2011 Resolution

This year for my New Year's Resolution, I've decided to do something a little different.  The past couple of years, I have used A Mother's Rule of Life to create goals for myself based on the different areas of my life.  But my analytical brain goes a little overboard, and I tend to set so many goals that they become hard to keep track of.  I did go back and update last year's post with my progress though.  That's one of the helpy things of keeping a blog. 

Anyway, so this year, instead of setting a bunch of goals for myself that I will eventually forget all about, I've decided to work on one virtue.  One virtue all year long.  And by the end of this year, I hope to be a little more joyful.  That is, I hope to radiate a little more joy. 

You see, I'm generally a happy person.  But I have a melancholic temperament.  I can be totally at peace in my little world, and completely forget to smile.  And I am SO serious.  That's not to say that I don't smile or show some enjoyment in my life, but it's definitely not my natural state.  I've mentioned before that my dear husband lovingly calls my serious-doing-nothing-at-all-face my "mean" face.  That's probably not good.

And what I've realized is that my outward attitudes effect those around me.  When I'm snappy, or grumpy, or even just Eeyore melancholy, my family tends to be that way too.  But all it takes is a little smile and nod from me, and my children seem a little more joyful themselves, my husband seems a little more relaxed.

Now, I'm not foolish enough to think that come December I will be a beaming ray of light every time I come into a room.  I am a serious person.  I am a thinker, a daydreamer.  That's part of my personality and one of the ways God has made me.  And those are mostly good qualities.  But balance is also a good thing.  My hope is that if I practice showing the joy and peace I have on the inside everyday (or almost everyday) maybe by December it will have become a little more natural.

And ultimately, I need to realize that my joy comes from the Lord, and having it depend on the others around me is unwise.  It is this internal joy I hope to gain and show.