New Year, Same ol' me

Welcome to 2013! I bet I mess that one up for a while. Thank goodness no one has to write those old fashioned checks anymore- that was always a beating for several months! It seems obvious that I'd kick off my momentous return to blogging with a post dedicated to my New Year's resolution(s). Because that is what bloggers do, and I want to be a good blogger. So here goes nothing- Last year, this was my resolution/commitment/goal (as posted via Facebook)-

Cayce Clemmons Noble January 1, 2012 near Lubbock via mobile
New Year's Resolution 2012- Be Content. Realize my blessings and dwell upon them.

I'm excited to announce that being "content" was a huge blessing. In my contentment, I managed to lose 30 lbs (if you don't count the 5 I gained over the holidays, ugh!), refocus my personal relationship with Christ, begin working in my dream job, and spend wonderful quality time with my family. Truly, my "resolution" was a life-changer. As such, I'm sticking with the whole one word resolution thing again this year. But, I've discovered (thanks to my friend Stacee that there is an official website for such a thing! Whodathunk it!? Check out One Word if you are interested in joining me on this journey.

So, my word for 2013...drum roll, please....SURRENDER. Yep. Surrender. Unbeknownst to me (because I'm one of those who needs one lightening strike for yes, and two lightening strikes for no), God has been laying this word upon my heart in a billion different ways. But yesterday, it became very clear. My goal for 2013, and forever forward, is to surrender my life to Him. So, how am I going to do it?

1. Surrender my life to God by spending time in the Word. Daily. I will meditate on scripture and spend time in prayer as I seek to glorify God with my entire life.
2. Surrender my worries through prayer, and trust that they are handled.
3. Surrender my time by focusing my attention on my family and not over-committing myself, no matter how worthwhile the commitments are.
4. Surrender my health by making positive choices like eating well, exercising, and getting rest.
5. Surrender my finances. I'm a worrier by nature, but I also trust and know that when we are intentional and focused with our budgeting, we can "run with gazelle-like intensity" (Dave Ramsey) towards our goal of eliminating debt and living on cash alone.
6. Surrender my future and trust that doors will be opened and doors will be shut, and all will be well regardless.
7. Surrender my past and choose to dwell on the many blessings before me, as opposed to the curses behind me.
8. Surrender my desire to please others, and do what makes me happy (within God's will, of course).

This isn't an exhaustive list. I'm sure I'll have to surrender much more. But, I'm bubbling with excitement about what amazing things lie ahead in 2013. I'll update here often.