What I'm Bringing

Among all the exclamations of "Happy New Year", well wishes, and resolution sharing that happened on Facebook last night, one friend posted this: "What the new year brings you will depend a great deal on what you bring to the new year." Oh, how true that is!

So, as I jump in to 2014, here are some things I'll be bringing with me!

**Ever increasing patience and calmness. Because, lets be honest, we could all use more patience. And over reacting never really helps any situation. Especially not where 4th graders, or stubborn puppies, or husbands, or friends or ... well, any one, is involved.

**Increased dedication to health and wellness - physical and spiritual. Eating a little better, exercising a little more, reading my Bible more consistently, dwelling on the Word of God more. A dedication to spend more time with God. To love Him more. To be like Him more.

**Extra confidence. In God. In myself. In my ability to stand up for God. In my ability to create opportunities for God ... and then take advantage of those opportunities and do it.

**An increasingly positive attitude. That is not rocked by silly things. That doesn't get frustrated with people or self, but instead seeks out the best in others and situations. To not be stressed by all the things a day has to offer, but to embrace those things and make them work.

**A bigger, better, sense of humor. When you work with 10 year old hooligans kiddos  all day, you need a sense of humor. When you come home to a sometimes sarcastic goofball the best husband ever, you need a sense of humor. When the dog chews things up, you need a sense of humor. It never hurts to get a laugh out of things!

**Prayers for a little ... or a lot ... more wisdom. To know the right thing to say. To know the right time, place, and way to say the right thing. To know the right thing to do and to do it. To be more perceptive. More preventative. More ... wise.

**A better separation of work and life. I mean my work is my life. And I LOVE my work. But my work is also - at times - emotionally draining. Because I work with kids ... and while that is the most wonderful thing in the world, it can easily suck all your effort, all your time, right into the school and leave you with not much to bring home. And that isn't fair to my husband, my dog, myself, the dirty dishes in my sink ....

**A better use of time. To quit whining about how much time I don't have, and simply make time for the important things. To get my lesson planning and copying and class work done and then leave school. To not come home and sit on the couch thinking about everything I need to do, but to actually do it. To exercise. To clean. To study. To give of my time to others more. To give my time to God more. To blog more.

Unfortunately, none of things I plan on bringing to 2014 are easily attained one day and then kept forever. I guess that's the thing about things that matter ... they take time and work and effort all the time. You don't "get them" and then "have them" ... you develop them, and then you keep developing them. And some day people will notice you've "got it", but you'll know there is so much more you can work on. Because when it comes to being all you can be and all you can be for God the work is never done. It's just beginning. So, here's to embracing that challenge and serving God with all that we are while we are here on this earth.


And, if you're looking for a recap of 2013, here's one Google+ put together for me (it's a slideshow of just a few of the pictures I took on my phone during the year, randomly chosen by Google+ and e-mailed to me as a pleasant surprise). 2013 held a new (and our first) owned home, a great job, a sweet puppy, a wonderful husband, amazing friends, and the best family a girl could ask for (complete with a fantastic vacation with them). I am truly blessed beyond measure. Enjoy.