Resolutions

^"What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun? All his days his work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is meaningless. A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?"
--Ecclesiastes 2:22-25

"I give myself very good advice but I very seldom follow it."
--Alice from Alice in Wonderland

A toast to 2010!

Blue blouse, $9, Target; cardigan, clothing swap; skirt, Express; shoes, White Mtn.

Back detail of the blouse

After a six-week blog sabbatical due to reasons good (holiday travel, less computer time/more real-world time) and not-so-good (a crippling sense of inadequacy), I have returned in light of my one New Year's resolution: practice moderation (and I don't mean moderating blog posts). I've heard all kinds of ways to "keep your New Year's resolutions this year!" but the only way that I know of that will always work is letting God take over your life and goals. If your goals are His, then His spirit will keep you in His path.

I think it's good to examine ourselves and our progress and make goals to improve. Usually I come up with some kind of all-or-nothing resolutions like don't use the TV or internet, don't eat sweets, clean the house every day, etc. But then when I don't accomplish these things (and honestly, I can't imagine more than 10% of the general population would), I feel terrible about myself (it should be so easy, there must be something wrong with me). This is definitely not what God wants.

I'm currently studying about grace, and with that comes moderation (hello, same root word as modesty!). That means just like God has standards for our living (His commandments), and when (not if) we fall short, He gives us the grace (Christ) to still behold His glory, when I fall short of my own standards, I should give myself the grace to accept myself and hold some sense of self-worth. It is not all or nothing, but a moderation between standards and grace.

For those of you who know me, you can help me stay accountable to this! And by the way, I aim to post about once a week so I don't get burned out :)