Planning....

I'm betting I'm not the only one who's already thinking about the upcoming New Year and my resolutions.  The older I get, the sooner I try to get a jump start on them because I'm realistic enough to know that they'll all be out the window by February anyway;)  Can you relate?  There's 2 things on my resolution list: lose weight and simplify life.  

I've already lost 25 pounds; that's a pretty good start, right?  It's my goal to be at my goal weight/size by spring this coming year.  Thanks to Plexus, I'm positive that I can reach that goal.  Not only am I getting smaller but I'm also getting healthier and that is a HUGE blessing:)  I actually enjoy getting on my treadmill these days... did you just faint?:)  It's true.  Without that extra weight, I don't have such a hard time with my asthma and my joints aren't bothering me as much.  It makes it easier and more desirable to workout, play with the kids, chase the dogs, whatever the day throws at me.  

As for simplifying our life, I'm getting a jump start on that too.  Cleaning out the closets for starters and donating everything rather than storing it till spring for a yard sale.  It's a freeing exercise actually, to shed all your excess "stuff".  It feels just as good as shedding all your extra weight:)  I'm tackling the toys before the holidays hit too, then it's on to all the household stuff that we save, thinking we'll use it one day, but that day never seems to come.  Simplifying life is more than cleaning out though; it's also about putting things into their proper perspective.  I'm spending more time in Scripture and seeking God's guidance in everything.  With God as my true central focus, my life will be in it's proper order and will automatically simplify.  This is the message I want to get through to my children as well.  This world is so full of excess and along with all that it offers comes a ton of stress.  Focus on God, not the world, and the worldly stresses will begin to shed away. 

In 2013 I want to focus on and count all the simple joys... the ones we tend to miss because we are too busy with life's excess to see them.  I'm asking the girls to also keep a blessing journal this new year, so that they can also see the joy in all the little things and not always focus on what they don't have (which honestly, isn't much.  They are incredibly blessed:)  Would you consider joining me on this journey to simplicity?  Look for the little joys and blessings and acknowledge those, even admidst the chaos of daily life.