I am not one for a lot of New Year's resolutions. To me, if it's important to you, you do it right away.
 

However, there is something refreshing, cleansing one might say, to turning the page into a new year. A new start.

 

This year I have prayerfully considered some goals to look towards in the new calendar year. I wouldn't say that they are beginning now because it's what others tend to do but are beginning because of the season I am entering.

 

As I have been thinking about the goals, I have been diving into how to approach them. If you know me, you know, I am an all in kind of gal. I'm not going to do it unless it's done 100%.

 

That leads me right into a new mindset I am allowing myself this year...

 

I am in a season in which I do not have an exorbitant amount of time or energy. (Actually, if I'm being honest, limited might be the word I'd use in place.) I often set high and unreasonable standards in myself and if I can't attain those high standards I set on myself, I generally refuse to begin.

 

 

 

This year I am shifting my perspective, it doesn't have to be done perfectly, it just has to be done.

 

This goes with many things. An example..

 

If I don't have the time or energy to get the entire kitchen cleaned and scrubbed, I just don't do a thing. Whereas this year, I am going to focus on beginning. I may not have the time to deep clean the kitchen but I can unload and reload the dishwasher. I can put away dishes and wipe down the counters. 

 

Hopefully by shifting my mindset, letting go of high standards and giving grace to myself, I will be better able to care for myself and my family.

 

" For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace."

 

- Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

 

This year I also came to the mind of picking a word for our family. A word in which we  continually meditate on and seek Christ as we grow in wisdom of it.
 

The word I chose was Believe.

 

There are so many reasons I chose this word.
 

We have had a lot of situations arise in the past eighteen months that have brought a lot of question to where God is during a season of pain. I want my family to rest assured and believe that God is sovereign and He knows the plans He has for us. Plans not to harm us but to bring us hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).
 

We also have a daughter whom I am continuing to pray can believe with all her heart that Jesus loves her, we love her and she is indeed able to be and deserving of love.
 

Andy and I are also coming to some future paths where we are seeking God's will and praying for wisdom and discernment. We choose to believe that God has us in His hands. He knows the sparrows in the sky and cares for them (Matthew 6:26). Why wouldn't be know our future and care about it?
 

As I looked to other goals to make, I could have jumped on the bandwagon of losing weight and getting healthy but I wanted there  to be more.
 

I wanted holistic health. I wanted a rounded health that encompassed all in which composed  me. The Word tells me that I am a temple. Caring just for the outer temple and neglecting the inner temple does nothing. Whereas striving to maintain the temple as a whole is where my focus needs to be.
 

Spiritual: I need a daily quiet time. I need to get up and ground myself in the Word. This is another one of those "well it's not going to my standard so I'm throwing in the towel" situations. I was getting up and as soon as I cracked open my Bible one of the kids came tiptoeing down the stairs. I gave up. Why? Why would I do that? Because in my mind, I was not getting the time that I needed. What I failed to consider was that I was getting the time we needed. I could pull a child on my lap and read the Word with them. I could pray with them. I (we) need to be an example of a mother diving into God's manual like a person drowning dives for a life vest. There is no shame in my children seeing that I need God and His word to get through the day. I need to drink in His goodness, wisdom and promises. I (we) need to bring these sweet souls on board. This year, my goal is to embrace that quiet time and make it a daily priority.

 

Mental: I am big cheerleader for read aloud time for my kids. They need to take in good literature. They need a good vocabulary from the text we read. They need to be pushed and pulled and learn from the great books we read. So it begs to question, why isn't this a need of mine? This year my goal is to read a book a week that is meant for mamas. For grown women. Woot! I just got all excited typing that. I will be diving into all kinds of literature. I am praying that I grow in knowledge. I cannot wait to sure my reads with you!

