"Pondering, positivity and praise."

Last Friday, I was on Relevant Radio's Morning Air and Sean Herriott and I discussed some New Year's resolutions.

In addition to eating as much chocolate as I possibly can, trying to lose a few pounds, I had been giving some thought to a motto, or theme, or goal, or something, for my resolutions in this Year of Faith.

Remember my daily Marian quotes in Through the Year With Mary: 365 Reflections? I look back at that little book often -- not for anything earth shattering that I wrote, but for the treasure chest of quotes it contains, the wisdom of others and the inspiration their words offer me.

When I read through the quotes for January, this one jumped out at me:

"(Mary) modeled for us three great secrets of spiritual power: 

pondering, positivity and praise."

~~ Peter Kreeft, 
Making Choices: Practical Wisdom for Everyday Moral Decisions 

And I knew what my motto, theme, goal, something for 2013 would be:

Pondering.
Positivity.
Praise.

Pondering: My vocation, my faith, my life: How am I doing? What needs tending, pruning, change? What am I trying to control that is actually in God's hands? Am I making enough time for the pondering, or am I thoughtlessly flitting from one thing to another, with no time to think it all through? To pray through it?

Positivity: Where is the negativity? What's fueling it? What can I do to turn it around?

Praise: I've long been focused on being thankful. When you've lived feeling lost and now you're found, you know you have a great deal to be thankful for, and you thank God for everything, every day. And yet, there are always temptations to lose sight of the gifts that He doles out every minute, every day. Praise. Every day. Examinations of prayers of thanksgiving that may have become rote, digging deeper, thanking God for everything, even the bad stuff, because I know He can turn even the worst of messes into something of glory.

Pondering, positivity, and praise.

Will you join me?