So, here they are...Goals...not resolutions ;)
1. Go to the Temple once a month
2. Be committed to the thoughts/concerns I have of others
3. Finish the Book of Mormon by July
4. Personal prayer and scripture study everyday
5. Be present
I'll break it down further. (These are my thoughts that I wanted to jot down of why I made these goals. Feel free to keep reading but it is quite lengthy.)
1. Go to the Temple once a month
We are awful at going to the temple. Yes, we go. But I don't feel like it's consistent with a goal of going regularly. It's more like, lets get a babysitter and go to the Temple type of consistency. Going once a month seems so simple but I know my life gets too busy with the everydayness of things that I need to make it a goal, mark it on the calendar, and go!
2. Be committed to the thoughts/concerns I have of others
I have realized that I have always had thoughts come to my mind about concerns for others and never acted on them because I was afraid. I have realized with my calling that I've had for over 2 years that the random but distinct thoughts/impressions I get are Heavenly Father's way of communicating with me and not me going crazy. ;) It has been really humbling the past few months to swallow my pride and tell the RS President, "You know what. I have really been concerned about so and so..." and she will follow up with my impression. Since Thanksgiving I have had 3 sisters in our ward (that I really hardly know) weigh heavily on my mind and it was starting to drive me crazy but as I told the RS President about my concerns she confirmed every single one of them had a completely different trial they were going through that no one knew about. Another example is I was in the Temple last Friday night and in the middle of the session I had a thought as clear as day about Sister Loomis, my Sunday School teacher and Seminary Teacher many years ago. I haven't thought about her in years and I got preoccupied about why I would be thinking about her at that moment in the Temple. After the session I was telling Andy about it as we were going to the car. When we got in the car he turned on his phone and saw that we had a text from his sister about her having her baby. He next checked his emails to see if they sent any pictures and Andy with a smile says look at this. Fully expecting a picture of Tyler I was surprised and got a little teary eyed seeing it was an email from Sister Loomis requesting to be friends on facebook and the request was made sometime during our Temple session. I made this goal so I could see the Lord's hand in my life more.
3. Finish the Book of Mormon by July
I read the Book of Mormon with the kids every morning. We have read it many times because I've done this since South Carolina when Braden was 2 years old. I believe we've read it 3 times. Right now we are in Alma 46 and I made the goal to finish it by July because I want to finish it again before Braden gets baptized. I'm sure we'll get it read by then but I just needed to write it down because it's important to me.
4. Personal prayer and scripture study everyday
I don't know why I struggle with this right now. I've had the same routine since I was about 14 years old with prayer and scripture study but I've noticed over the past year I've gotten out of my routine and it's really inconsistent now. I really need to make it a priority and get back into the habit.
5. Be present
This is a tough one for me. It encompasses a lot. Andy's job is...a roller coaster at times. We have conversations all the time about what we would do if contracts weren't renewed, or this, that, and the other going over all the scenarios that could happen and it is such a distraction mentally for me. I feel preoccupied and not fully "there" at times while I'm home with the kids. I feel a lot of times myself thinking about the past, worried about the future, and the day is just passing by. I hate it when the day is over and I didn't get everything I accomplished because I was too worried about all of the "what if's." I told Andy I have to take life one day at a time and focus on that day and not the "what if's" because it gets too stressful for me. This also includes just letting things go. If my house is a mess (because let's face it, Lily is a one man wrecking crew) just let it be. I have had some days where Andy walks in the door and I'll say, "You'll never guess what I've done all day long..." and I tell him that I've been cleaning the house all day and he looks the messy house and laughs because it's like fighting an uphill battle with Lily. So, I'm going to set aside a time when I clean and then I'm done and I'll go on with my day playing with the kids, running errands, etc. I'm hoping this will make my days more productive and less stressful.
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