Happy New Year!

YAY! I made it to 2010. I'm looking forward to 2010 being a Jesus year. I'm glad I made it out of 2009 never to return to a lot of the lessons I learned. But willing to remember the lessons God taught me and brought me through in 2009. I don't ever want to have to learn those lessons over again.

All throughout today I want to focus on the future of what God desires for me. I really can't stand making resolutions that I will break by the end of the week if not by the end of the day, so I'll focus on goals for my life. God lead me to some great blogs yesterday that have helped me focus on some goals for now and my future. I think they'll help me clearly define what God desires for me this year.

1. Get healthier than I am today. I am not going to set a goal of how much weight I will lose because it hasn't worked my entire life so I'm not going there. However, I am going to live a healthier lifestyle. I was thinking about surprising David with the goal of walking with him so many times per week this year, but that was thrown out when I fell on November 18th and am not healed yet. I'll be healed in God's time and will start when I've been given the go ahead from my physical therapist and doctors. Due to PT yesterday, I have a few strengthening exercises which have already helped my leg so much in just one day. Praise the LORD! Actually this is more activity than I've done in months sad to say. Also, I'm going to make better choices in my eating. I know I will NOT eat the healthiest but I can do better and I will. We'll continue to buy better choices in groceries too.

2. Finish reading the Bible in its entirety. I began this last year. The NIV version that is in chronological order. I made it through pretty much faithfully until midway through July when my world began spinning out of control. I've picked it back up from time to time. I even tried to get myself to complete it or at least the New Testament over the holidays but I just couldn't due to the amount as well as my disappointment in myself because I didn't complete something I know God would have been pleased. Therefore, I'm glad I have a new year to complete what I began last year. I am going to start where I stopped and read it through until I accomplish reading the Bible through in its entirety. I've never done it but I am going to now.

3. Blog more. After all our struggles last year I just couldn't blog the way I wanted because everything was filtered through my pain and hurts. Now after the fog has lifted and God has provided growth in me yet once again, I'm ready to move on to blog about our family. It is so awesome to go through different things that I did blog about last year to see where my heart was and how I've grown through things. Also, it's incredible to see our lives in review. Furthermore, I'm excited to watch Mauri complete her senior year and Caleb begin driving. I have plenty to blog about and now I'm ready to move on to blog our lives to keep a record of our goings on.

4. Clean more and organize our home. I don't know why but I feel I'll never get a handle on these two things. It is always a work in progress. This past year our family has done much better at cleaning but we have so much further to go. I especially love a clean house but our home has never seem to keep itself clean. Of all things, we have to do the work and none of the four within this home ever seems to be enthusiastic about housework. My mother has always told me it isn't fun for anyone so just get up and get it done. I've got to consume myself with her advice this year; I must grow up, face the music, and do something every day! I actually do have a good excuse at this point in my life due to my injury and limitations which is driving me nuts as well as my poor family. But, I think God is truly using this time (only 43 days so far) to really show me the desire of my heart to keep things in an orderly fashion. So I hope and pray that God does a miraculous thing in my life and make me the housekeeper of our home as soon as I'm cleared for duty by my doc.

5. Become a better cook as well as cook more often. I want to continue to improve on how often we eat at home because it truly has been a blessing and has brought our fam closer together due to the time we spend together at mealtime. I also want to try to add more variety in our selections of choice. We get in a rut and just keeping cooking the same 'o same 'o. My problem with cooking is the cleaning that comes after because we are notorious for not cleaning immediatley.

6. Immerse my mind, body, and soul in the Word as well as in our home.

This was a goal of mine last year as well. I did Scripture memory with my siestas and have 24 selections of Scripture God gave me throughout 2009 which I'm still committing to complete memory without taking a peek while quoting. God did a wonderful work in me. He continually gave me Scripture for the moment as well as for future areas I'd go through during the entire year. I'm so glad I took the challenge not truly believing I'd finish it. I'm grateful God brought me through this year with more memory verses than ever before. I'm looking forward to the Beth Moore weekend at the end of January.

This past Thanksgiving I learned about a Jesus tree from a blog. (I love blogging!) We began our Jesus tree on December 1st and ended on Christmas night. It was hard to put that tree away until next year because the four of us learned so much by sharing our hearts each evening. I must admit we did miss a couple of nights but most the time the kids would remind us or have us do a make up session sometime througout the next day. I know we all grew closer to our LORD and Savior during this season. Jesus is the reason for the season and the Jesus tree helped us keep our focus on Him each and ever day during the CHRISTmas season this year. (Sidebar: Mauri won't be here next year for our Jesus tree if the Lord continues to send her off to college. But, we'll talk and share each night on the phone. We already talked about her having her own Jesus tree with her roommate next Christmas season.)

One thing my Christian counselor brought me through during November and December was "Who I am in Christ". It took me a while but I finally downloaded everything from my head to my heart and I know who I am in Christ which makes all the difference in the world for my life. She also helped me be delivered from the spirit of fear and the spirit of rejection. Now I don't filter everything that happens in my life nor every thought I have through fear nor rejection. Talk about a life of freedom. I'm not the same person I was before meeting her on October 20, 2009. "Who I am in Christ" is going to be what our family does each night during our "Jesus Time" the next 40 days or so. I'm going to type an outline per se today and begin this tonight with our family. This outline will have the Scripture reference only because I believe it is good for everyone to dig in the Scripture and read the Word for him/herself, the belief, and lines to journal what he/she believes the belief is saying. I might also add a box to check off when the belief is truly downloaded to the person's heart and a place for the date and time. This is what I did to truly become a believer of who I am in Christ and I want to share it with my family and eventually as God provides with friends, co-workers, and our church family.
I'm going to type out the 24 Scriptures God gave me last year and post them throughout our home. I'm also hoping our family will begin sharing Scripture God is pointing out to them at a particular time in their lives. I think this will help all of us be immersed in God's word and help us learn how to share God's Word with others.

7. and for the hardest of them all but trusting God to bring it to completion... getting rid of the spirit of judging, condemning, and criticizing.

I have a lot of work to do to align myself with God's desires for me as a Christian woman, a wife, a mom, a teacher, etc. I must allow God to work a miracle in my life in many areas this year. I'm sure one reason I haven't gotten completion in these goals in the past is that I have not because I ask not. I know God will answer my prayers and bring to fruition the desires of my heart if they and when they are aligned with Him. I must do God's work and I desire to continue growing beyond measure for Him and Him alone.