some people are super against making resolutions. people don't like resolutions because they are often short-lived, and often precede 364 days of disappointment and "failure". however, i think resolutions can be good for us and helpful in guiding our time, energy and resources in the right directions! and I'm all about making goals.
new beginnings are always refreshing to me. a new week, a new journal, a new book... there's something beautiful about starting new. although i'm really bad at keeping resolutions myself, I usually do better when to-do lists and goals are involved in any kind of situation. much like every year, my "resolutions" are the same: to love Christ more, to love people more, to be a good steward of my time and resources and to be healthy. i'm hoping that my goals will help provide me with the courage, direction and accountability I need to make sure that 2015 is the best it can be.
Here are my goals for 2015!
READ AT LEAST 5 BOOKS
READ AT LEAST 5 BOOKS
last year, I resolved to read one book a month. that totally didn't happen. quite the opposite, actually. I think I may have started about 20 books and read the first few pages of each. this year, I want to commit myself to finishing each book i start and only asking myself to attempt 5. I actually really love to read but rarely set aside time for it. I have a list going - so hopefully that will provide me with the guidance i need to make it this year!
JOURNAL MORE FREQUENTLY
I have been journaling for as long as I can remember (I wanna say 3rd grade!) and I journaled the most during my college years and it had served me so well. It helped me to retain the things I was learning and the things I was praying about. It also helped me filter a lot of my unnecessary emotions and helped guide much of my thinking back to what God teaches us in His word. I haven't been journaling as regularly these last few years and I definitely see a difference in my life so I'm hoping to pick it up again this year! I am actually using an app called Day One which streams my journal entries between any of my Apple products (iPhone, iPad, iMac) which is great because I can journal formally at my desk, or casually in bed or in the Starbucks drive thru. Praying for a year of deeper reflection and "making every thought captive to obey Christ!"
EXERCISE EVERY WEEK
As of late, I've really enjoyed going to the gym. (FINALLY) I've finally reached that point in my life where it's no longer a horrible burden but definitely a huge stress reliever and it's been helping me to sleep better at night too! The hardest part is definitely making myself go - because once I'm there, I'm always so happy I went! Hoping to develop a healthier and more active lifestyle and get myself moving more regularly throughout the week! Cheers to better sleep and more energy!
READ THROUGH THE ENTIRE BIBLE
As of late, I've really enjoyed going to the gym. (FINALLY) I've finally reached that point in my life where it's no longer a horrible burden but definitely a huge stress reliever and it's been helping me to sleep better at night too! The hardest part is definitely making myself go - because once I'm there, I'm always so happy I went! Hoping to develop a healthier and more active lifestyle and get myself moving more regularly throughout the week! Cheers to better sleep and more energy!
READ THROUGH THE ENTIRE BIBLE
As you may know, I've been attempting this for the last two years and have been unsuccessful... But third times a charm and this year I have the accountability I need to get through it! I'll be using YOTB (YearOfTheBible) which is a chronological reading plan that my church had done together a few years back. It will provide me reading assignments in both the old and New Testament and help to get cover to cover by the end of this year. Here is a list of other great plans if you haven't found one yet. Excited to see all that God will teach me as I pursue this this year. :)
DO AT LEAST 1 CRAFT A MONTH
I love crafts. It provides me a moment of quiet which is good for my soul and also provides me a big avenue to serve and surprise people I love! I have a sewing machine, a lot of fabric, a lot of paint, a lot of thread/yarn, calligraphy pens, fine tip markers, embroidery hoops, felt, etc. My opportunities are endless and I want to craft more this year. Hopefully I'll be able to share my projects in this blog throughout the year!
OPEN AN ETSY SHOP
My artsy, fartsy graphic artist sister Audrey and I have been trying to open up an etsy shop for a while now. I make excuses about needing to get everything printed, envelopes/packaging supplies ordered, photos taken for the display etc... but to be honest, I'm just too scared! I feel really nervous about starting this shop and have so many insecurities -- (it's not perfect, I have absolutely no formal training, who would buy my stuff?!) but hoping that we'll be able to muster enough courage to do this in 2015!
