I'm not sure I've ever really made New Years resolutions. I tend to be a list-maker year round, constantly thinking about what I want to accomplish in the upcoming weeks, and then tweaking and making a new list to reflect things I've forgotten or have gotten behind in... I suppose I could have "resolutions" if I just pulled out my most recent list, but that hardly seems traditional. On the other hand, planning out my goals for an entire year seems presumptuous - not knowing what God has in store for our family. So many things can change in a year! And I hope that through God's merciful kindness, I'm not the same person in even 6 months that I am today. So I take it weeks at a time, constantly reevaluating my priorities, goals, and failings.
However, the beginning of a new year is the perfect time to look back and reflect on what the Lord has done for our family. Although it's not a yearly tradition, we often enjoy taking an evening in the beginning of January to write down the blessings, accomplishments, and trials of the year we've just completed, things we're particularly grateful for, and goals for the future. It's an interesting exercise, especially when we get out previous years' lists and compare what we thought would happen in a year to what actually occurred.
I always feel incredibly blessed when I look back at a year in our lives. God is so incredibly good to us, and I'm ashamed at how long it takes me to come up with the blessing we've been given. It's easy to snub my nose at the forgetful and ungrateful Israelites wandering in the desert - and yet I can so easily have the exact same problem.
Looking to the future, I assume 2012 will in many ways look a lot like 2011 - including two balls, MECHE skits, testing, our state homeschool conference, a trip to the beach, a conference or two, working on the house, and a whole host of other things. I hope my murky brown thumb gets slightly greener. My reading list for 2012 has jumped up from 2011's 42 book list to 56 books. My grandma is moving, so we'll be helping them. Daddy's job will likely change. May will bring an end to the Kincells being a homeschool family when Kelsie dons a cap and gown. And that is just the tip of the iceberg. :)
I am very thankful for what the Lord has done and am looking forward to what He has in store for 2012.
2 comments:
You guys aren't going to homeschool anymore?? Let me lend you this incredible documentary entitled Indoctrination... ;-)
(We're so glad Evan drove all the way to Fairmont and back on Sunday afternoon, just to borrow your DVD. We thoroughly enjoyed it! Even though I already knew some of the problems with the government school system, this had even more information and history than I'd heard before.)
Sorry this didn't get published sooner... Blogger sent your comment to the Spam folder!
I'm glad you all enjoyed the movie! We think all of Colin Gunn's movies are great. And his accent is very cool. :)
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