My One Word

I recently read a blog that suggested choosing one word to focus on for the year. What a great idea! I can set "resolutions" but I know as well as anyone else that those die about the 2nd week of February. However, if everything I focus on comes back to one word and goal, I can really be focused; instead of turning on a light, I am pointing a laser. My word that I choose is CHRIST. I cannot do anything without Him and I am nothing without Him. I can try to lose weight, be a good mom, be a good wife and person, prepare lessons, have a clean house, do my projects, etc..., but I cannot make true changes without Him. I can only truly be happy and have peace with Him in my life. So, here is my journey as I focus on Christ through study and life experiences.

One of the main things I am going to do is to make this year a study of Christ and His life, His teachings and the prophecies regarding His first and second comings. I will use the New Testament, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and talks from Prophets and Apostles. I also have the opportunity to learn from the Old Testament especially as I prepare for Gospel Doctrine lessons. I have never really cared for the Old Testament; I've always felt it's so random and piece-meal, but I am excited to get to know Christ through the Law of Moses, which He has now fulfilled. The calling I once dreaded and feared has now become a huge blessing and opportunity.

I also want to focus on my relationship with Him by writing down 5 things everyday that I am grateful for and/or miracles in my life. I want to recognize His hand in my life always--even when life gets hard. I have seen the Lord bless me so many times, and I wonder if I have expressed adequate gratitude for those things. I have bad habit of saying “thank you” and then kind of setting it aside. I know I want a little more appreciation shown to me for things, I’m sure Heavenly Father would like that as well.

The Lord gave me talents to bless my life and those around me. This year I want to get to know my like my Savior knows me. I recognized yesterday that when I am close to the Spirit, I am more creative with different ideas. Those are obviously good if when I am living right I have them, but when I am not I don’t. I want to write them down and follow through making them—the ones I can—because I think it is a talent.

Heavenly Father has given me a perfectly healthy, wonderful body. Unfortunately, I have gained weight that is not healthy to have. So this year, I still want to lose weight but this time I want to involve Christ so that I can figure out why I gained all this weight. I want to understand how to correct those challenges so that I can move on and get the weight off. Not only that but I want to be able to understand what is healthy for me and my family—not the zillion different pieces of “advice” that comes from different special-interest groups.

So here is a record of my journey this year as I learn about Christ from the scriptures and my relationship with Him through life experiences.

Today I am grateful for

1. Mom friends at the school. There are a few of us moms that hang out and let our kids play after school while we visit. I have missed visiting with my friends for about a month because of Spencer's surgery. Today I wanted to keep the house quiet for Jamie to study for his exam for as long as possible, so we sat and chatted for almost an hour. It made the time go fast for me and for the kids. They are also such an example of good moms; they are involved with their kids, know what is happening in their lives and want the best for their kids. It is a pleasure to associate with such wonderful women.

2. Hugs from my kids. I love it when my kids just come up and hug me. Ryan especially does this a lot and I love it.

3. Jamie and all his hard work for his exam. Tomorrow is the first exam for his CPA license. He has been studying a lot and we are praying for him to get at least an 80 %. I am grateful that he is willing to put all of this time in studying so that he can get a better job which in turn provides more for our family.

4. Smiles from Caleb. He is growing so fast and I love every little smile I get from him. I am so glad to have this little angel in my life.

5. Good neighbors. Jamie thought he ran out of gas today because his car wouldn't start. I was able to call Marissa, my neighbor, and borrow a gas can and she was totally willing to help. I love having neighbors that I know I can call and hope that they feel they can call me.