2014: Week in Review {Weeks 1 & 2}

Eleven days into the new year. We’ve made it through the first full week of real life. As I shared (and others echoed) on the Facebook page last night, this week was a tail-kicker. The holiday break was much-needed and so refreshing, and everyone was enjoying it so much, I think it was hard to get our heads around school and structure and getting out of our pajamas again. And the fact that we hit the ground running from day one, rather than the normal ease-in, I think affected things too. And while I did enjoy my beloved tortilla chips yesterday, I resisted the urge to hide in my closet while eating them.

In spite of the busy and the tiring, it’s been a wonderful start to the year. Goals and plans are laid out. Personal and family challenges are set forth. We are striving to memorize more Scripture, be more intentional / affectionate / encouraging, spend more time as a family and less mindless time on screens. The goal is not perfection but progress, that by the end of the year we will have reset some default behaviors and change what we are characterized by. It’s going to be a good year. But not because of our plans or hopes or goals, but because God is in it with us, going before us. And He may derail our plans and take us on a new, wild, unexpected journey this year. And it may be hard and exhausting and nothing like what we are praying for, but we can trust Him in all of it. And as much as I love to look at my list of goals and the plans I have made, I have to continue to hold it all loosely because things can change quickly and obedient trust is the only way to follow Jesus in this unpredictable world we live in.

And the joy hunt continues into the new year, as I still count those 25 “days” of joy…..

Joy Find #17 – Snow Ice Cream

In the midst of the Polar Vortex last weekend, some of the girls enjoyed all of the snow and the cold that came with it. The rest of us did not. But, we did all enjoy a little snow ice cream….

Joy Find #18 – Wonder

I finished my first book of the year. Category – Kid’s Pick. My kids often tell me I need to read this book or that, but because my reading time is so limited and our reading tastes are so different, I rarely get around to it (although I’m trying to do better!). My 5th and 6th grader read Wonder last semester for a literature class and both insisted I had to read it. I’m so glad I did! I struggled to get into it at first, but quickly found I couldn’t put it down. It’s a beautiful story and every one should read it. A particularly powerful tale for that middle school age about the power of kindness.

I especially love this quote near the end….

If every single person in this room made it a rule that wherever you are, whenever you can, you will try to act a little kinder than necessary – the world really would be a better place. And if you do this, if you act just a little kinder than is necessary, someone else, somewhere, someday, may recognize in you, in every single one of you, the face of God.