Here’s To a Mellow New Year!

{sunrise out my living room window this week}

You know why I love New Years, and birthdays and all other marks of passing time?

Because they remind me that I’m growing older and with age comes the hope of maturity and mellowing out.

If ya’ll haven’t noticed, I’m a pretty high-energy kinda gal. I feel bad sometimes, because I know that I completely exhaust some people just by being in the same room. I am intensely analytically, a black and white thinker, passionate about many topics, extroverted, and prone to extreme highs and lows.

{Sometime in the last few years I began to see the benefit of gathering a  few close friends of the opposite personality type to help keep me grounded when something triggers my black and white, way up and down reaction to life. These are the friends who point out to me that what I just said is the complete opposite of the feelings I articulated just yesterday–a sign for me to step back and asses whether I’m yo-yoing (again).}

I have older, wiser friends who claim this kind of mental and emotional hyperactivity in their youth, but time and God’s grace has mellowed them. This is great news for me. This means I might not always be this exhausting–to me or others. I tell you, I am looking forward to mellowing!

I think the Lord must be making some progress in redeeming my personality because New Years used to stress. me. out. My normally analytically self would to into over-drive, hyper-analyzing the past year and all the areas that needed tweaking and improving, and I’d make lists on every available piece of paper of goals in ever area of my life. I would feel that if I had not made a significant number of these goal sheets by the 1st of the new year, something was seriously wrong with me and I was possible jinkxing my new year before it began.

This year I’m not doing that. Some (including my younger, less mellowed self!) would see this as regression. But I claim it as progress. I believe this more peaceful attitude comes from a stronger believe in the promise that,

“…he who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ…” (Phillippians 1:6)

…and less of a reliance on my own strength to change me. I think the promise that

” I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.”  (Isaiah 46:4)

is starting to sink in a little more. I think I’m beginning to relax into the truth that

“The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.” (Proverbs 16:9)

 

My new year’s resolutions are short and sweet.

1) Make God Time Priority

Oh, and you’ll be happy to know, I feel like He’s told me to

2) Continue Blogging

(and Mothering and Wifing, but that’s kinda a given, right?)

Again, this may sound unproductive and unfocused to you–and for you it might be a recipe for disaster–but for me it’s progress, people!

It means I’m starting to mellow! Praise God.

And Happy New Year!

There’s so many great posts out there heralding in the new year–here’s a few of my favorites, touching on both sides of the coin:

• 3 Reasons You Should Be Setting Goals This Year–a post from my friend, Kalyn with a lovely printable goal sheet (FREE because that’s the sorta gal she is).
• Prayer For All of Us Resolution Breakers-–” Lord, help us to examine ourselves and to be introspective without making idols of self-bettering and fulfilled living…” Ruth continually inspires me with her graceful approach to life. This post is right where I’m at with the New Year.

Do you make resolutions? This year do you need to take a more intentional approach to the new year, or are you like me and need to step back a bit from all that resolve and lean more into His promises? I’d love to hear how you are feeling about the New Year…