Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!  

I hope that you had a wonderful 2016 and that 2017 will be even better!

For me, I am calling the year 2017 the year of "no more excuses." My children are going to be 8 and 5 this year (gasp! I can't believe how fast it has gone!) and I no longer have diapers to change, babies to feed every 2-3 hours, and toddlers to supervise every second of the day. I do still want to give my children a lot of my attention, but I no longer have excuses for many of things that I should have been doing and haven't been because of X,Y, and Z. 

This isn't so much about making new year resolutions as it is simply something I realized: It is time to make some serious changes in my life. 

Something that I haven't really shared with anyone, but my husband, is that in 2016 I just wasn't feeling well. I turned 40 and not that that necessarily has anything to do with anything, but I am getting older and I have not been taking care of myself at all. And I can just tell that I am not healthy - not only have I not lost any of the baby weight that I had after my son was born (almost FIVE YEARS AGO!!!), but I have actually gained about another five to ten pounds on top of that. I have not exercised since my daughter was born (almost EIGHT YEARS AGO!!!) other than taking an occasional walk and that one time I started Crossfit and lasted like three days. I also have not been drinking regular water like I should be, but I have been enjoying more coffee, LaCroix, and wine than I should. Not that those things are altogether bad, but I think I need less of those in my life and more water. And I have been eating out a lot more since we had kids and again, not that eating out is bad, but I think there needs to be less eating out to be healthy and also to save money. Additionally, I have always had trouble sleeping - I am very much a night owl, but I have to make a better effort to get to bed at a reasonable time. The lack of sleep is also driving my caffeine consumption and well, it is like a vicious cycle so I just need to stop.

And then there is TV. While there are some truly fabulous TV programs out there (e.g. The Man in the High Castle, Sherlock - which I will be watching tonight), TV consumption has got to be cut down. I used to read tons and well, let's just say I really haven't been reading AT ALL in the last eight years. And then, I say well, I don't have time to read, BUT I will stay up all night binging on whatever the newest and best show is. So I finished the Man in the High Castle last week, will delight in Sherlock on Sunday nights; but I will otherwise be cutting TV out and spending more time reading or also listening to podcasts - which, most recently, discovered I really quite enjoy. 

My house. I am ashamed that I have not been the housekeeper I once was. Of course, when we had a one bedroom apartment that was only about 1000 square feet and no children, it was immensely easy to keep clean. Add another 1500 square feet and two small children to the mix and well, keeping house has not been a priority. So 2017, here we come! I have already started to implement a routine and my goal is to keep at it so our house will be in better shape, too.

Lastly, and the most important change of all. My spirit - oh, how it has been dry and thirsty! We have not been to church or our weekly Gospel Community regularly and well, I can just tell that my spirit has not been well, either. This has been affecting how things go in our home, as well and this is not what I wanted for myself, my husband, or my children. So there will be some changes in 2017 concerning this especially. Thankfully, another blogger shared this 31 Day Scripture Writing Plan from www.swtblessings.com and as I wrote out and prayed over the Scripture for today - I can feel something stirring in me. I am so thankful this Scripture Writing Plan was shared on Facebook. I am filled with joy and anticipation over what each day of writing Scripture will bring.

And then, there has to be grace. Let's just say I am a wee bit of perfectionist; but even I realize that each day may not go as I hope it will and there will certainly be days I fail; and so I do have to allow for myself some grace. Overall, though, I have a great feeling about 2017 and I am praying and hopeful that it will be a very transformative and encouraging year!