adding a little more good

Hello friends! Here's to hoping your Christmas was MERRY + BRIGHT and that your New Year is filled with wonderful possibilities! I hope with the fresh start of 2013 you are filled with anticipation and hope.

Ok, for some reason I have never liked the term "New Year's Resolution." Maybe it's because year after year, when asking my Grandma Flo about her resolutions for the new year she would state with confidence {and sass, of course}, "Why make a resolution on Jan. 1? If you want to change something, just start any of the 365 days of the year." Well, Grandma Flo, I agree. I also just looked up the word "resolution" and news to me {but probably not to my smart friends}, some synonyms are: plan, commitment, intention, purpose. "Hmmm...Purpose" {said while rubbing my chin and squinting my eyes}, I like that. Ok then- My hope and purpose for 2013 is to

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Add a little more GOOD. 

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It's broad yet simple. Why? Well, by being intentional with my actions, I hope to increase the opportunity to brighten someone else's day, but more importantly experience and learn the true nature of God's love and mercy. This will take shape in many forms. The avenues to achieve this shouldn't be too lofty, but through attainable tasks I do already...just adding a little more thought behind it, and in turn, a little more good to it. Starting points include: 

1. Visit. Giving up my coveted 30 minute lunch break in solitude to eat and visit with one of my students. 

2. Memorize. I want to be able to recall scripture to encourage myself and others. You know sometimes when you are talking to a friend and you want to encourage them and you say, "ya know, in the Bible somewhere, it says something about...fill in the blank." Well, I want to know exactly what it says. So I will put up one verse a week in my kitchen to recite as I brew coffee and make dinner. Starting today.

3. Reduce. As a true environmentalist's wife, I will reduce my footprint. I have already bought several reuseable boxes for Christmas next year as opposed to mounds of wrapping paper. I will also cart around and utilize those reusable bags not only grocery shopping, but everywhere- Target, Lowe's, CVS-- here comes the reuseable bag girl. Lastly, I am seriously considering eliminating bottled water altogether in our house. Goodbye my beloved Evian. Things are getting real.    

4. Help. This is a hard one. I want to help out and get to know my neighbors...not like my figurative neighbors but the people who literally live next to me. I don't know the people I live by and I want to change that. How do I put this- in our neck of the woods, we are not short on old people. So it shouldn't be hard to think of ways to help; however, we never see anyone, ever. I think we are the only people who stay up past 8:30 PM or leave our house daily.  When raking leaves, we can can also rake the leaves of Mr. leave-the-garage door-up-every-afternoon or simply take some extra cookies we were already baking across the street to Mr. safari-hat-and- orange-shorts. 

The point is to be more intentional with the tasks that over time become habitual, thoughtless, and mundane. Adding a little more good to each day! As we look on this new year expectantly, I am both reminded and encouraged by this verse {and just so happens to be the verse to memorize for week 1, imagine that}: 

"He has shown you...what is GOOD. 

And what does the Lord require of you? 

To act justly 

and to love mercy 

and to walk humbly with your God. "

{Micah 6:8}