My Plans For The Upcoming Year

Ah yesss...another person waxing poetic about their plans for the New Year.  Don't worry about reading this.  Like so many others, I need to make changes and the best thing to do is have someone hold you accountable.  The internet and anyone who may stumble upon this are part of that accountability. 


I have spent the past several weeks really trying to nail down the goals I have for the upcoming year.  I have been planning on making some fairly significant changes this year.  I don't expect to be 100 percent perfect when it comes to making these changes, but I could surprise myself.  Here is my list.


1 - I will get back up.  When I find myself missing the mark, I will get back up and continue on.  I will not fail, I will move on.  I put this first because I know how things can go for me.  I can start my race at a pure sprint of excitement and somehow get distracted and trip, stumble and fall flat on my face.  This can cause me to have a "what is the point?" attitude.  I plan to not give in to that nonsense. 


2 -  Read the Word.  Even if I just get a chapter in, I will read my Bible more and get into His word.  Some days this is very easy.  I can get into scriptures and time just flies.  Then there are those times where it is a little more difficult, but it is still important.  My goal is to get more out of my reading of the word.  So it is all good if that means that some days I am getting the most by reading one chapter.  Do I hope to read the Bible in a year?  No.  It would be nice, but I really want to study the word.  I really want to memorize and be able to hold God's word in my heart.  That will take more time.


3 -  Save money.  This is a huge need.  I have been fairly good about saving money, but not overly consistent.  There are several things that I plan to employ to do this. 


3A -  Coupon.  Couponing is a given.  I am moderately okay with that.  I will never be a stockpiling kind of gal due to the fact that I simply do not have the space to do so, and because I just do not see the need to go beyond my little pantry closet.  I do plan to take advantage of the sales that I find to the best of my ability. 


3B -  Write down what I spend.  When I keep track of what I eat, I eat less.  When I write down what I spend, I spend less. 


3C -  Make more foods from scratch and buy less convenience foods.  I can go so far with this.  I am dreaming of a  new KitchenAid stand up mixer (I am part of the way there financially), and that little item should help me on my way to making more foods from scratch.


3D -  Menu plan.  I hope to get more involved with posting and linking with Menu Plan Monday at I'm An Organizing Junkie.  I was soooooo good at that for a while.  I really need to get back to that.  Not only was this a great way to keep my budget in control, but it was also an amazing way to keep my life in control. 


4 -  Weight loss.  I was very fortunate to go on the HCG diet and lose 28 pounds.  I still have a long way to go, and I plan to continue that journey into this new year.  My husband and I will be celebrating our fifth wedding anniversary this year, and I would like to get back into that dress.  I had struggles with this because about six months after we got married my thyroid went kabloom.  My metabolism slowed, and my weight began to rise.  I plan to work on keeping track of what I eat and drink more water.  It isn't like drinking water is hard to do, but man if you don't think about it, it can really get away from you.  I also plan to stick with the gym at least five days a week. 


5 - Read more.  This is fairly simple.  I used to be a crazy reader.  That kind of slipped to the wayside a while back, and I am tired of not giving myself the joy that I used to get from a good book.  I would like to tackle a book a week.  Considering my other goals, this may not be possible, but I am certainly going to give it a try.  I figure I can get a lot of reading done on my Nook while I am hitting the gym anyway.  My husband and I have started reading together too.  That is pretty fun.  He reads a chapter to me and I read a chapter to him.  Right now we are working our way through "Book Of Days" by James L Rubart. 


6 -  Blog more.  I was once pretty awesome at blogging.  I am not saying I was an amazing blogger.  I just kept up with it.  I suppose that I am really just hoping to be more on target with everything.  I suffer from distraction at times. I would like to blog daily.  Even if I am just checking in briefly, I want to do that.  I don't plan on blogging while I am on my second honeymoon though.  My husband and I will be back in Carmel, and I have no intention on focusing on anything other than loving life with my husband during that time away.  :)


So those are my goals.  All in all, I am working and praying and focusing on getting my life in a  new order.  :)  I am really looking forward to the ride.  :)

Back to Proverbs 29:18

Okay...I was loving YouVersion.com, but something zany happened, and I was put back to the beginning.  I am figuring that this means God wants me to refocus on my dreams and goals.  That seems to be the best way to think about it anyway.  


