A whole new year....there's something so refreshing about that thought, isn't there?
I like new things (who doesn't?) A new car, new haircut, new house. There's just something about that word - NEW. I find that I don't have one negative thought come to mind when I ponder that word. There's the excitement of a new job, the thrill of being newly weds, welcoming home a new baby...it all sounds so fresh and full of promise.
Perhaps that is why I always get so hopeful with the dawning of each new year. I always have been an optimist. I can't help but think that this year will be extraordinary. I arm myself with a list (usually much too long to be realistic) of carefully contemplated resolutions and plan my approach to conquor them all.
But then the newness wear off....by April I start remembering to write 2012 in my checkbook at least 50% of the time, and come June I'm lucky if I can recall four of the twenty-two very important resolutions I made.
I began 2011 with an entirely different approach. Bryan and I went on a pre-baby (this was about 5 weeks off from Beckett's arrival) date night to create resolutions (both individually and as a family) and then committed to holding each other accountable for them. With his urging, I pared down my list to five managable goals (four of which I managed to keep!) It was the process of being intentional. Intenionally choosing someone to share my goals with, the responsibility of holding another person accountable, and the knowledge that I too would be held accountable that made all the difference.
Being intentional has been the theme of my life this past year. It is something that has transformed my spiritual life, my marriage, and especially the way I parent my children.
As parents we are intentional about so many things: making sure there are outlet covers, choosing the "right" preschool, dressing them in clean clothes (what would the neighbors think?!) But how often are we intentional about instilling biblical truths? Laying the foundation of God's kingdom in their young lives so that he might build their future through His perfect plan for them.
Not often enough. That was the realization I came to sometime in 2010. I would spend my time so consumed with worry over my child's safety or intellect or ability to share or (fill in the blank) that I was forgetting to make certain that choices we made as a family pointed my child to God. Even in times where I would make a choice that in my mind had biblical reasoning behind it, I failed to relay that information to my child. Instead of simply saying, "Use gentle hands with friends" I should have been saying, "We use gentle hands with friends because the bible tells us to be kind to others."
Having a wonderful preschool ministry at our church is such a blessing. It has helped me be more cognisant of this and many other things. The moments this past year where I have seen the fruits of my intentionality have been precious. But, perhaps, none moreso than in the discussions with my daughter. The childlike innocence with which children question and accept the mystery of God is amazing to me.
Being intentional is a theme I plan and pray to carry out through this next year and many more to come. I am intentionally sharing these things now because I have added another resolution to my goal list for 2012. I have started writing my second novel. Hold me accountable. Ask me how it's coming....and for goodness sake, please bop me on the head when I tell you I haven't had time to write lately (which I'm sure I will say at some point.) Seriously, I give you full permission.
So here we are...starting a whole new year...a whole new book.
:) Happy New Year!
