What if?

The new year has come and I find myself surrounded by resolutions, many of which flow naturally from questions that must be asked...

What if... I finished this book and published it one way or another?

What if... I was less motivated by selfish desires and more by a servant's heart?

What if... I stopped stressing out about where we are all headed and enjoyed more of where we are?

What if... I trusted God with those things that worry me instead of trying to handle them myself?

What if... I reached out in my speaking ministry and let it blossom in that way?

What if... I found an agent who has knowledge and experience to direct my speaking and writing?

What if... I looked for daily sources of joy and helped my family do the same?

What if... I remembered the importance of following God's lead and helped my children to follow, too?

What if... I focused less on having and more on releasing things?  

What if... I took my health a lot more seriously and started feeling stronger?

What if... I worked on friendships the way I did when I was young?

What if... I put the amount of energy into my marriage that I know our marriage demands?

And lastly... What if I did not find excuses, did not manufacture excuses... but instead sought to do and be those things I know I need to do and be?  What does that mean for me?  For my family?  For my speaking? For my writing?  

It is a brand new year.  There are things about my humble life that I love... and things I know could use some change.  But, I cannot change what I do not see... So, it is time to see.  It is time for me, time for my family, time for you, as well.  

Because, really.  Think about it.  

What if... 

Blessings on your day.  

Writing, Speaking and Resolutions

This week is beginning with an overwhelming feeling that I am somehow behind. With a holiday yesterday, Monday is gone, and Tuesday is knee-deep in details. I have things to mail, a bank stop to make, an article to write, a blog to mull over and speaking engagements to plan. I have a lasagna to cook, garlic bread to bake, kids to care for and a marriage that cannot be set aside. There are a lot of things to do and while all of it is chosen, it leaves me wanting a nap.

Last week, a friend of mine asked on Facebook what dreams we had for ourselves. Given the fact that my resolutions are still fresh in my mind, the answer came quickly for me. I want to write. I love my speaking ministry and want to do more. Two easy sentences but so much to do!

So, today I am breaking it down and looking at it piece by piece. Sometimes, when we make those New Year's Goals, we are left with a broad stroke, a beautiful dream on a huge canvas. But the picture will only become clear as the details are added... a splash of ink here, a flower there, a bit of red, a glimmer in an eye, a shadow or highlight and then before our eyes, a masterpiece!

Today is my day of details. I am reminding myself that it is not enough to want to write. I must, in fact, do it. I must plan an outline, do my research, pray for guidance and wisdom and pull together the message that I want to share. It is not enough to passively accept speaking engagements. I must, in fact, seek them, advertise for them, expand my topic list and then get the word out. It is not enough to make the goals. I must, in fact, break them down into tiny pieces and then find room in my life to chip away at that list. It is in accomplishing these little things that the beauty of the whole will begin to be seen.

In the end, my to-do list will sound less like a bunch of "have-to" and more like a lot of "want-to". Because that is really the truth. Today may be full and I may feel behind but I am privileged to work at what I love to do.

So tell me. Need a speaker? I would love to help you out. Planning a parenting retreat or MOPs group or MOMs Group? It is what I do and what I love and you and I need to chat. Need a writer? Peruse the blog and see what you think. I have several works in progress and am excited to do more.

What about you? What resolutions did you set for yourself that someone here might be able to help you reach? How amazing would it be if we came together and helped one another to do the very things that God is nudging us to accomplish this year? I want to speak more. I want to write more. What about you?

Blessings on your day.