Keeping it simple with just 5 things.

I love reading the Naptime Diaries blog.  Jessi is such an inspiration and I am always encouraged when I read an entry on her blog.  One of her most recent entries was about setting simple goals for the 2013 year, allowing the Lord to lead her and show her the big things, and being intentional with the small things.  I am following suit and I have come up with my own five things for the year of 2013.

1) Being intentional with my quiet time and dig, dig, dig into the word.  I wrote a post earlier about learning from the disciples mistakes in the garden of Gethsemane, about falling asleep and napping when God asks us to stay awake and be with him.  I am prayerful that the Holy Spirit will assist me with strength and discipline to really stick to this plan this year.

2) Being intentional with my husband.  Having two younger children has it's roller coaster sized ups and downs.  Life can blur the lines between Mommy and wife.  That happened more than I would like to admit in 2012.  My goal is to intentionally be a wife to my husband.  To pursue him, pray for him, be a wife to him, because he's already got a pretty awesome mom and he doesn't need another one.  Besides, he didn't marry me to be his mom.  

3) Being intentional with growing the girls in the Gospel.  We've already got a bible verse plan on the calendar for the girls and we will start having a devotion of sorts either in the bathtub or at the dinner table.  I will be held accountable for these sweet babies and I intend on not having to hang my head in shame when the Lord calls on me on judgement day.

4) Being intentional with my girlfriends.  I aim to hold them accountable.  I aim to write them letter, the real kind.  I am to call, not just text, to check in.  I am to increase the bond between my friends and I.  2012 was a little crazy trying to adjust with two, however, I can no longer and will no longer use that as an excuse.  What out friends, here I come!

5) Work on me.  What goes into my body.  Watching what I eat and watching what my family eats.    The exercise I want to do.  I am going to aim for at least 30 minutes a day.  It can be walking, running, yoga, etc.  I have not given a lot of thought to baby weight or before baby body over the last year, because honestly I haven't had time to think on such things.  I am feeling really good about my body and I can honestly say I feel the best I have every felt.  I just want to make sure I maintain that feeling.


So, what are five things you are going to do in 2013?  Read more?  Start a running routine?  Eating out less?  Eating in more?  Watching less TV? Taking a hot bath at least once a week?  I would love to know! And remember, these are supposed to be SMALL and ATTAINABLE goals.  We should never set ourselves up for defeat.

 

Learning from mistakes.

The New Year is here and I am most certain there are millions of people making resolutions.  I am pretty sure there are a lot of ladies, and men, out there who are promising to themselves and to the Lord that they will spend more time with Him.  That they will dig into the Word more.  That they will pray more. Serve more. Love more.  I am one of those people.  

I have been reading a book, Girl Meets God, for a few years.  It was a book I was really excited about and had good intentions to read in a day or twos time but it didn’t work out that way.  I recently picked it back up and I have been carrying it around with me picking it up when I can.  This is one book I have read with a pen in hand.  I have thoroughly enjoyed reading it but to be quite honest I was excited to read anything not quite school related for a while.  I am finally almost finished with the book and in the last few pages a passage stuck out at me that I felt the need to expound on.  It had New Year’s resolutions all over it. 
These are the words from page 229: “ My life is like a disciple’s nap in Gethsemane:  I have promised over and over, to be vigilant for the things of God, to be awake to Him, but I seem to spend much of my life sleeping”.

How often, not just in January, but the whole year through do we promise the Lord over and over that we will pursue Him more?  That we will dig into the Word more? That we will serve more? Love more? Pray more?  I know this has always been a struggle for me.  I will do a great job being faithful in my quiet time and my prayer time for two weeks and then I will hit a road bump, miss one day, and then take a proverbial nap. 

What is it going to take? For me, it’s going to take discipline.  I am going to just have to be more disciplined and more diligent in my time in the Word.  Accountability is another thing.  We are called to be accountable for each other, in our growing and in our walking.  I am going to have to be more accountable not only for myself but also my husband and my girlfriends.  One of the ways I am going to pursue my quiet time is by going along with the She Reads Truth (see the button on the right).  One series at a time.    

So, friends, what will you do this year?  How are you going to stick to it?  How are you going to keep yourself awake in your growth? How are you going to keep your resolutions this year?  365 days....let's get started! 

