Remember how you desired a treat from the ice cream truck when you were a child? It seemed that there could be nothing better on a long, warm summer evening that partaking of a dainty from that musical truck! Your heart longed for it. You could almost taste the sweet ice cream as the truck rumbled past.

The children of Israel stood on the border of it. The Promised Land. Their Promised Land. They place that they had longed to see for many years. Not just a place to see- but to possess and enjoy! A place in which to dwell and flourish! Their hearts must have soared with expectation of all that the Lord was going to do as He “handed them” this new land!

As the mother of a son, I’m beginning to accustom myself to looking at the back of him. He begs me to rollerblade with him. Which generally means we start out side-by-side, hand-in-hand. And invariably, he blades ahead. Normally, not too far ahead of me. But clearly in front and not beside.

Do you want to be a successful mom? Of course, you do! Who doesn’t, right? If you’ve been a mom for any length of time, I’m sure you have experienced days, like I have, that felt anything but successful. You know the ones… the kids were up at the crack of dawn. Before your feet hit the floor, someone or something had already caused a catastrophe. You swept Cheerios from under the highchair at least five times, changed a dozen diapers, consoled a teething baby, tried to rock to sleep a little one who had no intention of taking a nap, and then watched the clock waiting for daddy to come home, only to find that he had an unexpected meeting that would detain him later than normal.

Motherhood can be a lonely profession at times, can’t it? I was surprised when my first baby was very little how lonely the days became. Sure, it was rewarding and delightful to care for her and interact with her all day. But she napped a lot and doing laundry and changing diapers over and over and over again became monotonous. When we did go out into public, she was the center of attention. People fussed and oohed and aahed over her. When daddy came home from work, he couldn’t wait to bounce her on his knee or fly her around the room. Sometimes Mommy can feel a little alone and dare I said it, forgotten, can’t she?

A few weeks ago as I was reading through the little book of Haggai, three action statements jumped out at me, and the Lord used them to work a few changes in my life at the time, so I thought I would share them with you. I think they are especially applicable at the start of this new year when we are considering the months before us and laying out some plans.