Word for the Year 2013

Happy New Year! Or as they say in Turkish - mutlu yilar!  That actually means happy new years, because they want all your years to be happy ones.

One of the quilting blogs that I love - Crazy Old Ladies - had a great post about choosing a word for the new year. As opposed to making a list of resolutions that will be forgotten by March, she and others are choosing one word to focus on and live by for the year.  I loved this idea and thought for a few days about what word I would choose. I liked her word - Joy, but that didn't seem right for me.

In the end, I chose Faith.  I tend to have a problem with doubting myself.  I sometimes have anxiety about my choices and how they will influence my future and that of my children.  And I think that the antidote to all that worry is an increase in faith.  Have you heard the expressions about faith and fear not existing in the same heart at the same time? And that worry is a lack of faith? Well, I'm going to put those to the test.

I want to have more faith in myself - that my efforts really are enough with the Lord's grace. That the decisions I made in the past were good, inspired ones. And that I really can handle my life and its challenges.

I want to have more faith that God has a plan for each of my children. That He can help them overcome their challenges, develop their talents and lead them into a bright future. I have often struggled with feeling overwhelming responsibility for my children and their futures that totally discounts God's role in their lives.

I want to have more faith in God's love. More faith in His ability to heal what needs healing. I want to internalize better how His grace makes up for my many imperfections. And by leaning on that, I want to be more accepting of myself, flawed as I am.

Finally, I want to do better at practicing my faith. Doing those small but significant things each day that allow me to live my religion or faith to the best of my ability. I want to show devotion through obedience and consistency.

I have a necklace that came to me in a roundabout way. It has three keys hanging on a chain. The keys say faith, hope, and charity.  On Sunday I removed the hope and charity keys and wore the necklace with only the faith key.  I am going to try to wear that necklace often this year to remind me of my resolution word.

One more thing - I am trying a new practice. Its not a resolution, just a different way of doing something I already do, keeping a journal. I saw this idea on pinterest and wanted to try it. I purchased this calendar notebook from the BX.

It has enough room on each day to write a paragraph or so. So each night before bed I write a short paragraph about the day. Its a great way to journal without the pressure of writing long thorough descriptions of events. I'll still do some longer journaling from time to time in my other journal as well. But I'm super excited about doing mini-journaling everyday.

Anybody else trying something new for the new year?