There's generally a lot of talk about
new year's resolutions in the first weeks of January. Some people
make heartfelt resolutions and take them very seriously.
Others are just as adamant about NOT making any resolutions. I like
to make easy resolutions that I know I will keep (like, eat chocolate
every day, sleep at night . . . )--it's kind of a morale booster
after the crazy holiday season.
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| New Year's celebration at our house! |
This year, though, I'm wondering what
would happen if I thought less about what new thing I want to do and
more about what new things God is already doing within me and around
me. What if I set aside New Year's resolutions and
focused on New Year's recognitions?
So share with us your thoughts about "new things" as we begin 2013:
What are your
thoughts on New Year's resolutions in general? On your New Year's
resolutions in particular?
--Link us up with any relevant blog posts! Here's the html code you'll need to give us a direct link:
<a href="the url of your blog post goes here">what you want the link to say goes here</a>
What new thing is
God doing in your life? In your family? In your ministry?
What new gifts is
God offering you for the year ahead?
**And just so you know, posting the Monday Extras is a new thing for me this year--while Martha is on sabbatical. I'm glad to be part of the Rev. Gals team! ~Joanna
I never make New Year's Resolutions. However, I am coming to the end of the second year of "new" call - which means it is not so new anymore. I am now really part of the system of the place - which is good because it feels like a good fit for all concerned, and not so good since I now have lost the "outsider/new person" eyes for seeing what works and what doesn't. But that is just they way it - one can't be both a part of the system and new at the same time
ReplyDeleteAnyway, all of that is a prelude to what is new in me this year, 2013. And that is, building off of a phrase that Jan Richardson offered in her Illuminated Advent Retreat - I am no longer looking to find "balance" in my life, rather I am trying to live into the "rhythm" of my life.
Living into the rhythm means I learn to live with the ebb and flow of busyness while still maintaining some semblance of sabbath time, exercise, and the other pieces of life that enable me to be healthy.
So - what is God doing in my life this year? Guiding me in my effort to dance to the rhythm and feel the heartbeat of God.
Welcome, Joanna, and thank you!
Thanks, Terri. I like the focus on rhythm instead of balance. Partly because "balance" suggests we have to take on and/or give up things to make it all balance. "Rhythm" is a matter of taking whatever is there and arranging it in life-giving ways.
ReplyDeleteJoanna, Welcome!
ReplyDeleteI have never had much success with resolutions (though I make them again and again); I think recognitions would perhaps be a more spiritually grounded approach for me!
I think one thing God is doing is helping me to find my way through years of dysfunction around my diet and body issues. I am finally learning how to care for myself-- not because I said I'd do it on January 1, but because I am listening to the still small voice and trusting it, and learning to recognize it when it speaks through, say, a friend. This feels powerful, but not in a clutching "I'm in control" way. More in a "I'm cooperating with what is best for me" way.
Thanks for this lovely reflection and opening to your work for RGBP!
Peace,
Pat