Comfort and Joy

Happy Sunday before Christmas!

This time next week, the O'Donnell family will be in full Christmas mode. We'll be well-rested after a Christmas Eve of music and candlelight at church, cream cheese clam dip at home afterwards. We'll wake Christmas morning and line up at the top of the stairs- youngest to oldest. We'll stumble downstairs in a tradition as old as our house to open presents, eat egg casserole. Spend the day celebrating the birth of our savior and the gift of family.

What a precious day. Hurry up, Christmas!

I have been SO absent lately- I know. This week was busy like no other! Between Christmas get-togethers, meeting up with new friends, working on my freelance project, fixing homemade dinners, Christmas shopping, squeezing in a couple of runs- and a little thing called work-there just weren't enough hours in the week.

But! I come with good news of great joy! (HA.)

Starting Tuesday, December 20th... I kick off my "12 Resolutions for 2012!" Tomorrow, I plan to do a recap of my 2011 resolutions- the successes and failures- and then we'll kick off a fresh new batch of resolutions for the coming year.

I personally love resolutions. Like goals, they motivate me and challenge me. If I don't succeed- I don't beat myself up. But it's nice to have a vision for yourself over a 12 month period. Do you have resolutions? Why or why not?

Lately, I've had a real sense of "everything is as it should be." I feel that way about my job, about my relationships. I feel that way about my finances and what I believe God is speaking into my heart. Just a complete sense of calm- that life is marching forward just as it should. A true sense of comfort and joy, so to speak.

Part of it is the season. Christmas is a time to celebrate the birth of a baby that saved the world. Comfort and joy takes on a whole new meaning when you let that story soak in.

Another part of it is just knowing- and accepting- that a great year of change is coming. I can feel it.

2011 was a year of stabilization. The things that rocked my world in 2010 were memories of the past; 2011 allowed me to regroup, find a new rhythm.

I think 2012 will bring a lot of change; but for once, I'm ready.

Whether we make resolutions or not, whether we enter a year of great change or a year that allows us to regroup- we have the ultimate gift of comfort and joy that we received that night so long ago.