by tascha
source
I pray everyone rang in the new year safely and surrounded by loved ones!
{The actual ringing in found me sound asleep, but safe, and in my home with loved ones!}
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The New Year here marks the official dropping of my old blog and writing exclusively for this new address.
{{wooo-hoooo!!}
I must admit, I still wish I had the time and mental acuity to type a post every day. I truly admire those who do it. But, that will not be happening any time soon!
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As the old year came to a close, I began pondering just what DID I want to accomplish this next year {now THIS year!}.
And I came to the conclusion that I was not going to make any “year resolutions.”
I have read much in the past 2-3 days of why to or why not to make “New Year’s Resolutions.”
But my own adventure towards what I desire from this year came when I realized… that truly,
every day is a fresh beginning.
Of course, a new year is a BIG new beginning; but if I confine myself to only beginning anew at the beginning of the year, I will continue to fail-by today–the second day of the new year!
Because I’m human. I have many excuses in my repertoire… and I am a firm believer in: life is what happens after you make plans!
So, my “New Year’s Resolution” is to not have a YEAR’s resolution!
But to treat each day as a new beginning.
To approach the morning as a time of goal setting.
To approach the evening as a time of pondering.
To live intentionally and on purpose.
Instead of only making lists of what I want to accomplish [in vague general terms] on December 31 that would supposedly encompass an entire year, I will make lists multiple times a week-or however often I can remember!
And then accomplish tasks.
And complete goals.
And grow as a Christian-
in being a wife, mom, friend, sister and daughter.
A quote that struck me a couple of month ago {and I do not know the true origin as I found it on Pinterest} was:
The only person you should try to be better than is
the person you were yesterday.
by tascha |
I can see how some visitors may not like me “endorsing” a movie. There really are very few worth watching out there. And even this one causes some reservations as my children ask if she is real or if it all pretend-every.time.we.watch.it. And then there is the whole suffrage movement.
But I so enjoy the character of Mary Poppins. My children also love her. Personally, I wish she were real; [smiles] and I wish I were just like her {snapping my fingers to clean up the toys?!}.
Of course, perfection and tea parties on the ceiling and popping into chalk pictures are just fairy-tales -beautiful whimsy and imagination.
But there are a few things we can learn from her approach to children and life.
1. children’s wants and desires are not to be dismissed out of hand just because they are children.
2. children need and WANT their father’s [and mother’s!] time and affection.
several years ago!
3. children need play in equal proportion to learning, and sometimes the two go hand-in-hand.
4. while the occasional babysitter is necessary for the survival of a marriage, children do not need a nanny. They need their parents, specifically-time with their parents! [and I won’t go any further than that!].
And while I will never be a Mary Poppins, I can take these lessons and apply them to my responsibility as a mother.
I must be intentional about taking time to listen to my children-their concerns, their stories, the reason for their squabbles, the way others treat them, what their dreams are, etc.
I must take the initiative to be sure each child has time with me regularly. In a loving manner, I must nurture time with their daddy.
Even amid chores and the eventual homework that comes with growing up, I must take the time to remember they are still children. If home and school become only about work, they may come to resent being in either place. Life is full of adventure. And sometimes I need to remind myself of that!
As often as our personal schedules allow, I should make arrangements for the children to be cared for by someone else for a brief time so as to foster a loving relationship between myself and my husband. Because whether I like it or not, our marriage will be the one they most likely model their own marriages after one day. I need to be sure I am seeking the Lord in being an example of a loving, Godly wife {no matter my faults as a housekeeper-lol}.
As a new mother I was also a young wife (which many new mothers are) and thus I was learning so much in such a short time.