The Blog is Back! (And New Year's Goals)

Hello.  I'm back.  I missed writing on this bloggie bloggie, and the New Year seemed to be a perfect opportunity to rev things back up again.  So thanks to the amazing Laura, the blog has a fresh design (isn't it cute?) and I'm ready to get back into the groove of typing.

At the end of each year, my mind wanders to what sort of goals or priorities I want to pursue in the New Year.  Besides having two children under the age of two years and taking two distance classes and surviving (this is a bit of a tall order - I have only about six weeks left before it becomes reality...yikes!), I thought of three goals that have particular importance for me in the coming months.  This New Year, I desire to:

1. Be fed consistently from the Word of God.  This past year my devotional life has been spotty at best...and I can tell that lack of consistency and discipline in this area makes a difference.  You know those days when you are so busy that you only grab snatches of things to eat here and there and at the end of the day you feel kind of...bleh?  Yep, that's been my spiritual life this year.  Bleh.  To be honest, I'm scared about this goal, mostly because I feel so distant and I don't want to fail.  But I preach about grace constantly and now it's time to live it.
2. Be more honest and less of a martyr.  I want to be honest about my needs and just give up the stupid manipulation game with people - especially Steve.  I want to be able to judge my motivation: will I be all resentful and bent out of shape if I agree to let him play video games instead of requesting his help with the dishes?  Okay, Amelia, be honest.
3. Be intentionally creative.  This goal isn't so very hard for me, but I want to keep it up.  I want to have small or easily accessible projects in mind (thank you, Pinterest!) that can feed my creative spirit on a daily basis.  That's one of the reasons why this blog has been revived and why I just bought yarn and started a sweater for H yesterday.  I want to be creative for myself, and I want to encourage creativity in Harriet.  She is one smart cookie, and as a smart cookie she desperately needs things with which to occupy her over active brain.  I want to finger paint and make play dough and just have fun being creative with her.

There you go.  Three relatively simple goals (and this year I need simple!), but I hope and pray that they will guide the daily decisions of the coming months.

I'm glad to see you all again.  Happy New Year!