Words of the New Year

I’m a total sucker for New Years Resolutions. I’m a natural-born list maker so this makes total sense. But really, I love the excuse for a fresh start, even if it’s just another day or another page on a calendar.

As I get older, and busier, I have adopted a different “resolution” method. Instead of specifics like traveling more, working out every day of the week or promising myself I am not going to eat so much chocolate and wine (who am I kidding) – I have started to pick words or phrases at the recommendation of several smart people 😉  It took me a while to figure these out because I wanted something  “impactful”. But the more I relax and embrace them, the more I see just how “impactful” these words really are.

This year my words are:

Gratitude + Simplicity

We have had a lot of change and ups and downs in the past year, so learning to live out true gratitude has been an ongoing but worthwhile challenge. It’s amazing that we can forget to live with gratitude when we have so much to be thankful for – we skip right over those beautiful little moments and focus on the ugly, the hard, and the uncomfortable. I had picked up Ann Voskamp’s devotional, One Thousand Gifts to help me on my way. While her style of writing is a little poetic for my taste, I needed short little blurbs I could read and reflect on each day, so it was perfect.

With my husbands new job, our upcoming move, and the arrival of a new baby this summer, learning that it’s ok to simplify life – taking a step back from “responsibilities” that have gotten out of control, thinning out our “belongings” in our home (clothes, books, toys, extra STUFF), and embracing the beauty of simplicity and “ordinary” in the every day has been liberating for me as a wife and mom. I like to think I can do it all, see it all, please them all, and still somehow feel balanced. Not the case. With all the changes this past year I found the need to reassess things – the needs of our family, and (gasp) MY personal needs.

I have really come to love the personal meaning behind these words/concepts for my family and I, and it gives me plenty of material to reflect and pray on each day – as well as brainstorming how I can bring out each one in a different way. Would love to hear how everyone else is living 2017 🙂

xo J