Hopes & Goals For A Large Family Mom Life

While pondering, dreaming, and praying about the coming year, I reflected back on the last couple of years… then felt discouraged by recent struggles with our kids’ medical conditions — which cause a butterfly effect of unhealthy eating, lack of sleep and routine, etc. I kept thinking “why should I have goals for the coming year when things are so chaotic and quite obviously out of my control?”.

Then I turned to God’s Word. And I found hope.

Hopes & Goals For For A Large Family Mom Life

I hope for better health & energy for myself and my family.

I hope for joy & love in our home.

I hope for peace & comfort in the midst of stress.

I hope for fun & teamwork in our homeschool.

I hope for wisdom & patience in my parenting.

I hope for growth & quality moments for our marriage.

I hope to (continue to) simplify & minimize in our home & life.

How will any of these hopes and goals for 2017 be possible? How can I work towards these goals? How can I find any stability in the crazy? I found hope in Isaiah 43.

“Thus saith the Lord, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters; … Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.” (vs. 16, 18-19)

I do have plans and steps I hope to take to make some of the above goals a reality, but I am clinging to them loosely, for I know all too well how “A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.” Proverbs 16:9

For myself and for those who like seeing a list, here are my goals for 2017, to put in place my hopes from above:

• Get back to eating healthy, whole foods. Less eating out, more eating in. This will require some up-front planning. I already planned out a new week’s worth of suppers (I can share my new meal plan if anyone is interested). Trim Healthy Mama, Paleo, Dairy-free (for main meals, since our son is allergic), very little grains and virtually NO sugar are my main guides.
• Consistently take the supplements, vitamins, and nutritional aids I need to improve and maintain my autoimmune disease.
• Pray more, talk less. Spend more time counting our blessings and less time criticizing. Add simple, pretty touches to our home. Love my role as homemaker.
• More time in God’s Word. More time in Bible study with my family. More praise & thanksgiving from my heart, mind, and tongue.
• Focus less on school and more on educating the whole child. Read more books to my kids, lecture less. Explore and learn together. Allow more exploration & discovery outside in nature and inside on the internet (now that I have an awesome way to restrict and protect my kids while online).  “Do not let schooling interfere with your education.” – Mark Twain
• Gentle parenting, softer words, kinder spirit. Smile & laugh more, yell less. More cuddles. Slow down. Listen more.
• Stay in-tune with my husband’s needs. Plan some alone time regularly. Enjoy life with him.
• Routinely organize & purge our house (in small ways daily/weekly and big ways monthly). Only bring in meaningful, purposeful stuff.
• Simplify and be intentional with my wardrobe, hairstyles, and (gulp) makeup — yes, I have been having fun wearing a little natural mineral makeup once in awhile (I just don’t want to look as tired as I truly am, lol). Choose my favorite clothes (my real favorites) to keep, be careful with what I buy, and get rid of the rest. Embrace my strange mix of nerdy, retro, & always comfy more than fashionable style.

So, you may be wondering if I have chosen One Word for 2017. And I have, kind of.

While it may seem that HOPE is my One Word, actually, I have chosen many words. God’s Word. May it be my compass, my guide, my truth, and my HOPE in 2017.