Another birthday down...a year in review

Sorry for the delay in posting - my 31st birthday was this past Thursday, and we continued the celebration into Friday! Then the weekend happened with final Christmas shopping and lots of church responsibilities so I lost track of time! :-) 

I'm one of those people that hates doing what everyone else is doing. I love to set goals and makes charts and plans, but I hated doing "New Year's Resolutions" like everyone else. If that is your thing, I am NOT bashing you at all. I'm just saying that I'm the type of person that says, "If everyone else is doing it, I'm out." So, some years ago I decided to start setting yearly goals on my birthday. Some time during the "big day", I sit down and write out things I'd like to accomplish that year. Life is such a precious gift that I don't want to waste a minute of it! I try to divide up my goals into categories of: physical, spiritual, mental, emotional. (Can you see my "Type A" personality coming out yet?) I try to keep the goals limited so that I can actually attain them. :-) I've had problems before of setting too many goals and then getting so frustrated at my lack of ability to keep them that I give up. This past year, I broke up my goals then into monthly increments. However, I left all of that in my journal and, erm, forgot about them. I'm sad to say that out of 10 goals, I only fully accomplished TWO of them. However, they were two of the more important goals out of all I had set. 

One was to have a consistent devotional life. For those that may not be familiar with this term - devotions is simply a word that means I spend a set amount of time in prayer and in studying/reading God's Word. I'm embarrassed to say that although I've been saved now for over 25 years, I struggled the most with being consistent daily in God's Word after I had Caelynn. I had SUCH a hard time staying in a daily pattern. I got incredibly frustrated with myself and my life, and discontentment started to creep in. This past year, on my 30th birthday, I set a goal to read my Bible DAILY. By the grace of God alone...to the best of my knowledge I was in His Word every day. And it's amazing how that habit so quickly came back. Within a few weeks, there were very few times that I came to the end of the day and thought, "Shoot - haven't read yet today!" It took some tweaking but in the end I reverted back to my trusty "do it in the morning" routine that I always had during high school, college, and teaching. Although I love to sleep in, I function best in the morning so that is when I exercise, do my chores, and also do my devotions. I was also very blessed to be introduced to the ministry of Beth Moore (Living Proof Ministries) while I was pregnant with Matthew. I so enjoyed her Bible study that I have found that I am most consistent and learn best when I'm doing her studies. It is one of my only "special treats" I allow myself to spend money on. Well worth it. If you want some recommendations on her studies or more info, comment below and I"ll try to help! Her Bible studies are geared towards women, are easy to read, chocked full of awesome information, and have a very easy "5 day a week" homework layout to them. Whether you have been doing daily devotions for years or need something to help you grow, challenge you, or help you stay more dedicated to weekly Bible study, I HIGHLY recommend her! :-)

The other goal was to running 5 miles a day. For those of you who many not know me - I.HATE.RUNNING. I was the kid in school that prayed for the rapture every time we had to do the Presidential Fitness Testing with the mile run. I'm not a runner. I did it to get by in basketball but I HATED it. I'm short, I'm slow, and I saw no purpose to it. But after years of power walking, tae bo, yoga, etc... my body was in a slump. I had started running to take off the weight after I had Caelynn and was up to about 2 miles a day on the treadmill when I got pregnant with Matthew. After having Matthew, my awesome aunt came out to help me - she runs 5 miles a day. If she can do it, so can I. So I set the goal. I was a bit doubtful but thought, "Let's aim high." By May, I had hit my mark. However, a month or so earlier, I did something that REALLY challenged me. In a moment of insanity, I signed up with my friend Cheryl to run a half marathon. She used words like, "fun" and "awesome" and I got sucked in. I'm SO THANKFUL I did it. It took me totally out of my comfort zone and made me say, "Age is just a number - push your body to what it CAN do!" I got up to 5 miles a day on the treadmill in May, started training more extensively in June, completed my first "10 mile outdoor run" in July, and ran a half marathon in August. My goal was to finish in 2 hours, 30 minutes. I finished in 2 hours, 31 minutes. I was a bit bummed I had missed it by only a minute, but still...wahoo! It was one of the hardest things I've done (more for the mental challenge than anything else) but so worth it! We started out in a small town called Georgetown about 13,000 ft above sea level. We ran to Idaho Springs on winding roads, dirt trails, some gravel, and GORGEOUS scenery. I was in pain a lot of the way - I should have replaced my running shoes LONG before that race due to how many miles per week I was logging on my shoes but oh well. :-) I DID IT! :-) I was so proud! While I can't say I'm now "addicted" to running or addicted to races (I barely slept the night before b/c I was SO NERVOUS!), I'm happy I did it. One more thing to check off the bucket list! ;-) The most important lesson I learned from it, though, was that so often we have these mental blocks about something. "I can't do this because I have ____ wrong with me." "I can't do this because I'm ____ old." "I can't do this because I'm ____ pounds overweight." Challenge yourself with something you don't think you can do and then DO IT! Use it as a stepping stone of faith! You'll be amazed at what God can teach you through it! There - motivational speech over. ;-) 

I'm bummed about not accomplishing more but it's a NEW goal to work on! ;-) here are just a few that I've set for this coming year - and hopefully if I share them that will give me more incentive to DO them! :-)

1. Spend time in the Word daily.

2. Read 30 books (when I turned 29 my goal was 25 and I BLEW through that - but I only had ONE child then! Last year I was like, "Let's bump it up and do 50!" Sadly, I think I hit MAYBE 10 - life with two kids is much harder but definitely something I need to work on. Reading is my passion and NEEDS to be more of a priority!)

3. Log 800 miles in exercise (seems like a lot but that's really only about 66 miles per month/ 16.5 per week)

4. Write a children's book. (My dream, besides owning my own bookstore, has been to be a writer. I figure I'll start small. :-) 

5. Write 24 "just because I appreciate you" cards. Card writing is a dying art form today - in the age of instant communication and social media, I think we sometimes forget the power of the hand written word. 

6. Dare I share my weight goal???? DO I DARE??? That might be for another day. :-) And the weight goal might get messed up anyway - we are praying about the Lord giving us a third baby this year - whatever His will is for our lives and family is good with us! :-)

Getting ready to head out for a free birthday supper at Red Robin!

More soon, dear friends! I hope this post didn't bore you - and I pray, ABOVE ALL ELSE, that this post did not come off in any way as prideful or "check me out" b/c that is never my intent. If it encourages you, fantastic. If it inspires you, great. But most importantly, I hope it again shows the goodness of God in my life - I am so very blessed! May this next year be one that brings total glory to Him!