In Closing…

It’s time to recap the goals I set for 2012 and see how it went. Tomorrow I’ll talk about what I’m working toward for 2013. 

1. I will continue to strive to achieve all the goals I set for 2011. Many of them have become part of my lifestyle, others are still a bit of a challenge. I will keep going on the goals I set out to meet last year (most of them are continuous rather than one concrete end result).  
 
Well? I continued to do well with what I was already doing well on and struggled with the things I was still struggling with. No significant improvement here.

2. I will write in my prayer journal a minimum of 5 times a week. I go through phases with my journaling. It is important for me to write things down in order to zone out of the worldly things I think about and do each day. While I hate that I need to set a goal for this, I know it is an area I need to improve on–my prayer life. 
 
Well? I did not journal consistently, but my prayer and quiet time got much more consistent. Even though I’m doing better, I definitely have room for improvement in this realm.

3. I will be a light. Always. Sometimes I will stumble, sometimes I will fall; I will definitely make mistakes. Through it all, though, I will strive to make sure people see that Christ is working in me. I want to share Christ by the way I treat people in the everyday, ordinary. I will not dim my light based on the crowd or how I will be perceived. 

Well? I feel like I did well with this. This year presented some of the toughest circumstances I’ve ever been through, and I can honestly say I was able to be focused on Christ and a promise bigger than I can even fathom through them. 

4. I will take delight in my son. I will find joy in the fun times and the challenging times. He’ll turn two later this year, and we won’t have the terrible twos in our home. I’m not letting them in; we will pray them out. Even on days when things are not going so great, I will remind myself that he is just a little boy; he doesn’t plan to upset me or make me mad. He is merely expressing himself the best way he knows how. I will let him be little. I will strive to have patience, and take a break or count to ten when it runs out. Terrific twos, here we come! 
 
Well? We are happily cruisin’ through the terrific twos! Mr. Gray and I have made a conscious decision to live this way, and it has truly helped. 

Frog Shoes

5. I will make time for myself at least twice a month. I’ll get a pedicure, go shopping, read, sit outside, or just take a break all by myself (or maybe with a great friend). The busier Baby Gray gets, the harder it is to get time for me when we’re home together during the day. 
 
Well? I don’t know if it’s twice a month, but I’m definitely not running ragged or needing to be recharged. Mr. Gray, Nonna, and Annie definitely help me take time for myself!

6. I will continue to model my marriage, my parenting, and my home after the Proverbs 31 woman. She is a Biblical standard of the wife and mother I want to be. All the while, I want to continue to be authentic. I don’t ever want to be false or create a life on paper (er, website) that is not our life. We struggle and fall short just like anyone. We ask for forgiveness; we repent; we strive to do better. Without mistakes and learning experiences, there is no room to glorify God. He gets the credit for lessons learned, love shared, mistakes corrected, and the abundance of blessings in our life. This blog is about being authentic and sharing, not creating a fallacy. 
 
Well? I’m definitely not perfect or the Proverbs 31 woman, but I do have her in my sights. I try to be the best me I can be. 

7. I will run jog a half-marathon. My tentative date is January 29th. I am leery. However, even if I don’t run the 3M on January 29th, I will run a half this year. Before December 31, 2012, I will have run jogged a race consisting of 13.1 miles. (Coach Wilson, if you’re reading this, I know you’re laughing in total disbelief.) 
 
Well? Done and done! Along with a duathlon and a 5k (or two). 

Finish!

Bike

8. I will make it a point to pour into my relationships. I want to be present in my relationships. I want to be the type of person who pours into a relationship, rather than always taking out. I will speak my husband’s love language. I will get up early to have breakfast with those who don’t have lunch breaks. I will take dinner to friends who are sick, have new babies, or just because. I want the people in my life to know I value them.
 
Well? Sometimes I was awesome; sometimes not so much. When times got tough, though, and they did, our friends definitely came through for us. I am so blessed to have each and every one of them.

The wrap up: I definitely had room to improve on these; I didn’t do as well as I would have liked. I am always working to build myself into a better, more Christ-like person. I want to continue to do that. 

We have had many people reach out to us and tell us they hope 2013 treats us better than 2012 did. I have to be honest when I say that the events of 2012 did not make the year as a whole bad. We had many great things happen this year. Tons. We had something really hard, unimaginable even, happen, and it’s changed our lives, but it hasn’t stopped them. It hasn’t put a damper on all that we say and do. We are here to use that circumstance to reach others for Christ. It’s not always easy, but it’s what we are called to do. 


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