Resolutions... I have several things that are really more lifetime goals:
Make the kids bedtime routine more consistent
Be more consistent with whole family devotional times
Continue our couple's prayer time Jason started (which has started many late night conversations - great
until the alarm clock goes off, and I only got four hours of sleep.. ha ha!)
Continue paying off all the debt from our TX house trauma

My only real resolution that might be short term is that I'm also cutting out carbonated beverages. It's really not been that hard. I still do coffee and lightly sweetened tea, but I had gotten out of control.

These things were pretty easy to come up with, but I was really praying about what area God wanted me to improve in personally. God has been very clear this year; more clear than any other previous year that I can remember. He gave me a verse that I've just meditated on for the past week or two. Isaiah 43:18-19,21 says, "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland... the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise."

God does new things every morning. Lamentations 3:22-23 says, "Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. " Because of God's LOVE for us, he has compassion for us and we are not consumed by our sin. Grace!! His compassion is new every morning - every morning is a chance to start afresh.

However, I really felt God telling me to forget EVERYTHING that has always been. I am doing something new in your life. You think your life is great, but when I look at it, I see a desert, a wasteland because I know what it COULD be. I want to make a new way and refreshing streams for you! I want your life to praise me even more!

When I started working in August, everything changed - my family time, my time to spend on my house chores, friendships and "girl time" has changed drastically, the format of my quiet times, my ability to serve more widely, EVERTYHING has changed. I have been trying to hold onto everything. God is beating down my heart telling me that my plan may not necessarily be His. I may have some big changes ahead of me; or, God may just be wanting me to surrender all of my plans and ideas.

Over and over, God has said to me that my resolution this year should be to do nothing... NOTHING... NOTHING... without Him. God always wants us to bring our decisions before Him, but I feel God is really pressing this upon me now with an even greater emphasis. I feel He wants me to really not make one move for ANYTHING based on what I've known before and without praying about it first.

There have been a lot of shut doors in my life in the past year or so. For example, moving to a new church has closed some ministry opportunities that have always been passions of mine. Other people are in those roles, and I'm the new kid on the block. It's really hard to give up something I love to do so much - something I love to do for the Lord and things I know I can do well! God is telling me to let go - He is doing a new thing!

I have a lot of friendships that have changed drastically over the past few months. Ones that I've tried to hang onto, but it just hasn't worked the way it did before. Shut doors! God has just been telling me to let go - He is doing a new thing!

And, MY choices for this upcoming year work-wise have either been teaching or at home - my preference is to be at home. That's my passion, that's my heart. Working this year shut that door for now! But God is telling me to let go - He is doing a new thing!

This is scary thing for me; it's hard to let go of some of my "sacred cows". In some ways, I feel like a 100 year old lady at a 300 year old church trying to hang on to the old hymnals. They are good, but God may have something better! Answering honestly, I think that God is not necessarily trying to shake up my entire life, but perhaps trying to shake up my priorities. It's very easy to get caught up in "good" things - good ministry options, good friends, good family habits, good careers. They are good things. But, at the loss of them or with a change in our lives, we have to remember the BEST thing - Christ! If we mourn too greatly those good things and our perspective and focus on Christ gets lost, He wants to bring us back. Oh, what an awesome God we serve!

It's also very exciting to see how God is changing my heart. I feel like I am a mature Christian - I'm going on 24 years of being a Christian! But, it seems the more I learn, the more I have to go. What an fascinating walk with Christ that we have the opportunity to take! We will never max out on what we can learn and how we can improve! His compassion is new EVERY morning... He wants to love us, grow us, and improve us DAILY!

I'm excited to see what is ahead!