Passionate Perseverance: the day after...

:"Insmuch as I advance, upheld by God, in the way that He has traced for me, that which stands for me for 'duty' becomes more and more clear to me. The great thing is not to lose oneself in unrealizable plans and projects, not to live in tomorrow, but patiently turn thought into action, goodwill into determination. "

When I was searching for a quote to start this post I said a prayer and then started reading and came across the one above. Thank you Elizabeth for inspiring me yet again with your beautiful words whether borrowed or your own.

So it's the day after. The ball has dropped, toasts made and resolutions declared. Now it's time to get down to business. I promised in my last post to go through each resolution and break it into bite size pieces.

"Insmuch as I advance, upheld by God, in the way that He has traced for me, that which stands for me for 'duty' becomes more and more clear to me."

I have spent much of the last six months pondering this idea of "duty" asking over and over "what is God's plan for me?" Life has taken many twists and turns recently as I have tried to figure out what my next step should be both personally and professionally. My duty has always been as wife and mother but as my children have grown and their needs have changed, I have struggled from time to time to figure out my new day to day duties and responsibilities. I think I finally have a better handle on this now even as changes occur with our son and his future.

"The great thing is not to lose oneself in unrealizable plans and projects, not to live in tomorrow, but patiently turn thought into action, goodwill into determination. "

I must "patiently" turn "thought into action" which will include a new daily plan as well as dedicated prayer life concentrating on three things:

Fear is NOT of God. It is a weapon the deceiver uses to discourage and dissuade us from accomplishing what God has placed on our hearts to do. Be it time in prayer or service to home, church or community. As John Paul II said "Be not afraid." I will do my best to overcome those fears I hold deep in my heart. With the discipline of daily prayer and study, I know that this will be my most personally successful year yet.

"Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us"

I struggle with being a patient and present wife at times. I can be very selfish sometimes wanting "my time" when my husband comes home after a long day. Now there is nothing wrong with this in theory. We do need to rest and renew ourselves in order to be able to properly care for our husbands and families. However, with proper time management and an adjustment of my heart attitude, I can have both. My day planner has been a great help with this goal putting aside time each day to pray and study. I have also begun to pray specifically for "a more positive tongue" to try to curb my bad language and be more encouraging with my family, even during a hot flash!

I feel very strongly that at this point in my son's life he needs some concentrated daily prayer time from his mother. He is undergoing great change in his life and feels a little lost at the moment. I hope that with daily prayer support, he feels more peace of heart. I cannot change anyone, only myself. I pray that God will reveal to my heart what I need to do as his mother. Prayer is powerful. It's time to call up the army of Saints in support.

Now it's your turn. What are your resolutions? How do you plan to break down the mountains in your life and take them one hill at a time?

Let us support and encourage each other on the unique paths that our Heavenly Father has placed each of us on. I can't wait to hear from you.