights a week, follow a cleaning schedule, host group once a week, spend one night per week with each individual child, be room mom, travel to Europe, and become a world famous goat herder??? These examples were meant to be humorous but if we are honest, aren't our lists equally ridiculous? Recently, I heard Beth Moore say, "you can do one or two things really well but you can't do 100". Hmmm... those words made me stop and think, what do I want to do well? followed closely by an even more terrifying thought, what has to go so that I can? OUCH.

So, this year I'm challenging myself to skip the resolutions and instead to ask myself what do I want to do well? I have a lot of goals and dreams... things I want to accomplish in my life but for me, in this season, nothing is more important than my three precious ones. Unfortunately, they often get what's left over when mommy comes home exhausted and still has 1,000 more things to do. But when I get to the end of my life, it will not matter to me if my house was spotless or my body gorgeous, what will matter is if my children are healthy, happy, well adjusted adults who love the Lord and seek to serve Him with their lives. So, perhaps my other dreams, the less important ones have to take a backseat. I saw a quote this week that read "if it's important to you, you will find a way, if it isn't you will make an excuse". There is nothing of greater importance and I dare say greater kingdom work for me to do than raise the children entrusted to me... so this year, my focus will not be a list of things I wish to accomplish in 2017, my focus will be on the them. To give God, my husband, and my children the best of me... not the rest of me. I understand that this might mean less time for other things... I can't do everything well. What about you? What do you want to do well? What is God calling you to focus on this year?

Here are few steps to help you in living your best life in 2017... to help you determine what your few things are and how to help them succeed:

1. Matthew 6:33 "Seek the kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need." Seek Him... He tells us that if anyone desires wisdom, they should ask and He will give it... ask Him what your priorities need to be this year.

2. Proverbs 16:3 tells us to "commit your actions to the Lord and your plans will succeed". After you know what is important and make a plan... commit it to he Lord, ask Him to help you to achieve it. We can accomplish so much more when we follow Him and rely on His strength.

3. Lastly, remember that life is hard. Plans and goals are awesome on paper but in the arena of life, they tend to get a bit messy... when they do, when you mess up, when you fall down, cut yourself some slack. Remind yourself that perfection isn't the goal and that His grace is sufficient! And tomorrow, around noon when you've blown it and you are ready to wait until 1-1-2018 to get back up... remember that His mercies are new every morning and dear friend, I'm so thankful that His mercies are even new every moment.

Happy New Year!