R and R

I'm taking a little R and R this evening as I normally do on New Year's Eve. A bit of reflecting and resolving. I'm a big believer in both of these things as a path to improvement. I'm not necessarily one who only does so at the change of a year either. Reflecting and resolving are things I do throughout the year but I do like to focus on the year in full at some point and am doing so tonight.

In 2009 I did something I don't normally do. I posted my resolutions for God and all the world to see via my blog on the internet. I felt this would give me a bit of accountability. At first I made these resolutions as just goals to complete at some point but as the year went on I became competitive with myself and tried to squeeze them all in this year. Let's see how I did:

1) Finish writing my book: I did get much closer. Probably halfway through, but by the time I got to the point I needed to work on ordination paper work, book writing took a back seat.

2) Have over 200 in worship at Lighthouse: Ouch. Not really so close but not for lack of trying. I wouldn't pass myself on this one if it weren't for a few things. 1) We still had new people give their lives to Christ and 2) This wasn't a collective resolution. Sure many at Lighthouse wanted growth but we weren't focused on this number as a whole.

3)Take a class or workshop non-job related: Does it count if I signed up for one?

4) Help John and Shane thrive; Dori – playdates: Done to the best of my ability

5) Finish Roxy’s training: Dog owners help me out - is training ever done? She's so much better and I still love her but she's not quite two yet and has a few more puppy months left to go.

6)Plan anniversary vacation: Due to budget cuts (corporate and at home) we tabled the vacation to an anniversary weekend without kids thanks to grandma and grandpa. So a staycation if you will.

7)Organize, decorate, and arrange my house until it’s uber comfy: Painted, organized, purchased a new bed. Only thing left is new sofas and thats in the Jan 2010 budget.

8)Dave Ramsey’s baby steps: Still working on building the 3-6 months emergency fund. Very close. And I perfected the art of budgeting.

9) Finish scrapbook to date, Dori’s baby book, and start online scrap-booking: done

10) Maintain a healthy weight, exercise routine and diet: I lost 10 pounds and plan to lose some more. Had lost more then went on a cruise - definitely a diet killer. Still working on the baby weight coming off.

11) Read through the Bible again in 2009: Got to Chronicles and took too long of a breather and lost momentum. When I got back into it I skipped to the New Testament. Didn't quite finish.

Not too bad a guess but not perfect. Normally I'd have a tendency let this get me down but I learned a lesson this year that I'd forgotten: The turtle always wins! I'm not quite sure how I forgot this but I did. Fast and steady is what I always want to be but it doesn't always work that way for me. Slow and steady. I'm making improvements every day and I'll cross that finish line just as soon as I can.

So as I continue my steady progress, here are my resolutions for 2010.

1) Lose more weight. I'm doing a few new things this year. I'm sticking to keeping a food diary. I AM going to plan my meals ahead of time. And I'm running four 5k races this year. Let me know if you are running one and I'll run with you.

2) I'm making 52 new recipes this year. My kids, hubby and I sat down and picked out 52 new dishes that sounded good and we are going to cook them together this year. I'm so excited about trying new things and the family time we'll have together.

3) I'm having a date night once per month. Luckily I've got someone in mind.

4) Do my very best on my Board of Ordained Ministry paper work and interviews. Prayers appreciated.

5) I'm doing the short term Disciple OT and NT intro studies with Jennifer Ellison. We are working out how to do these types of studies in an online format for future small groups.

6) I'm going to continue to listen and follow God's call in my life.

What are your resolutions for 2010? How are you planning on making your mark? WARNING: Publishing your resolutions may lead to actually accomplishing your goals! It sure helped me in 2009.

Happy New Year and may you be the turtle!

Until Everyone Hears,

Making Room

I took Shane to the orthodontist today for a consultation. It seems he doesn't have enough room for all his permanent teeth to grow in so we are going to have to make room for them by pulling some baby teeth that aren't loose. I say we but I really mean the dentist. By making some room in his mouth, his permanent teeth will be able to come in at the right places and be stronger. Otherwise he'll end up with a mouthful of what I like to call "shark" teeth.

Unfortunately its not always that easy to make room. Our Christmas tree this year runneth over. For the first time we've had to turn ornaments away that would otherwise be bestowed the honor of hanging on our tree. We've tried to load down the tree as much as we could but alas they don't all fit. We really can't afford a second tree this year nor are we able to make room for one so instead we have the second string ornaments in a Christmas tin on a table near the tree.







It wasn't possible for people to make room for Jesus when he was born. The town was crowded and rooms were already "over booked." So instead he was born in a stable. Joseph and Mary both had to make room in their hearts for Jesus. Mary asked how it could happen. Joseph wanted out. But they both made room for Jesus and welcomed him into the world. The inn keep could have just said "sorry" but instead offered a stable.

We don't always give Jesus our best and we don't always welcome him the first time but making room for Jesus is what Christmas is all about. Sometimes its painful, confusing, hard, or smelly (think about a stable) but when the room is made, miracles happen.

I hope that you can make room in your life for Jesus and see the miracles only he can bring.

Until Everyone Hears,