Better Late Than Never...

Beginnings are a balm to my soul. I love the fresh start, the sense of possibility and adventure awaiting. Which makes sense then, why the New Year is a time of great joy and encouragement to me – what better beginning than a new year?! Others may eschew resolutions and staying awake to watch one second turn into another, but I thrive on it.

Dear Gazette,

 This reader, and oft-time contributor, has undertaken in the new year to set for herself certain resolutions in hopes of attaining a life more in line with the holy scriptures and powered by the Holy Spirit. These are as follows:

-       I resolve to do nothing with a bad attitude. If cleaning the bathrooms or emptying the dishwasher is accompanied by nasty thoughts I shall stop at once and begin again only when I can do so in joy.

-       I resolve to plan many wonderful adventures with my children…and to toss out any plans that result in yelling. Specifically, me yelling at them.

-       I resolve to remember “my life for theirs” when I spot dirty clothes, hair in the tub, and various Avenger masks/paraphernalia littering the house. What Christ gave on Calvary I can give in housework and laundry: done joyfully as resolved above.

-         I resolve toward temperance in food, exercise, entertainment, and study with the heavier balance favoring those pastimes that combine with family time.

 I itch to include more lists and specific goals. Read Charlotte Mason, try one new recipe a week, and memorize a scripture passage each month. Admittedly, lists work well with my personality type and in this season of life (spontaneity and three little kids are an explosion with a short fuse). The lists will be made. But will I?

 Will I be made in the image of Christ more clearly this year? Will I see the work set before me and understand that only in the Holy Spirit can I accomplish a single thing? Will I pray for strength to do that which is beyond me — and then work in that strength rather than my own? It is my prayer and hope that I shall.

 Welcome 2016, there is much to anticipate within your days. Soli Deo gloria. To God alone the glory.

Proverbs 10:8-9

“The wise of heart will receive commands,

but a babbling fool will be ruined.

He who walks in integrity walks securely,

but he who perverts his ways will be found out.”