Monday, January 07, 2008

new year's resolution.....

i have been thinking about my new year's resolution for the last week. i was really struggling with it this year cause i didn't want to make it about me. i feel like every year i make a resolution it is a selfish one. it may not be bad, usually it is eating healthier or excercising more..you know the typical resolutions :) last year it was to run a half marathon, and i did it and it felt great! but this year nothing selfish felt satisfying to my soul. while on a long run on saturday i couldn't stop thinking about two things, so i knew that i needed to make them my new year's resolutions....

1) To SLOW down- while on my run i was thinking about the new year and thinking about ALL of my commitments. it's only january 5th and i practically have every day full. i need to learn it is okay to say 'no', and to not do everything. it is okay to stay home all day and just play with the kids, go on walks, ride our bikes. we don't NEED to be with a group of people at a park all the time. it's okay to only work in isaiah's class once a month. it's okay to not be in bunko. it's okay to only meet with my prayer group once a month. i want to enjoy my kids while they are still young and want to spend time with me. i don't want to look back and feel like i missed it cause my calendar was too full. i want to make time to spend with my husband. i don't want to be walking out the door as he is getting home cause i HAVE to be somewhere at 7...when i got home from my run on saturday i sat down with my calendar and made a list of all my commitments, one by one i cut it down. my calendar looks GREAT now and i am so excited. i don't feel stressed any more about the new year and i think the people that will benefit most of all will be my family and that is the most important thing to me.
(...btw, i am running another half marathon this year, we have to have a little something for ourselves, don't we? :)...)

2) TO BE MORE GIVING -i never really thought of myself as NOT a giving person until our family went through seth losing his job. through this trial in our lives our friends and family were SO giving. i was so amazed and humbled by it all. in the new year i want to be more focused on other people and i want to give. it may not always be money either, it may be babysitting, meals, a listening ear, a car ride, a prayer. and i want to do it with a pure heart, just because i love them. this is the kind of giving that we recieved and in this new year and new chapter in our lives i want to give back.

4 comments:

DL said...

What beautiful resolutions, Jenni. Good luck with them. I will pray for your continued to dedication to slow down! I have done that a lot in the past few months and it has made my life a ton easier! And, good luck with your next half marathon!

Anonymous said...

Those are great ideas Jenni. Thanks for sharing. I especially relate to number 1--slow down. find rest. BE with God.

Our Family said...

Thanks for sharing those resolutions...sometimes I feel like the opposite but after hearing you it made me think more and its ok if I don't have something to do everyday. Just having a couple or a few commitments a week is plenty :)
I am also proud of your commitment to running...keep it up!

Kim Tostada said...

hopefully I'm not repeating too much of what has already been said but those are great and encouraging resolutions. It's neat that your already taking action to slow things down.. Thanks for sharing what God is doing in your life.