Hey all! I’ve enjoyed my semi-relaxing month long break from blogging. After passing around seasonal colds and battling our one child’s health issue, it was a very simple yet meaningful Christmas time for us.
I’m hoping this year to post monthly about some more personal schtuff and maybe highlight some old blog posts so they don’t just sit there in the archives. So here goes along with a Christmas photo dump…
January Schtuff
It was a year ago that I dug in to “Rock the Liturgical Year.” Maybe you feel the need to live the liturgical calendar more fully this year. If so, here are a few posts you’ll enjoy:
- January Feast Table
- Our family’s simple way of living the full Christmas season (maybe an idea for next year, but it is certainly not too late this time around!)
- Catholic Family Devotions around the Feast Table
- Maybe order a 2017 Catholic Planner! 🙂
Planting our St. Lucia Wheat
Organizing
January seems to be the month to sort, pitch, donate, and organize everything in our homes. I try to consistently declutter while doing my daily cleaning, but I still find it helpful to have some time devoted to doing a more focused decluttering and organizational spree.
I also find myself revisiting routines and schedules every January. This year, our schedule needs a little more revamping than usual. Our child that is dealing with health issues needs a lot more sleep than before and so our school routine needs to change to accommodate his sleeping in late.
If you are a January organizer, you may like reading through some of these old posts:
Time Management:
- Creating Routines
- Delegating and Creating Routines for our Children
- Creating a schedule
- Biweekly grocery shopping (a time and money saver!)
Cleaning Help:
Basic Organization:
- Organizing kid’s bookshelves (super old post, but the system is so simple and really helps you find things quick even when your kids are the ones putting the books on the shelves)
- Up your meal planning game
Enjoying the local Christmas train display!
My resolutions…
I don’t think of myself a resolution person, but I suppose my constant goal setting would qualify as such. I’ve got two major and very important goals in mind this year.
- Read the whole Bible before January 1, 2017
- Practice mental prayer faithfully every day (I’m starting with 15 minutes and hope to work up to longer by the time the year is out)
I’ve been a Bible reader and a prayer since I was a teenager, but I too often let these habits slip when life gets a little less than accommodating. It’s something I always come back to, but I’m afraid I haven’t been as faithful as I would like to be.
We had a pretty tough year last year (though there were also some high points too!). We are normally a very healthy crew but, by the end of 2016, our family no longer needed to give the clinic receptionists our names. They would recognize us a mile away!
Through it all I continued asking Husband what God was trying to teach us. He seemed to be banging our heads against the pavement trying to teach us something, but I just couldn’t figure out what. In fact, I still don’t know that I’ve gotten the message, but I have learned some lessons that have caused me to make these goals a priority for 2017.
Security is not actually something you can grasp.
I’ve always felt that I was attached to security, but I’ve realized you can’t actually own it. I’m not really into buying flashy things (hey, our newest car is an ’04 rusty Suburban!), but I like to know we have enough money in the bank to pay not only the bills but also large unplanned expenses. I like to know Husband has a steady paycheck and good benefits. I like having a nice home to live in. I like for me and my family members to enjoy good health.
None of these things are bad. In fact, many of these things are just practicing sound and even Biblical wisdom.
BUT… it is all hanging on a thread and God really is our only security.
Lately, as I’ve been falling asleep, I’ll feel my heart pitter-patter and I think how in an instant one tiny process in my body could hiccup and I would no longer be on this earth. I think how easily Husband could get in a car accident and my children would be left without a father and financial support. I think how easily the economy could go south and there would no longer be a paycheck feeding our bank account. How easily could something short in the house and all our earthly treasures would go up in smoke?
It sounds morbid and these catastrophes can be frightening to ponder. Yet, through all the mess of last year, God has shown me HE is faithful. He is the only thing that will never pass away.
I can’t really be attached to security, because it isn’t real. Only He is the same yesterday, today, and always, and I can take rest in that! Can I get an Amen?
Making a Rice Krispy Christmas train (do you sense a train theme?). Notice little Butch lounging on the table eating while the other kids decorate!
Opening ourselves to God is not an option.
If I want to be a saint, if I want to evangelize successfully, if I want to mother well, if I want to grow in holiness then prayer is NOT an choice, it is a prerequisite and requirement.
I don’t remember a day where I haven’t prayed. As I tuck my babies in I whisper a decade or two of the Rosary. The first thing I think of when I wake up is God and I offer him the day ahead and beg Him to help me live it well. I cuddle my children and I can’t help but thank God for them. But I’ve known for some time it isn’t enough and I’m not giving God my best.
I need quiet time, alone with Him. Those prayers I raise to God throughout my day are great, but God wants more than my leftovers. I need to go into my room daily, shut the door and sit and allow Him to work. Less me. Less activity. Less words. More Him.
What do you have planned for your 2017?
