This Year...

I've been dealing with a bit of a cold these past few days, which really stinks when you are pregnant. There isn't much you can take to get it out of your system. 

Anyways, since I was feeling miserable Sunday morning, I ditched church to get some much needed rest. Any sleep past 9AM these days results in a massive headache, which is also hard to cure being pregnant, so I didn't sleep in as much as I would have liked. After I got up, I looked up some New Year's resolution articles on LDS.org. I came across a talk by Elder Jeffery R. Holland, titled "The Best is Yet to Be." It really didn't cover resolutions, but more looking forward into the New Year and not dwelling on the past but learning from it. There is one quote that I would like to focus my year around.

As a new year begins and we try to benefit from a proper view of what has gone before, I plead with you not to dwell on days now gone nor to yearn vainly for yesterdays, however good those yesterdays may have been. The past is to be learned from but not lived in. We look back to claim the embers from glowing experiences but not the ashes. And when we have learned what we need to learn and have brought with us the best that we have experienced, then we look ahead and remember that faith is always pointed toward the future. Faith always has to do with blessings and truths and events that will yet be efficacious in our lives.

I love how he defines faith. As members of the church, I think that each day we set a goal to be a better person, so that we may be worthy of specific blessings and those blessing come through faith.

Elder Hollard's talk wasn't quite specific to resolutions, nonetheless it did inspire me to add to my list of things to do this year. That being said, I have always been bad a making resolutions. I think of them and that's about it. I came up with something things I wanted to accomplish this year about twenty four days ago, and that's about it. However this year, I thought it would effective to make them goals, to write them down, and maybe take advantage of the inspiration I received from Elder Holland.

This year...

I want to read the Book of Mormon at least twice. I am hoping for three, but two is the minimum. I'd like to have round one done before baby boy arrives

I want to spend more time studying my primary lessons. The lessons leave so much room for more studying and I honestly love the stories.

I want to keep a weekly journal. I used to be so good at this in high school. Reading back on old embarrassing entries actually offered some really amazing personal insights.

I need to blog weekly too.

Keep my kitchen clean. Brett and I are the worst at letting dishes pile up. The kitchen doesn't even have to be spotless, there can be a dish or two in the sink. Or even a box of cereal on the counter. I just want it it take three minutes to clean when it gets messy, not thirty.

Hang pictures up. I am horrible at hanging a frame without a picture. I have tons of picture on my computer and like three on the wall.

Start a food storage. I have been meaning to do this for the past three years, and this time it is getting done.

Three things I can do by myself and three things Brett and I can work on together. Since we are twenty four days into the year we have just started some of these, but others, like the kitchen thing, have been amazingly successful. So, this time next year I will report back and see how I did. Wish me luck.