Looking into the new year

My husband doesn’t believe in New Year Resolutions. He believes if there is something you want to change about yourself, why wait until January 1st, just make the change there and then. In part I agree, but I do like the freshness a new year brings, an opportunity to start again and do things differently.

This year I take on a new role as a SAHM (stay at home mum), one that I am excited about. Within that it means managing the home, finances, meals, looking after our daughter etc. I have sort of being doing this anyway since we got married (minus the daughter part), but now I want to take it to the next level and become more organised with it.

For me 2012 is about being more disciplined and having consistency around what I do. Many times I start a project, do it for a couple of weeks and then move onto something else. This year I want to complete every project I start and for the things I am already doing, do them better.

Around the home, I want to become a better homemaker. I want to be more consistent in our menu and the food we eat. I am comfortable in our grocery buying routine and know what we use each month, but I don’t want to spend time worrying about what we’re going to eat today or tomorrow, but have it planned out. This will require me to spend time and work out a meal plan that works for our family and then stick to it. I also desire to learn new dishes as well. I have a sewing machine, which I rarely use but hope to see more of in 2012. We thank God for our home and I hope this year we can continue to open our doors to friends and family.

In terms of finances, I currently record every penny I spend. That took some time getting used to, but now it is a habit of mine. What it helps me do is reconcile all our expenditure and identify areas where we need to cut back or increase. This year, I want to establish our new budget for the year and stick to it, equally I want us to increase our savings for the future. We have other financials goals which we will look to work towards.

Parenthood is an interesting one. It is an unknown territory to me and I have no idea how it will turn out. What I do know is that it is our prayer to raise our daughter to firstly love God and have her own  personal relationship with Him,  secondly be a respectable member of society and thirdly be a virtuous woman. In order for her to know God and His love, as her mother I need to be able to display those virtues on a daily basis. All the things Christ calls us to be, I need to model in our home. I read somewhere that your children don’t listen to what you say, they watch what you do. So for me that is major. My lifestyle, behaviour, how I treat others including her father will all affect the way my daughter views the world.

Finally as a wife, I want to be able to support my husband more. Not only in areas where I think he needs help, but areas where he tells he needs the support. So often as wives we can do things to help our husbands with the best intentions but if it is not the thing your husband wants your help in, you can be wasting your time. I want to listen more and direct my time and energy to those areas which benefit my husband the most.

It’s a huge responsibility and I pray for God’s help in these areas.

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