i {resolve}....

when austin and i had our date night last night, he asked me if i'd made any new year's resolutions.  i sort of vaguely threw some comments out....but honestly, i hadn't really thought about it.  i mean, i'm constantly working on myself.  constantly seeking God's will for my life.....seeking His strenght to make the changes that i know that i need to make.  but sometimes?  sometimes ya just have to make it official-like. 
so i'm putting some resolutions out there.  i've written them down (twice now) so maybe that'll hold me a little bit accountable for them.  so, here goes: 
1.  make my words and actions deliberate.  i am too fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants.  i impulse buy.  i say things before i think about them. 
2.  say "i love you"....and mean it.  at her living proof live event beth moore talked about how we too oftern leave out the "i" in "i love you".  this goes back to being deliberate in what i say.  i need to take ownership for my words.  i need to keep in the "i". 
3.  smile and laugh more.  i worry too much.  i fret over things that are so way out of my control.  matthew 6:34 tells us, "34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
4.  be inhindered in my joy!  i hide my emotions....i always have.  this year, i want to shed that exterior. 
5.  stay.out.of.walmart.  seriously.  it's the devil. 
6.  use what we have as much as possible.  i don't know HOW many times i've opened the pantry and said, "we have NOTHING to eat!".  really?  a whole cabinet of food and we have nothing to eat?  i've been places and seen people who had nothing to eat.  and i am NOT one of them. 
7.  be a positive role model for my children.  this means curbing the road rage.  this might be harder than i thought!
8.  pray multiple times a day.  not just once.  not just twice.  but continuously throughout the day.  i can change NOTHING about myself without my Father's help.  and let others see me pray.  i am so private.....and heaven help me if someone asks me to pray out loud.  i need to get over it. 
9.  give thanks always.  to friends.  to family.  to my God. 
10.  give back.  i am so blessed.  no matter how much i complain about this or that....i am blessed beyond measure.  i know there are those who desperately need help.  austin and i are planning on going back to guatemala this summer.....but there are also those RIGHT HERE who are in need. 
10.  find a family verse (thank you, jason and alicia!!)
11.  breathe before i act.  impatience and a bad temper need reining in. 
12.  keep a prayer journal. 

so there it is.  maybe i'll check back in later on this year and see how i'm doing.  unless, of course, i'm failing miserably.  then, i'll just "forget" to revisit this list ;)