Happy {almost} 2014!

2013 has been a whirlwind year.  A wonderful year of challenges and blessings--new house, new baby, new town.  It was a year of embracing the new and letting go of the old. As the frenetic season of Christmas Crazy calms down (Merry Christmas, by-the-way!  I sort of stepped out of blogging this past Advent.), I find myself reflecting on life in general.  Like many others do, as the New Year approaches, I pause to consider the blessings, goals and challenges of this ending year and the year ahead.

Last year, in that swirling sea of change, I determined my one word goal for the year would be "trust".  Lots of changes all-at-once kind of forced me to trust.  As I realized how utterly out-of-control I truly was, I needed to anchor myself to something firm.  Thankfully we have a loving God who is happy to be our rock!  Trust allowed me to feel more steady, amidst the chaos.  My year of trust grew me in many wonderful ways.  Whenever my head started to spin with worry and overwhelm, I was able to steady myself time and time again by reflecting on my one word.

As 2013 comes to a close I've been thinking about my new word for 2014. It came to mind pretty quickly for me:

Present. 

My goal for 2014 is live each moment fully present. Too often I find myself "in my own head"...wrapped up in mental to-do lists, plans for the future...just being elsewhere and missing all joy of the present.  In all of my distraction and half-attention, I rob myself of the beauty of the now.  And of course some moments in life can be brutal.  I'm know all too well about the ugkly moments--the mom-stress, the teething baby, stubbed-toed kid-howls and snippy exchanges with family.  Of course these are all parts of life and don't feel all that beautiful as they occur.  But even in those moments, we can still grow closer to God, to attune ourselves to the life lesson in that moment. And when we stretch ourselves to fully live each moment, the present becomes a present.  A gift to self, an inner-quieting, a place where God can enter and the soul can sing.  I don't want to give away my present away to worldly noise.  I deserve better than that, and my family does, too.  By robbing myself of the present, I also rob my loved ones of the best of me.   So  goodbye to distraction, to worry and half-measures.  God has a plan for me, and I don't want to miss it.  No more idling my time away with fruitless pursuits,  mindless online clicking, numbing TV, procrastinating with chants of  "later, later, later".

I know this is going to be a challenge.  Bad habits creep in slowly, and purging the noise I've let in is not going to be easy. Holding myself accountable, moment-by-moment, to live with intention ALL THE TIME sounds overwhelming, I have to admit!  It strikes that balance of making me want to dive right in and simultaneously run for the hills!  But that's how I know it's right.


2014 promises to bring more change, as I recently discovered I'm expecting our fifth child (due in August!)!   I'm excited and nervous all at once!  Though I don't know what the future holds, I do know that I am fully committed to being present for it all.  I commit to living fully each moment, to seek joy, to live purposefully and find the wee little miracles (apparently I've grown a bit rusty at my own blog title!).


So, whisper a prayer for me as I embark on this year of living the present and I will pray for you, in your goals, too.  Do you have a one word goal this year?  If you do, I'd love to know what it is!  Pop in the combox and let's discuss! :)

Happy New Year, everyone.  I wish you many blessings in 2014!