I’m big on resolutions for the new year - well, I’m good at making them, I’m not so good on the follow through!

I do have a few resolutions as they relate to being a parent of faith:

The elders of the congregation we attend are encouraging everyone to try to read the Bible through in one year. Hubby and I have had many stops and starts over the years, but this time, I’d really like to read all the way through!

I’d like to slow down a bit. Sundays are a mad dash out of the door ... and every day after it is much the same. I am trying to pare down our homeschooling schedule so that we are not constantly running hither and yon for one class/activity or another. Being rushed feels awful and it isn’t conducive to the type of parenting I believe in. It just makes everyone cranky and on edge.

I want to keep up our nightly family prayer time and gratitude journals. We also have a dinnertime ritual where we talk about our favorite and least favorite parts of the day. We also have a daily Bible time for homeschool where we recite the books of the Bible and other facts, as well as do our memory work.

Though I do fell like I “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) throughout most of the day, I do want to set aside a more structured personal prayer time, just to pray and offer praise and thanksgiving.

I recently organized and have been attending a weekly Knit Night. It’s only a couple of hours, but it’s time I use to re-energize. When I knit, I knit for others. I rarely take time out to do anything for me, and I don’t say that to sound “Pollyanna” ... I think a lot of moms just focus on their families and think taking time away is selfish. However, now that I have more than one child with special needs, I find that this time away helps me not to be a crazy, cranky woman! My goal for the new year is to continue this, and to take better care of myself in other ways, as well, like losing weight and working out.

Prayerfully, this will not be another “false start,” but the beginning of another year that God has blessed me with that will bear fruit for Him!

Happy New Year!

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