My Word

It’s a new year. 2012. Time to make resolutions. To start fresh. I’ve never been much of a resolution person. Maybe because I don’t trust myself enough to stick with them. Although, in 2009, I did resolve to make every single one of our bread products for an entire year from scratch, and I managed to uphold that one. But for the most part, I don’t usually make resolutions.

That being said, I do think there is great value in being reflective as we enter a new year. In past years, and this year especially, I’ve seen some talk of a “word for the year” floating around blog land, twitter and face book. I had never put much thought into that concept before now, but this year, every time I’ve seen a post reflecting on a “word” for the year, a specific word comes to mind: Push. At first, I kind of laughed it off, but the more I thought about it, the more it makes sense.

In 2012 I want to:

Push myself to be a better mother. Push myself to be more focused, hands on, and present in my interactions with my daughter. Push myself to be more organized in our home. Push myself to show my husband more love, more respect and more honour everyday. Push myself to be the mother my children deserve and the wife my husband deserves. Push our family to achieving the goals we’ve set for ourselves. Push myself out of my comfort zone to get involved in some new activities. Push myself to be more active. Push a baby out. Push myself to a new and deeper relationship with my Saviour. Push myself to live with intention and fully enjoy the moment.

In 2012, I will Push.

The “it could be worse” attitude

I don’t normally blog on Saturdays. Usually, it only happens if it is a special occasion or if I’ve got something that I really need to say.

Today, it happens to be the latter.

I was sitting around doing nothing this morning (and well, I kind of still am since I’m on my bed with the laptop on my lap) and I got to thinking:

…my attitude has GOT to change.

I have been suffering with a bad case of the “it could be worse” attitude lately.

When I look at the dog hair covering my floors and random piles of junk sitting everywhere, I think, well it could be worse.

When I consider my eating habits, I think, well, it could be worse.

When I think about my level of physical activity, I think, well, it could be worse (although not much worse).

When I think about my spending habits, I think, well, it could be worse.

When I think about our marriage, I think, well, it could be worse.

When I think about my spiritual life, I think, well, it could be worse.

When I think about all of these things, I catch myself thinking that it could be worse.

And yea, it could be worse.

But guess what?

It could also be better. So much better.

I don’t like to make resolutions. Because, to me, resolutions are lame.

Yet there is something about a brand new year – a fresh start – that makes me think it’s time to make improvements.

And while I’m not talking about becoming a perfectionistic (made up word alert) wonder woman who is never satisfied with her life because is it not absolutely perfect, I am talking about striving to the best person I can be, striving to make the best decisions possible, striving to do my best with the skills and resources I’ve been blessed with.

So, here’s to starting 2011 off right and switching from an “it could be worse” attitude to an “it should be better attitude”.

My New Year's Resolution

Last year, my new year's resolution was to start baking my own bread and give up the store bought stuff. Guess what? I actually achieved it! Aside from one emergency package of store bought tortillas in February '09, I have not bought bread in over a year!

I really think that talking about it on my blog helped. Even though I know no one of you would have been sorely offended or disappointed if I bought a loaf of bread, I felt some sort of accountability. Like I had to do it. And I did. And I'm glad. Baking my own bread is now just a normal, natural part of life. It's just what I do. I'm not planning on stopping.

This year, my goal is to read through the entire New Testament. As I mentioned last week, this goal was inspired by Jenny and SnoWhite, who are both very committed to their bible reading. In the past, I've often said, "I want to read the bible more", or "I want to read the whole bible in a year", but it's never happened. Why? Because in the first case, I wasn't specific enough about my goal and in the second case, I wasn't serious about my goal and it was overwhelming.

I've chosen to start with the New Testament, because it seems like a more manageable and feasible goal. I don't' want to overwhelm myself because then I might give up. The NT seems reasonable. There are 260 chapters. It can be done in a year, no problem.

Thanks to SnoWhite, I've been connected to a great program that leads you through the NT in a year. It's called the Text Project. If you sign up, they will e-mail you your assigned reading each morning. There is one chapter for every week day of the year. (You can also sign up for an OT and Psalms program, if you're interested).

To keep track of my progress, I have added a "What I'm Reading" feature on my side bar. I will cross out each book once it's completed and I will try my best to update it each Sunday so you can see which chapters I'll be reading that week.

I am so excited to see what God has in store for me. Although I've read most, perhaps all, of the NT at one point or another, I've never sat down and read the whole thing straight through. The Word is alive and I am confident that I will learn new and wonderful things - perhaps when/where I'm least expecting it.

Would anyone like to join me on this quest?

This posted is being linked at Kelly's Korner: Show Us How You Live: New Year's Resolutions

My Bucket List

Inspired by my BFF, here is my bucket list.

1. Stop biting my nails.
2. Drink less Pepsi (but not that much less).
3. Make at least one new recipe from a recipe book each week.
4. Continue baking our own bread.
5. Wash my face every morning and every night.
6. Pray for a specific need of my husband's daily.
7. Give more than I think I can afford.
8. Run a 5 km race in the next year.
9. Be a mom in the next __ years.
10. Be a better friend.
11. Wash the floor more often.
12. Get a tattoo.
13. Go on a real vacation with my husband, by ourselves.
14. Pray for a new person each day.
15. Complete a PhD.
16. Own and renovate a home.
17. Be more "homemade".
18. Make a quilt.
19. Keep a plant alive in my house for more than 2 weeks.
20. Have one billion followers on my blog.
21. Learn how to sew.
22. Teach my children about Jesus.
23. Have more kids than I can count.
24. Convert my BFF to become a dog lover.
25. Talk to my mom and dad at least once a week.
26. Be the coolest aunt on the block.
27. Train a guide dog.
28. Learn (or re-learn) a second language.
29. Explore Canada.
30. Learn how to work a BBQ (thanks, Em)
31. Own every Harry Potter book (in hardcover) and film.
32. Complete the Love Dare.
33. Learn how to drive standard - oh wait, I've already done this because I'm awesome.
34. Be a grandma.
35. Volunteer at a Women's Shelter.
36. Meet five fellow bloggers in real life.
37. Have a scrapbook room in my home.
38. Make good use of the scrapbook room in my home.
39. Write a song.
40. Be better at sending birthday cards.
41. Grow an herb garden.
42. Drink more water.
43. Laugh at my husband every day.
44. Never be afraid to ask questions.
45. Exercise daily.
46. Read more books.
47. Eat more fruit.
48. Overcome my fear of heights and snakes.
49. Refinish my desk.
50. Do at least one random act of kindness every week.