Sprinkled or Saturated?

No, I am not talking about food.  I am talking about Jesus.  Now, those of you who turn off immediately when I mention His name on here, hold on just one second.  Let me get this out.
I tend to go through my days sprinkled; not saturated with Jesus.  I tend to go through the day doing things my way, making my plans and going through the motions my way (notice all the "MY's" in there).  Through the day I will usually have little sprinkles of Jesus, sometimes as an afterthought, sometimes as a complete and utter necessity because I am to the point of pulling my hair out with the girls, sometimes it is because I get a text saying somebody is sick or having a bad day and in need of a prayer.  More often than not I end up frustrated at somebody or something and I hop on a roller coaster of emotions that could quite possibly beat out the Kingda Ka.
How often have we turned from Him, as in Isaiah 53:6 and still expected out lives to be grand? rewarded? easy?  What would happen if instead of sprinkling my day with Jesus I saturated my day with Him?  How much better would life be if I allowed Jesus to LEAD my day instead of just asking Him to occasionally be present in it?
In this holiday time it is easy to think of Jesus as a small helpless baby.  Why would we saturate our lives with any baby but our own, or at the very least nieces or nephews?  The thing is, we aren't saturating our lives with a helpless baby.  We are saturating our lives with a man who loves us with a love so intensely it even surpasses a mother's love for her child.  A man so powerful that he could rip the planet into literal pieces but who chooses to be so gentle a butterfly would not shudder in His palm?  We are saturating our lives with a God who is so patient that no matter how many times we DO turn away and try to do things on our own, He is there with his arms wide open, waiting for us to turn around and realize He has been there waiting all along.
So, this Christmas and this New Years, when you are beginning to make and list your resolutions, I have a challenge for you.  I am taking on this challenge, mostly for myself, but I am offering it up for those of you who would like to join me.  I pray that we will begin to saturate out lives with Jesus.  Not the baby Jesus, as cute as he may be, but the man Jesus.  The man Jesus who has His arms wide open waiting for us to turn around and be embraced.  The man who has had His arms wide open since He was sacrificed on that wretched and wonderful cross.
I know, I know, you wanted to loose those last four pesky pounds for your New Years Resolution.  I have good news for you....Jesus is ready and able to walk those pounds off with you.  So, whaddya say?  Join me?  Will you sprinkle or will you saturate?

New Year's Resolution #3

Right now how many tabs or windows do you have open on your computer screen? Be honest.  I have 6 open.  One of those being Twitter, my e-mail and my facebook and basically those are multi-tabs within tabs.  I also have music on in the background and my cell phone right beside me.  I have typed and deleted one sentence 3 times already because I got distracted by a song and then received a text.  How often does this happen to you during the day? It happens to me quite often.  I try to do six things at one time and none of them get completed to the best of my ability.   If I had just done one thing at a time those things would have gotten done more efficiently and probably more quickly.   Here lies my resolution.  Do. One. Thing. At. A. Time. (I know it's February and I'm still making them but I'm making them to keep, folks, so don't judge)

I spend so much time during the day focusing on too much at one time.

If I'm driving I plan on just driving. Not talking on the cell phone and not reading a text.  Although singing and chatting with Teagan do not count as a distraction here.  If I'm playing with Teagan then I'm playing with Teagan. The cell phone will not be within arms reach because face it; I'm not going to be the one they call when the world starts falling a part.  When I am watching TV then I will watch TV without checking my e-mail or reading a magazine at the same time.  When I am trying to spend time with Josh then that is what I will be doing although this can include doing various things (don't go dirty thinking on me folks, I mean like watching TV or doing the laundry or even reading beside each other).  When I am reading a book I will not be watching TV or listening to music because then I won't remember what I just read. My mind just doesn't work that way and it's taken this long to really accept that.  I cannot effectively multi-task when it comes to things I need to really enjoy or think about. 
I challenge you to adapt this resolution to your life.  The more distractions we have the less we are really able to enjoy those things around us.  We've become so needy for instant gratification and to always be "in the know" that we're missing out on those thing around us.  The first year of Teagan's life went by too quickly and with too many distractions.  Her second year will go by equally as fast but with far less distractions.