TAKE MORE PICTURES//"EVERYDAY LIFE" POSTS
In 2013, I posted up photos of everyday life on a week-to-week basis. It was a good way for me to encourage myself to take more pictures throughout the week and has now provided for me an awesome keepsake + timeline of pictures about my ordinary but wonderful everyday life. This helped me to really capture the beauty I saw in even the most mundane things so I'm hoping to start it up again! A short post will be up tomorrow for the first week of January. :) let's be honest -- mostly it's pictures of food, coffee, my feet and dirty dishes.
COMPLETE THE "WHOLE 30" CHALLENGE
Have you guys ever heard of whole 30? When Eugene and I were in our health nut phase this year, I discovered this interesting fad. Essentially, it's a challenge to eat only whole foods for 30 days. There is a strict list of foods you can/can't eat - and forces you to be intentional about what kind of things you put in your mouth/food (ie. looking up the ingredients for everything!). I haven't been able to brave this quite yet - but I'm hoping to do this in March after I come back from India. Whole 30 means no sugar and caffeine for 30 days. I bet that's gonna be cute on me. Haha!
KEEP A PRAYER JOURNAL
COMPLETE THE "WHOLE 30" CHALLENGE
Have you guys ever heard of whole 30? When Eugene and I were in our health nut phase this year, I discovered this interesting fad. Essentially, it's a challenge to eat only whole foods for 30 days. There is a strict list of foods you can/can't eat - and forces you to be intentional about what kind of things you put in your mouth/food (ie. looking up the ingredients for everything!). I haven't been able to brave this quite yet - but I'm hoping to do this in March after I come back from India. Whole 30 means no sugar and caffeine for 30 days. I bet that's gonna be cute on me. Haha!
KEEP A PRAYER JOURNAL
Have you guys ever tried keeping a prayer journal? It's pretty amazing. It definitely requires discipline, because even disciplining myself to pray regularly is a challenge and is something I really want to grow in this year. I kept a prayer journal before and it's so awesome to see how God answers prayers (in His perfect time!) and to see Him working so actively in our lives. I'm going to be documenting my prayers on my weekly calendar since that's something I carry with me everyday and I can keep track of what days I missed!
HOST A GET TOGETHER AT LEAST ONCE A MONTH
Eugene and I love having people over. It's definitely one of my favorite things about being married and having our own place. It's been more infrequent these last few years because we live farther away from most of our friends/church community and we had moved so much these last 3 years. However, we're hoping to really grow in hospitality this year, despite the technical challenges, and really use our home as a means to serve and love people. If you guys don't mind the commute - let us know and we'll have you over soon!
HOST A GET TOGETHER AT LEAST ONCE A MONTH
Eugene and I love having people over. It's definitely one of my favorite things about being married and having our own place. It's been more infrequent these last few years because we live farther away from most of our friends/church community and we had moved so much these last 3 years. However, we're hoping to really grow in hospitality this year, despite the technical challenges, and really use our home as a means to serve and love people. If you guys don't mind the commute - let us know and we'll have you over soon!
I know this may seem to go against the huge list of resolutions I've made for myself but this is definitely something I'm learning right now. Sometimes I deceive myself into thinking that if I'm not doing a thousand things, I'm wasting time, being unproductive, or being a failure. I want to stop that kind of thinking. I'm learning that more often than not - less is more. I'm learning that it's far more valuable to commit to a few things and do those things excellently, rather than trying to get my hands in everything and do it half-heartedly. I'm praying that God will provide me the wisdom and discernment I need to know what things and people to invest into to ensure that I'm using my time and energy in the best way possible. I want to learn to be okay with less. Do little things with big love. To make everything I'm doing count for Christ!
Big year ahead. I can't wait to see what 2015 has in store for us!
xoxo
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