New....

A new year! Clean, as fresh as the new fallen snow outside my patio door...and as far as snow goes, there is enough of it. It fell all through Christmas, covering grass still green from a lovely fall. It fell the week of New Year's and it is falling again. The banks are piled high, my shovels disappear under forts and tunnels, the eaves on the front of our house are sagging. Going out to the shed to feed our rabbit is like a wilderness journey. Almost a trip you have to pack for. The birds huddle at the feeder.  Do I like it? You bet I do. We stay-at-home moms don't have far to go. I can stay in as long as I like except for maybe the occasional trek for groceries.

There is bread baking in the kitchen. The tea is hot and there are Christmas goodies still in the freezer. (How did that happen?) I have good books to read and there are still two snow loving boys living here, who tromp in and out in a wide array of scarves, mitts and toques. My husband works away at his computer, updating his music program and while the boys are out, the quiet tic tic of computer keys blends with the clocks in our house, rhythmic....steady.

I love September, my birth month and all things fall, but January runs a close second. Homeschooling starts again after a long break, there are cold bright sunny days and snow filled gray days but somewhere spring begins to call softly. My house plants lean toward the sun a little more, the sky occasionally colors a bright blue that we have not seen since summer.

We accomplish so much in these winter months. Our table is usually strewn with books, our kitchen, home to so many science experiments and projects. There is no rush to get ready for Christmas, no need to go anywhere, just read and draw and learn. Oh, we go sledding and we visit friends, but only if we want to. It is a lovely relaxed time that I have always enjoyed. And the days are getting longer...we start our cloud charts again, watching the shapes and forms scuttle across the sky. We collect containers for our spring seedlings. I clean closets and sort books and toys. I guess January is a month for us to turn inward in our thinking and take care of the details close to home.

Well, that brings another thought to mind. January is also the month I take a long hard look at where I am in my walk with the Lord. I print off new Bible reading charts, decide which books I should read this year, set new goals for my personal relationship with God, look at how I should be training up my children in the things of God....and those are the details close to home. Like the time and care I put into my house and family, I also need to put the same time and care into my inner self, the part of me that communes with God. If I want to get all the other areas of my life in order, I need to start here first.

Happy new year to all of you. May this be a year that changes you, draws you closer to God, teaches you new things, stretches you. May you look back on it in 2014 and say, "That was a year well done."