New Years Resolution #2

My first resolution was to read a book a month.  So far I've accomplished 1/12 of my goal.  I finished reading Wicked and I'm going to start my second book of the year after this week. 
My second resolution is to get healthier. Mind. Body. Soul.
In years past I have wanted to lose weight, some times at any cost.  In years past I have vowed to go down a size in clothes.  I've declared I'm going to read my Bible more. I've declared I'm going to have more quiet time.  There are so many things I was just determined to do but for all the wrong reasons.  I've wanted to to them for vain reasons.  I wanted to look good. I wanted to be skinnier. I wanted to be better for Me, Me, Me.  It had nothing to do with health.  Obviously, vanity is not the best foundation for anything and so most of those attempts have failed.  This year my goal stems from wanting to be healthy. 
I've decided to look at it in a whole new light.  I want to be a healthy and confident woman.  I want to be genuinely okay with the way I look.  How I think and who I am.  I want to set an example for Teagan.  For the woman I want her to grow up with and look up to as she becomes a woman.  My aim this year is to be more like the Proverbs 31 woman.  For those of you who don't know the reference just crack open your Bible or Google Proverbs 31 vs. 10-31 and take a minute to read it.  To sum up the idea of the Proverbs 31 woman she serves her God, her family and her friends while being able to clean the house and cook a good meal and manage the household.  To be quite honest it sounds a little daunting but I think it's more about priorities.  I think if my priorities are in order then the rest just kind of falls into place.
Here are a few comparisons of the Proverbs 31 woman and how I pledge to put them into play:

The Proverbs 31 woman's husband finds her capable and he is fully confident in her.  She encourages her husband and loves him.
*my pledge is to encourage my husband more daily.  to think about what I say before I say it and remember that what I say has more meaning to him then I sometimes admit.  just because I've had a bad day doesn't mean I should bring it home and take it out on him.
The Proverbs 31 woman is a hard worker.  She makes meals for her family that are healthy and good for them.  She makes wise decisions for her family in her purchasing and homemaking.
*my pledge is to continue to find ways to bring healthy food into our home.  since Teagan is eating more table food I have be sure to bring in healthy to continue her incredible food intake.  I pledge to make wiser decisions in the money that I am responsible for.  I have a tendency to see the word sale and instantly want to buy, buy, buy.  I pledge to cut more coupons and be more conscience when it comes to spending our money. 
The Proverbs 31 woman is a giver to others that are not just family.
*we are working on this.  we want to instill the value of giving in Teagan but I pledge to increase our volunteer and giving tendencies too.  I also take this as keeping up and maintaining friendships.  I don't want to let my friendships fall in the cracks. So, I pledge to nurture new and old friendships of mine.
The Proverbs 31 woman is a sewer and a clothes maker.
*this is one aspect of the Proverbs 31 woman that I'm not planning on attempting to be like.  Sewing is not my forte and it only frustrates me and makes all those other things not happen or at least not happen happily so we're pushing the sewing aspect aside. For now at least.
The Proverbs 31 woman loves her God, cares for her family and her friends.  She is a woman that her husband admires and her children respect.
*I want to set my priorities in order.  I want to be a Proverbs 31 woman. 

The Proverbs 31 woman is somebody who carries herself like a woman should.  She didn't worry about her fashion being the latest or most expensive but she looked fashionable anyway.  Her thoughts were doing for others and not selfishly doing for herself or doing things with herself in mind.  My resolution is to take this woman and look at her as an example of how I should be and how I want others to see me.  I want to be strong. I want to be confident. I want to be healthy. Mind. Body. Soul. 
      

New Year's Resolution #1

I've been accumulating a list of must read book suggestions for this year.  I love to read but don't have near enough time to read.  My reading time consists of right before bed, where I usually end up falling asleep or in the bathroom.  So, in order to have a resolution I can keep I've decided to choose just 12 books this year.  One a month and if I get through more then that then yay me.  Otherwise, 12 is a good number.

Here are the books I have so far:

January- Wicked
February- Holiday on Ice
March- The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
April- Of Mice and Men
May- The Last Block in Harlem
June- The Hunger Games trilogy
July- Love Walked In
August- Bending Toward the Sun
September- Graziella
October-This is Where I Leave You
November- need suggestions
December- need suggestions.