Yesterday I was able to hear Joy Forney speak to mamas at Good Shepherd Church here in Oregon. (Joy is a well-known Christian blogger, wife of a missionary pilot, and mama of five). She talked about the way in which we mamas tend to dwell on our failures or, alternatively, rest in the pride of in our choices (breastfeeding, homeschooling, etc.). Yet regardless of our choices, the state of our household, or the appearance of our family, we are loved by God.

Equilibrium: We long for it. We crave it. We know we need it in our lives. But New Year's resolutions make us nervous. We question if it's worth the effort to attempt changes that we've failed at in the past.

In the past, our resolutions have focused on areas of neglect or low self-control. We frequently target our health. We will exercise more, eat better, have a more balanced life. We will also go to bed earlier, waste less time, and save more money.

Why haven't we already attained our goals? Primarily, we are flawed people living in a world that's not under our control. We also have multiple roles that challenge our focus and fill our schedules: we are spouses, employees, parents, home managers, and self-caretakers. As we target areas for improvement, the others suffer.