Inspire Me // A Fresh Start for 2013

On Wednesday I did a recap of my intentions from 2012 – and said I’d be back the next day to talk 2013.  Well, a nasty cold caught be between that time and I’m only now getting around to it.  Such is life.

I love the excitement of newness, how everything feels fresh – in reality, I wish I felt that way every morning (because it’s a new day really is the truth) but at least once a year it seems mutual and overwhelmingly so.  Newness.  And though I could probably spend another few years growing my intentions from last year, it’s a new year, and that means a new theme!

So without further ado, my mantra/intentions for 2013:

Fill life with beauty and live it with grace.

I first thought of these two words because of the meaning of my name – Annabelle means grace and beauty.  The more I thought about it, those two words started to symbolize what I wanted my life, not just my name, to look like.  This year, 2012, has been a year of challenges and hardships that I was not expecting – days that felt a bit like groundhog day for both my husband and I – but on the days I focused on the beautiful parts of life, things were just the slightest bit easier.  I’m a doer by nature, so this year’s intentions are a little bit anti-doer.  On purpose.

Beauty

In 2013, I would like to make it an intentional focus to fill my daily life with beauty and create beautiful moments.  Not so much to outward, superficial kind of beauty, but the good stuff.  I want to think beauty and create beauty and seek out beauty in places and people.  I want to intentionally fill my thoughts and moments with the simple joys that bring me happiness – whether that is picnics with my husband or a long run in the park.  I want to shift my focus onto things that are lovely.

Grace

In 2013, it is important for me to live my life with grace – in my walk with God, in my relationship with my husband, in how I serve others, and in how I treat myself.  I want to have grace in life when things don’t happen the way I expect them to and we need to suddenly change our whole plans; when surprises come, and hurts come, and twists come, I want to remember grace.  Towards my own self, I want to be open to making mistakes, not simply holding up an impossible standard of perfection.  I want to have an attitude of grace in my relationships with people, as I continue to serve in my marriage and in my church and in my work.  Because none of us is perfect, and none of us are without hardships and struggles.  This life is not simply about me getting what I need or want.  One of the few things that have stabilized me through difficult times is reaching out to help, mentor and give to others.

These are things that I want to be known for – not for checking everything off my list (though there are some things that I do want to “check off” in 2013, let’s be honest).

So here’s to 2013 – may it be a beautiful and graceful one!