A fresh start. Again.

New Year's Resolutions. I'm against 'em. Actually I would be for 'em if I'd ever in my entire life kept even one of the ones I've made. Just one. But alas....can't recall a single one I've ever kept for more than two weeks. In fact, I could pretty much pull out my list from any given year and just change the date at the top and call it good. I'd save myself a lot of time that way. I could call it my "Every New Year's Resolutions" list.

Remember last year how I said I wasn't going to make resolutions, but I was just going to call them goals because it seems less intimidating? Apparently I was so unintimidated that I still didn't feel the need to keep any of them.

sigh.

And so I'm against 'em. I didn't make even one this year.

I really liked Beth Moore's thoughts regarding new year's resolutions. She suggested that instead of making a list of resolutions as long as your my arm that will be "broken before they're spoken", to prayerfully choose ONE THING I want God to change in me this year. She says, "One of the things God has taught me along the way is to try to hear from Him about one area at a time that He’s pinpointing for change. Much more than that is too overwhelming."

Much more doable - and sensible - don't you think? To be honest, I haven't spent any time yet asking God what that ONE THING would be, but I plan to. Soon. Really. No, really.

Another idea I like that I've seen several different places is the idea of choosing a theme word for the year. A word that will focus your energy, your choices, how you spend your time and resources. Some of the words I've seen chosen by others are Available, Connect, Simplify, Joy, Grace, Love, Kindness, Prayerful, Patience, Intentional, Hospitality, Thankfulness, Contentment, Peace, Community. And since I just can't bring myself to start a new year without some sort of new focus, I thought maybe choosing a theme word would work out better for me than resolutions.

Last month I started hanging out over at Home Sanctuary quite a bit, and Rachel Anne's post about making your home a sanctuary through doing small things every day really encouraged me. I so much want that. And so I had decided that my word for the year was going to be Sanctuary. Seeking and working toward a sense of sanctuary in my home, marriage, parenting, and finances.

But as my self and I were talking about that Sanctuary word (you have conversations with yourself, too, right?) and all it encompasses, a number of other words started coming to mind. Focus. Complete. Intentional. Resolute. Whoa, back up, Nellie, let's not go that far.

And then it dawned on me that perhaps I should be talking over this ONE WORD business with God as well. I have this feeling there's just the slightest chance that the ONE THING He wants to work in me this year may just happen to be coincidentally related to my ONE WORD. Ya think?

And so, here it is January 4th (almost 5th) and I still have no resolutions, no word, and no thing for my new year. I need to get crackin'. It's almost the end of January, for goodness sake! Maybe my word for the new year should be HURRY UP! Or then again, maybe God is trying to tell me my word for the year is going to be.....

Wait.