No More Excuses

Genesis 3:13

Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

I had a difficult pregnancy.

A difficult delivery.

A difficult postpartum year.

I have to take two antidepressants that cause drowsiness and slow my metabolism.

I have 4 kids.

My house is in ruins and I have no energy or motivation to do anything with it, so I can't do school, family game night, or family worship.

The house jobs are so big and overwhelming that I do nothing.

I don't cook much because I don't have enough counter space in my kitchen and because we don't have room to eat together as a family.

I have migraines.

We want to play instead of work when Daniel is home on Saturdays.

I'm late because the kids are slow.

Because there was something wrong with the [fill in with offending appliance/vehicle/animal].

Because someone couldn't find a shoe.

Because I forgot to get gas last night.

Because I slept through my alarm.

Because my drive is so long.

I can't get out of bed because there is no place for the baby to play.

Because I'm tired.

Because there is no room in the house to be somewhere else.

I'm hungry.

I forgot.

I don't feel well.

One of the kids isn't feeling well.

I'm afraid of failing.

I'm afraid of succeeding.

The kids won't pick up after themselves.

I'm just not emotionally/physically/psychologically ready yet.

It all seems to be out of my control.

The list goes on and on for miles.  I am the queen of excuses.  Most of them make sense, too.  I can fool everyone--including myself--into believing that I have legitimate reasons for avoiding responsibilities.  I've spent the last two years avoiding everything except eating, watching TV, being on the Internet, and spending money.  I've avoided school, family, church, friends, cooking, time in prayer and bible reading, my homemaking responsibilities, and any other responsibilities that I have as a result of being a wife, mother, and Christian.  It has to end now.

I've spent a lot of time in prayer over the last couple of weeks asking for help in changing myself and trying to find the right inspiration or the right formula for getting the motivation to change.  It occurred to me last week that if I just DID the things that I make excuses for not doing or not doing well, I would not only improve myself and find much contentment, but I would also be improving the quality of life for my husband, my children, and my friends.

I've decided to start this blog as a means of journaling my success and failures and forcing myself to contend with my own choices.  January 1 feels like beginning anew, wiping the slate clean and starting over...moving my focus from myself and my struggles to following Christ.  If I can just keep chasing after Him, everything else will fall into place--where He wants it.

It's not New Year's Day without some resolutions.  I have several.  I will use this blog/journal daily to track my progress with these resolutions and to share my prayers.  Here are my resolutions==some of them seem like no-brainers, but they are things I have struggled with for two years:

• No more excuses.  Find and eliminate the catalysts for my excuse-making.
• Get out of bed and get dressed to shoes by 9:AM each day and make sure that the kids do the same.
• Drink a minimum of 8 glasses a water a day.
• Take a multi-vitamin daily.
• Make better, much healthier eating choices for myself and my family.
• Lose two pounds a week.
• Walk a minimum of one mile each day.
• Cook dinner 5 days a week.
• Stick to the household budget that Daniel and I have agreed upon.
• School consistently for a minimum of 4 days per week throughout the entire year so that we can get caught up.
• Read from the bible to the kids daily.
• Pray alone and with the kids daily.
• Spend a minimum of 15 minutes a day working on any part of the house.
• Volunteer as a client advocate at the Christian pregnancy crisis center in Greenville.
• I will seek out the joy and contentment that is always in my life, but that I can't always see...AND
• when I'm feeling just regular, I'll smile just for fun.

Happy New Year, my friends.