I've been pondering long and hard about resolutions. I love lists. Love them, love them. I get so excited about this time of year. A blank calendar, empty days, plans to make, goals to pursue. Last year, knowing that I was about to have baby #3, I went for simple. I made one goal and that was to get in a routine to read the Bible and try and read through the Bible in a year. I feel like I did pretty good on this, although I didn't get finished; what I did was FINALLY establish a routine of getting up before my family for a few minutes alone with God.

All that to say, this year is going to go a little further. I have some definite areas of my life that I want to get in shape in '08. :) (Cheesy, huh?) Elizabeth's birth was ... hard ... for many reasons and I let a LOT of areas slide. Not yet willing to say that it was post-partum depression, but I'm ready to come out of what I like to fondly call the Great Funk of '07. With that in mind, I've made a few plans.

My eight areas are as follows:

1. God
2. Husband
3. Children
4. Others
5. Healthy
6. In the kitchen
7. With the pen
8. Create

Now, to elaborate. :) And, just to clarify. I don't expect to be rip-roaring successful in every single area. That would be too much. And I don't plan on focusing on perfecting each area at all times. That would be too much. All these will be are reminders to me of where I need to be improving and focusing my energies in '08 ... they are lifetime changes that I want so I fully don't expect to see perfection in a year, nor to I expect it to be possible. :)

1. God ~ My relationship with the Lord
My goals for '08: to continue with my morning quiet time with Him; continue reading through the Bible with a short-term goal of finishing it in '08. I also want to work on my prayer time ... and area that I've never really understood and would like to deepen with the Lord. Also, as part of this, I've joined Leann's Foundational Faith Challenge and my reading list can be found here. January kicks off with Mere Christianity.

2. Husband ~ Home Sanctuary
I want to take better care of my husband this year. 2007 saw me doing what it took just to get by until I was even frustrated with how long it took me to do things because I wasn't doing a good job of keeping up. However, this goal isn't just limited to the house, but also to how I can better serve him in managing my part of our spending, spending time with him, encouraging him, etc. :)

3. Children ~ Deliberate Parenting
I'll flesh this out more later, but as my girls are getting older and needing more of me, it's been hard to let go of MY time. I am thrilled that my number one "job" is as their mama and that is why I am home with them. However, of late, I have spent more time frustrated rather than delighted with my calling and it's time for an attitude adjustment on my part. I think, to do that, I'll have to turn from some other things that I love, but eat away from time that needs to be focused on my girls ... 2007 saw me step down from part of my church responsibilities, but the next one that is all too apparent is my computer time. *sob* :) I'm not deleting the blog, but it's time to trim the blogroll, cut back on the online "research", and do a bit more living in the here and now.

4. Others ~ Hospitality
This was an area that I started working on mid-2007, and I want to keep working on it. (I heartily suggest Hospitality Commands by Alexander Strauch). I want to be open to invite folks over for fellowship and/or for dinner, and have friends over for my girls to have little playdates. I see this as any area of ministry for me as I shift my focus to husband and children and our home as opposed to more public ministry (ie., music team at church).

5. In the Kitchen
This ties in with #6, and builds on steps taken in 2007, but I want to continue to make most of our meals at home as opposed to eating out. Thinking ahead about meals, making meals to freeze so that I will turn to those instead of take-out on a busy evening. Bringing back the VEGETABLE in our diet ... not that it's disappeared entirely, but I've missed them and need to see more of them. :)

6. In Shape in '08 - My Heath
This is more than just losing the baby weight, although that is part of it. I want to move and keep up with my girls, be able to play with them outside, not fall over dead-tired in the middle of the day ... I want to work on this with eating healthier, getting some exercise and sunshine, and being better about making sure I get enough sleep.

7. With the Pen
Write, write, write. I need to get back to my journaling. Part of the reason I think '07 was hard was that if I didn't blog about it, I didn't write about it. Not that that is a terrible thing, but there are areas not blog-able, and I let them build up and put off working through them until I had the perfect time to write. I need to make the time, period. :) I also have journals for the girls that look great, but are no good unless I sit down and write in them.

8. Create, create, create!
I have gotten back into scrapbooking this year and it has been GOOD for my soul. I need that creative outlet where I am just "me" with my papers and scissors and pen. (Not that I don't scrap for and about my husband or girls, but this is for *me*, know what I mean?)

And, now if you are still reading this epistle, I'll wrap it up. I'll make another post about some things that I will be doing and tools that I will be using to help with some of these areas.

Happy New Year!