What I want my children to know in 2016

When I started this blog, it was mostly to remember all the things my children were doing and saying. I knew that in this busy life, I am quick to forget a funny phrase or cute memory. I also wanted these children to have a tangible evidence of their childhood. 

It's been several years since I started and my life, and theirs, has changed quite a bit. So has the purpose of this blog. Because it's not just about their childhood past, but also their future.

A future I have no way of predicting. I don't know how many years I or Justin will get to share with our boys. I don't know who or what they will one day be. I have hopes, and I pray for those things for them. 

But when they are older, I'm glad they will be able to read and hear my voice describing how their Dad and I set out to raise them. What our goals were. What was important to us and where our foundation came from. And who knows? It may even be a necessary reminder for Justin and I--even though we have the best of intentions, there are times when we get off track from where we started. 

This year, I feel God leading us to a life with more of Him in it. I believe we are going to sacrifice more of ourselves for the good of others--not just financially but in our actions. I also believe that my little family is high on the mountaintop right now--our lives are so, so good. We are all healthy, and happy. Our children are growing and our marriage is flourishing. We don't necessarily have a great need in our lives right now--but the valleys will come one day. I don't know what they will look like but I know that life happens and we are not immune to it. 

I think about the story of the ant in Proverbs 6. The ant is an example not only because it works so hard, but also because it plans ahead. It takes thought in summer that there will be need in winter, and this forethought provides its needs in winter.

For 2016--I want to build up my children's spiritual storehouses so that when winter comes, they will have something to draw from. I'm not making any resolutions, but I am making plans. And I'm looking forward to carrying them out this year.