I often wonder if I can teach my children how to be content. Let's be honest, we don't exactly live in a society conducive to a lifestyle of contentment. I mean we go from desktops, to laptops, to iPads. I just made a "big" purchase this Fall on nice tall boots and then I see its the ankle boot thats in!! Ok, that might be a touch extreme, cause fashion is always changing and if I stayed content with my wardrobe I would be that "girl stuck in 1992 (or would it be 2012)!"
Some of my favorite pictures from 2012...
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| Austin's 1st visit to the zoo...on a warm March day! |
I've never made "New Year's Resolutions." I think goals are great and we should all have them, but I think the idea of having a list of things you want to do different in a new year is annoying. Why not do them now or next week and if your going to say something you want to do then you should do it. Listing off a few things and then February comes and your "over it." What if we just resolved to be content with the start of a New Year? You want to loose some weight, try being content with your body and dropping the cinnamon muffin you order every time you get coffee. You want to be a better mom, be content with the mother you are and resolve to have a tickle fight with your child that day. I'm not saying we shouldn't change. I'm the first to ask people to go around a table and tell me what I can do better...but what if I just chose to be content.
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| back in the days of 3 kids...one being a vampire! |
I think my marriage would be completely different if I resolved to be content. Instead of wishing he'd said this, responded this way, showed me more appreciation, was more organized in the office, yada yada! What a different relationship it would be if I could be content with who he is and who he was created to be.
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| summer |
I'd like to teach my daughters to be content with their bodies. That starts with me...do I really need to be thinking about the 10lbs I "need" to loose to get where I "want to be." The fluorescent lights in the fitting room at Lulu Lemon are terrible. Not even a model could stand under those lights and not see some dimples, right? I walked out of there feeling really gross. Add to the bad lights, there are 3 mirrors in the room and it measures 3x3 in size and I was wearing panties that were inside out and didn't completely cover my tush. So, I resolve to wear good undergarments when in the fitting rooms of that store, and to not dwell on what was not a good visual! Instead I will be content with my body and resolve to demonstrate healthy behaviors for my girls.
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| Color Run with my brother and kids |
Life is not fair, it is not easy, and just when it gets easy then it gets hard again. There is a passage in the bible that I think would be amazing to be able to say about my life...
"I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength." Phillippians 4:12
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| My Favorite Picture of 2012 |
This picture captured ONE of my favorite "funny" moments with Austin James. With that little boy there were many in 2012...
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| Can you believe he wasn't scarred over this experience!? |
Loved this post! I too don't believe in New Years resolutions. As we were driving home on New Years Eve Jason asked me what my resolutions were and I told him I didn't have any and that I try hard every day to be the best person I can be. When I fail, I start fresh the next day not next year! To many people think content is a bad word, that it means you settled or given up. But in all reality it is hard for people to be content and find happiness with what they already have when they are constantly unhappy with what they have not!
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