The First Day of the Rest of My Lives

January 2 was the first day of the rest of my life.  When we make “New Year’s Resolutions”, do we really believe we’re going to keep them?  2012 was a year of UNdiscipline.  I ate pretty much whatever I wanted, watched too much television, surfed the internet too much, and didn’t do enough of the really healthy things for myself or my family. 
 
That’s just it for me.  My life is not my own.  I have a husband and five children to think of.  My life is seven lives.  That sounds crazy, but it is certainly true.  When I don’t take care of myself, inside or out, I can’t take care of the other six lives properly. 
When I don’t read God’s Word, I am not getting my Daily Bread, and the Bread I received on Sunday morning is getting stale.  Sunday morning Bread isn’t ever going to be enough to sustain my life, let alone six others.  So, for the inside of me, reading the Bible, aka God’s Word, Daily Bread, is essential.  Along with that, I need to pray more.  I  need to pray for my other six people.  Like, really PRAY. 
 
Why don’t I pray for my husband?  I think about him all day long.  He needs protection when he drives.  He needs safety where he works.  He needs favor from the people he works with and with his clients/students.  I am so grateful to the Lord that He has given me a man who gets me...most of the time.  He works so hard to provide everything we need as a family.  Many days I don’t work nearly hard enough to provide what he needs from me.  This is not me being self-deprecating.  This is me being honest.  So why don’t I pray for my husband?
 
Why don’t I pray for my kids?  There are five of them, so I’m going to lump all of them into one paragraph.  They need protection.  They need wisdom.  They need peace of mind.  They need a LOT, and I can’t give it all to them.  It has to come from their Heavenly Father, right?  They are my pride and joy, and my windows.  They are my windows to the past.  I see so much of myself and Mike in them.  Besides their appearances of course, they are doing so many of the things that he and I used to do as kids.  So I get a new perspective because I see what my parents saw - the good, the bad, and the ugly.  On the other hand, they are my windows to the future.  They all have big dreams, and I can’t wait to see where their dreams take them.  So while I’m praying for these five, their protection, wisdom, and peace of mind, I also need to pray for their future spouses and best friends who they’ll be doing life with along the way.  They need all of these things, right?  So why don’t I pray for my kids?
I do pray.  I pray for the requests I see on my facebook home page.  I pray for the people involved in news stories I see on tv.  I pray while I’m getting ready to lead worship.  But I am not disciplined in this area of my life; this most important area. 
 
So reading the Word and praying.  Those two things will help my inside inside (yes, I meant to write “inside” twice). 
 
My other disciplines have to do with my inside.  My physical health.  My diet and exercise.  I have been SUCH a slacker.  So since yesterday was the first day of the rest of my life, I ate a LOT less calories than I have been AND I actually burnt calories - on purpose.  I woke my muscles up.  I got my blood pumping.  I drank green tea instead of diet Coke.  I’m looking forward to seeing a lot less of myself in the coming months.  If I’m being honest with myself and you (my one reader), I weigh the most I ever have while not being pregnant.  If I’m being honest, I weighed 196.4 lbs on my scale yesterday.  UGH. 
Now, I’ve been able to lose weight and exercise before.  I’m setting my goal weight at 145 lbs.  HOLY SMOKES! That’s 51.4 POUNDS!  How in the world did I get here?!  Oh yeah, I was UNdisciplined.
 
So here’s the deal.  My husband’s FORTIETH birthday is June 29th.  That is 177 days from now, and I want to have a big party for him to celebrate.  This is going to take a LOT of discipline to reach my goal, isn’t it? 
 
I’m going to chronicle this journey here...on my blog that I’ve only ever shared with one person.  So am I adding writing a blog to my list of disciplines?  I guess so. 

Dear Lord, Thank You for new mercies every morning and for the new year with which to get my act together.  I want to be who You have called me to be.  I need Your help.  Doing things on my own absolutely does not work.  Let this Year of Discipline for my family be one that changes our lives forever...one that puts us on the path to realized dreams - the dreams You’ve put in our hearts AND the ones we don’t even know about yet.  Lord, I’m so grateful that you even hear this prayer.  It comes from my inside inside.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.