Happy New Year! - A list of promise
Hello again!
Well, it has been a long time since I posted anything here. In fact, I had someone ask if I was still blogging. I have been feeling convicted that maybe this is something that I need to get more serious about or I need to step away. Well, here I am, and thanks to you for being here too.
Happy New Year! As I sit and reflect over all that last year contained and every new thing I have to look forward to in the coming year, it becomes a little daunting, or is it just me? Like many, I start to think about everything I want to change in the coming year... I need to exercise more and eat less... I need to pray more, read my Bible more and complain less... I need to lose weight...I need to... I need to.... The list is same, year after year and I am giving it all up. I made a declaration about resolutions a few years back and have refused to join in the ritual since then. So, this year will be no different. There will be no list of resolutions to be broken. Instead, I am making a list of promises to myself. A list that I can hang on the bathroom mirror and in my office and in my car...a list to carry with me lest I forget how I have promised to treat myself and others this year and for years to come.
That's right. Only five items on the list, but what a hefty list it is. A list of promises I am making to myself....not resolutions that are all or nothing. But rather a short little list of promises I am making. Will they be easy? HECK to the NO!!! Will they be broken from time to time? OF COURSE!!! But, I am offering myself grace as well. That means there is always room to make mistakes, as long as I learn something in the process.
So, I wish you a very Happy New Year! Chose to make a difference for someone today, even if that someone is you.
Well, it has been a long time since I posted anything here. In fact, I had someone ask if I was still blogging. I have been feeling convicted that maybe this is something that I need to get more serious about or I need to step away. Well, here I am, and thanks to you for being here too.
Happy New Year! As I sit and reflect over all that last year contained and every new thing I have to look forward to in the coming year, it becomes a little daunting, or is it just me? Like many, I start to think about everything I want to change in the coming year... I need to exercise more and eat less... I need to pray more, read my Bible more and complain less... I need to lose weight...I need to... I need to.... The list is same, year after year and I am giving it all up. I made a declaration about resolutions a few years back and have refused to join in the ritual since then. So, this year will be no different. There will be no list of resolutions to be broken. Instead, I am making a list of promises to myself. A list that I can hang on the bathroom mirror and in my office and in my car...a list to carry with me lest I forget how I have promised to treat myself and others this year and for years to come.
- I promise to forget the scale... My worth is not based on those numbers that appear. My value has nothing to do with what I see when I look in the mirror or how my jeans fit. I am a daughter of the King of Kings and in Him alone can I find value. It is through Him that I am saved and it is with Him that I pledge to live.
- I promise to treat myself like I am my own best friend... No longer will I say things to myself or about myself, that I would never dare say to anyone else. I deserve better treatment from the one that I have no option but to journey through life with and she deserves better from me. I will offer her sincere love and grace, the same that I would my very best friends.
- I promise to love others... They don't get any easier as the list gets longer. God commands that we love our neighbor... not if they act like we want them to, not if they believe they way we believe, not if they are nice or quiet or polite or... no IF anything. So, this is something that I promise myself... to love others unconditionally. They are not mine to fix or change, they are not mine to judge...thank goodness...they are mine to love.
- I promise to find joy...There is no doubt that the life I live today is not necessarily the life I had planned...I miss my parents, I miss my small kids who thought I was the only person they ever needed, I am miles from family, I am over-committed and sleep deprived; but most importantly, in every one of those statements, there is JOY. My parents were fabulous, not without faults, but they were great parents.... joy. My kids are all growing into incredible, independent adults who are finding their passion and following it...joy. My family is healthy and happy in their warm southern homes raising kids and dogs and enjoying the lives they have built...joy. Although I cannot earn my salvation through works, it is through the work I am called to do that I please God (even if that means a nap or two along the way)...joy. I need to focus on the later and know remember whose I am and who I am even in the midst of self doubt and sorrow.
- And lastly, I promise to find God...I know that He is always there. He listens when I pray, when I worship, when I celebrate and even when I wallow in all that I believe is wrong in my life; but do I listen in return...not near enough. I know that He is there, but I promise to take the time to be still, to listen and to see Him in all things.
That's right. Only five items on the list, but what a hefty list it is. A list of promises I am making to myself....not resolutions that are all or nothing. But rather a short little list of promises I am making. Will they be easy? HECK to the NO!!! Will they be broken from time to time? OF COURSE!!! But, I am offering myself grace as well. That means there is always room to make mistakes, as long as I learn something in the process.
So, I wish you a very Happy New Year! Chose to make a difference for someone today, even if that someone is you.
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