 

Emotional: Whew buddy! I just had baby number six. I am all over the map emotionally. Some people are extroverts and feel better after chatting with friends or their spouse. Some people feel better after watching TV. I am not one of those people. I am not good at sitting or communicating. My emotional outlet is writing. Just getting it all out. I've tried several different ways. Journals (kids lost them.) Blogs (I forget the computers password.) Letters/emails (Too much communicating.) Vlogs (Look at my hair. Turn it off!) With all that being said and the rise of personal computers that call people (aka handy dandy cell phones), I found an app that I can just pull up, start writing my thoughts and it posts. I love blogging and I think this will be a good fit. My goal is to blog once a day. Now some of those may be shared to the public and some may be private. Real life happens here. Real private life sometimes and it's not to be shared but needs to be processed. I am sure there will be a lot of both.
 

Also, I need a hobby and blogging will serve two purposes!

Another goal or boundary I am setting in place this year is restricting my time amount and viewing of social media. Social media has it's place. I, personally, really enjoy how it connects to me with other mamas. I have gleaned much wisdom from using social media. With the connections and wisdom gained also comes the negative. This world is a scary place. I really don't know how anyone does it without knowing Jesus. It makes me sad. I am constantly harping at my kids that our home is a haven from the world and all it's harshness and sadness. I have started to feel hypocritical because often I am allowing sadness and the world's harshness in just by pulling up Facebook or Instagram. It's so easy to do. We all know, mama sets the mood of the home. If I am depressed and down, I quickly see the tone of the whole house going south.
 

Financial: Look out friends! I'm sure this will be something I write about often. This year the Davis family is having a #yearofno. We are throwing everything we have at our last bit of debt and growing our savings. More about this is sure to come!

 

Marital: I want to set up a weekly date up with Andy. It will probably look like a homemade pie and coffee after we sneak down the stairs from tucking the kids in. It may not look like how many dates look to others but it will be a time of intentional connection. Something I am looking forward to immensely!

 

That's all for now, friends. I hear a babe stirring. Until next post. <3

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2:07 PM

What does Jesus have to do with a glass house?

What in the world? How is that thought even making sense in my mind?

I am sitting here still pondering and placing all my thoughts (or trying) in the correct places. Trying to make sense of all the emotions and feelings and thoughts that swirl in this tired, weary mama's mind.

As I think more about it, I see two sides to my thoughts and many, many emotions. It comes down to these...

What makes me feel like I am in a glass house?

My husband and I live against the grain. As Christ-followers, we often have fellow believers looking at us with mouths wide open and thinking "What are they doing?!". We have often even had such a question asked.

We have many times sought God's will for our family and it is not what others would have ever considered.

I often feel like the glass house consists of me going about my chaotic life with everyone watching. Waiting. Waiting for everything to come apart. Often, I am trying to close the "curtains" on my glass house windows trying to keep the world from seeing. Trying to keep the opinions and nay sayers from seeing.

If it sounds kind of depressing or negative, I have often felt it is. I feel like we check all the "weirdo" boxes.

But then I remember ....

Jesus is in the glass house with me!

Not only is He always with me. All these against the grain things we are doing are by His calling. He isn't just in the house with us, He has orchestrated all the situations and callings in the glass house. It is by His will and our wanting to yield to it that we are by society's thoughts "weirdos".

We are not alone. As we open the Bible, I find that we are in good company. It is full of stories of people going against society's norms. Look at Noah. Poor Noah.

But most of all, look to the one whom we wish to serve -- Jesus. He went against every norm there could be. He is the ultimate example.

As Paul says in Philippians -- "For to me, to live in Christ and to die is gain."

As mamas, as Christ-followers, as glass house dwellers - we must live daily as Paul states and rejoices. We have to remember that no matter the opinions of society, friends, family, fellow believers - we need to keep the thought of living in Christ - by His will -  YET dying, whether by friendships depleting, people gaping, opinions being ousted, hard decisions where reputations are on the line, we should see that as a privilege and rejoice. We should see it as becoming more like Christ. We should rejoice!

As I am writing this, I feel empowered. The spirit is moving. The Jesus bumps are a pricklin'!

This is our journey in the glass house - where societal norms and Christ will collides. I'm sure this is just the first entry of many.

10:59 AM