Resolutions

I'm a big fan of resolutions. I always make them, knowing full well that I won't be able to keep them as consistently as I would like, but at the same time knowing that there is value in setting goals and pleasure in looking back upon them in years to come. Seeing my old lists of dreams/goals/resolutions from long ago reminds me of who I was then and--usually--brings a smile to my face as I reminisce.

Last year however, with Tobin's birth approaching rapidly and consuming all the spare bits of brain power I had, I skipped my normal act of reflecting and resolving. I had one over-arching goal: learn how to be a mother of three children. I knew, for better or for worse, quickly or slowly, I would meet that goal!

Along comes 2009, and I'm far enough into this pregnancy to have regained some energy and enthusiasm as I regard the future, so I suppose it was inevitable that I make some resolutions. Here then is my list, with some goals being broader and some more specific, some more long-term and some more quickly accomplished. If I sat and thought long enough, I would surely add to this list; but here are the first ten things I came up with.

1. Nurture my spirit--or rather, God's Spirit in me. I don't want to set rigid goals like pray an hour a day or read the whole Bible in English, Hebrew, and Spanish this year! But I want to be very aware of the thirst of my soul and very focused on making the quenching of that thirst a top priority as I go through my days.

2. Continue to make my marriage a priority. I saw significant growth in this area during 2008, especially with the addition of scheduled dates with Jeff. I want to make sure that continues so that, no matter what else is going on around us, we will make the time to connect with each other.

3. Learn how to be a mother of four children. Hey, this one sounds familiar! I had no idea last year, when I jotted down my lofty goal about being a mother of three, that I would repeat that goal this year, adding one to the number of children for which I'm responsible!

4. Be an encourager in my various communities: in my family, my church, my town (especially as I interact with other mothers through Josiah's various activities), and even here in the blogging community.

5. Think of age-appropriate jobs for the boys, and continue the task of training them to find fulfillment in work. Sometimes this necessitates changing the way things are physically set up in the house or the way I usually go about things, but I want to discern and make these changes so that they can grow in this area and feel proud of the contributions they make to our family. (I've actually made one change in this area already; I reorganized our plastics cupboard so that Josiah can put away more things as he empties the dishwasher. It used to be that Josiah and David would work together to put away the silverware while I unloaded everything else. Now however, David does the silverware, Josiah does the plastics, and I do the breakables.)

6. Learn more about photography and my new camera, while still giving myself grace to take and post far-from-perfect pictures because the moments I want to capture aren't going to wait until I become an "expert."

7. Tame the paper monster. Paper clutter is absolutely the most frustrating part of housekeeping for me. I have not been successful in staying on top of this area of life, but I so much hope to make a dent in my paper clutter this year...and more importantly, do a better job of dealing with the papers as they enter the house so that my infamous pile by the telephone doesn't accumulate like it currently does. If I accomplish this resolution, my family will probably all agree that a miracle has occurred! :)

8. Organize our homeschool closet. This is one that I hope to accomplish this month because I know there are "treasures" buried in there that the boys would enjoy using, but as it is now, they pull something out of that closet at risk of bodily injury from falling debris!

9. Make an organized grocery list. Since I usually shop in the same grocery store, I would very much like to make an aisle-by-aisle list of things I normally buy so that I could simply check them off when they're needed; and my time in the store would be diminished as I eliminate the "oh, I forgot the cream cheese; let me run back and get it" moments that I occasionally experience. :) This, as well as #8, is also something I hope to accomplish in January.

10. Do better with meal planning and my family cookbook that I'm creating. As it is now, I often print recipes off the Internet that I want to try, then stuff them into various nooks and crannies, only to discover them months later (but not when I'm consciously trying to find them, of course). That is not a very effective way to organize meal prep!

I know once July comes, most of these goals will be out the window as my focus narrows to the tiny treasure I'll cradle in my arms. But I have high hopes that in the first half of this year, I'll be able to accomplish some of these goals, paving the way for a smoother ride during the following 6 months.

One thing that encourages me as I look throughout this year is that my big planning for Josiah's second grade year has already been done. One night a few months ago, I was suddenly seized with inspiration for what I wanted to cover next year with him, so I sat down at the computer and jotted down ideas while they were fresh in my head. Let me tell ya, I'm thrilled that I did that! I still have some smaller decisions to make about the details of second grade; and I actually have some dilemmas that I plan to write about someday to seek some input (like what kind of writing to steer Josiah towards: traditional block printing followed by cursive, or the new italic style of writing)...but it feels reassuring to have the basic building blocks in place for the next year of homeschool so that I won't be scrambling to come up with something--anything!--as I simultaneously nurse a newborn, comfort a toddler, cheer on a 4 year-old, and discuss deep thoughts with a 7 year-old--all on just a few hours of sleep a night. :)

To close, here are two verses that are particularly inspiring me as I approach the new year--my theme verses for 2009, so to speak.
"Serve the Lord with gladness." - Psalm 100:2 (KJV)
"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." - Colossians 3:23-24 (NIV)