Happy New Year!

Hi friends! What a busy and fantastic holiday season! I spent a lot of time with my family and time gathering sponsors for my Adopt A Grandparent program. My kids helped me put all of the gifts together and wrap them so we could take them to the nursing home on Christmas Eve. What a blessing it was to carry in 36 wrapped gifts for those who otherwise would not have had anything. And it's all because of the sweet sponsors who took the time to donate $15 to bless someone else for Christmas. The nurses at the nursing home were so grateful....one of them even fought back tears. Included in the gift was a MK Mint Bliss Foot Lotion and they said that they integrate massage into their therapy and could now use these lotions to do that! How awesome! I didn't even know that when I put all of them together....I love how God works!

I am so thankful for a new year! Aren't you?! I love that it is a time of new beginnings....a fresh start. Usually New Years resolutions are made and then forgotten by the end of Feb. So this year I decided to only make one new commitment. And that is, to follow through with my commitments. How often do you say that you will do something and then when it becomes a challenge, you shrug it off and don't follow through? I speak from experience here....not from a judgmental heart. I have often made commitments, but then fell short of completing them. And I always thought it was okay because my heart is always in the right place. Meaning, I never intended to not follow through...and end up hurting someone over it.

What do you think happens when you commit something to someone and they believe that you will do it? Whether it's to your kids, your spouse, your friends, your church, etc. Whoever it is, whatever the commitment, someone is counting on you. And when you don't follow through, you ultimately end up disappointing someone. And when you develop a history of doing so....you end up hurting others because you break their trust. How often do you say, "We will do that tomorrow"...and then tomorrow comes and you don't do it.

I have had many people in my life break commitments to me. People who were very close to me and that I trusted to follow through. I have also made many commitments that I haven't followed through with. It's not so much the "thing" that you didn't do that is important. It's the history that you develop with those around you. Do you want a reputation of being that person who doesn't follow through? That when things get tough, you back out? I know I don't....it's not a great place to be.

So this year the change that I have decided to make is to follow through on all of my commitments. Whether it's to make cookies with my 4 yr. old, volunteer at church, or achieve a big business goal, I plan on following through. Now does this mean that everything will always be perfect? Nope. Does this mean that life won't happen and sometimes prevent me from following through with something? Nope. But what it does mean is that I am going to be more conscious of what I am committing to and will do everything in my power to follow through with it.

So what changes are you making for the new year? I would love to hear them! I hope you all had a GREAT 2011 and I pray that you have an even BETTER 2012!!