Say and Choose

So many blog friends have been posting their one-word theme for 2013. It's a word to try to live by over the next year. Instead of choosing one word, I've been thinking about two actions that I want to keep in mind over the next 12 months.

SAY YES

and

CHOOSE JOY

The first applies mostly to my kids, well, to Jax at this point. I am so good at saying "Just a minute, buddy", "I'll be right there, babe", "I'll do it once I finish...". This year, I'm making a big effort to JUST SAY YES. Dishes, laundry, chores can wait. As Jax grows up, he won't remember whether there were dishes in the sink but he will remember that his mommy never had time for him. I would be a failure as a mom if that's what my children grow up and remember about their childhood. This year, I'm saying yes to Candy Land, and Chutes and Ladders, and puzzles, and crafts, and story time, and movie nights. Because that's how memories are made.

The second is a goal for myself because I struggle with fear. My mind is always going a million miles an hour with every possible outcome for every possible situation. I wouldn't necessarily consider myself a pessimist, but I tend to think about bad things happening... Especially to my kids or myself. There are times when it feels completely overwhelming/terrifying and I KNOW that God does not want us to live that way. So this year, I am CHOOSING JOY.

My mom gave me this book for my birthday (back in August), and that is the main message. To find God's gifts in our everyday lives. To know that bad things can and do happen, but that God loves us through and through. He will always, ALWAYS hold our hearts in his ever-loving hands. This isn't a magic cure for my fear. The scary thoughts still happen, but I am choosing to focus on the good. I am choosing joy.

*Read more about choosing joy

*Ann Voskamp's blog

 *Take the Joy Dare