First things first:


Proverbs 29:18


When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild.
But whoever obeys the law is joyful.

NLT

This version is the New Living Translation, and it makes me think about focusing on walking along the path that God has set before me.  I have my dreams and I pray that they are in God's plan for my life, but really, all I need to do is walk His walk, and he will direct my paths.  I want to accept His guidance, because frankly, I definitely understand the running wild and running into chaos without it.  This isn't to say that I was a bull in a china shop, but honestly, I do believe I could have saved myself much grief if I had just focused on the plan God has for my life.  Of course, this isn't a revelation I had during my worry and scurry years.  But I get it now, and I want to be used to glorify His kingdom in whatever way that He sees fit.


I'm going to stop here now, because I need to do a little planning out for my goals for the new year.  There are so many, and I really need to put them on paper so I can plan and act.

Laughter?...Check....Verse for Today - Proverbs 17:22

(This picture makes sense as you go along)

Today's study brought me to Proverbs 17:22
A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

So very true.  I remember when I was a kid and I would scan through my grandmother's Reader's Digest magazines.  One of my first stops was always Laughter is Great Medicine or something like that anyway.  I loved reading the funny things that happened to people or the silly little jokes.  

Nowadays, I think I can get caught up in the serious.  Not to a ridiculous degree, mind you.  I married a very silly man and I am a very silly woman.  But I do not actively search out a good laugh like I did when I was a kid.  So I have decided to make laughter one of my resolutions (I think this will be a nice use of a few moments each day).  I will resolve to find something fun or funny to laugh about every day.  I like the idea of looking on the brighter side of life.  Doesn't it sound fun to look for something to laugh about?


If God didn't want us to laugh and enjoy the sillier things, he wouldn't have made some of us so ticklish or so easily amused.  I am really learning that there are so many things to appreciate in this world.  I don't think we need to remind ourselves to be serious, but we definitely need to remind ourselves to let go a bit.

No More Fear -- My Verse For Today - 1 John 4:18

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

1 John 4:18

This was and is pretty wild for me.  Fear has been a definer in my life.  I have always had to deal with fear.  I think it is may be the way I grew up.  I don't know really.  I think that I never felt okay.  I never felt accepted.  I felt only accepted when I was perfect in the eyes of the world.  Or at least as perfect as I could get.  I wasn't happy though.  And there was always fear.  Fear that I would fail.  Fear that I would lose whatever I had gained.  Why?  Because I didn't really have love.  I certainly didn't love myself, and I don't think I remotely grasped the love of God.  I don't think I even have that grasped yet.  


That is okay though.  I know that I will.  This year I will give up fear.  I will give up worry.  I will give up disappointment.  I will give up self doubt.  I will give up beating myself up.  I will give up thinking that I have to settle.  I will give up believing that I am only going to be.  I will give up sadness.  I will give up depression.  I will give up restlessness.  I will give up feeling as if I am on an island.  I will give up believing that God cares about others, but I am not good enough.  I will give up the world's idea of perfection and focus on my perfect savior, Jesus Christ.


The new year is coming and I am going to resolve to give up all the ties that have bound me to pain and narrowed my focus and my future.  I am giving in to God and I am giving all of me to Him to do as he pleases.  I know that only through Christ and my relationship with God will I truly leave the past behind me.

What Is My Purpose?

This is quite possibly the nagging question in my mind.  What is my purpose?  Why did God create me?  i think there really is not just a God shaped hole in our lives in ourselves that needs to be filled by a relationship with him with Jesus Christ, but I also feel that, at least for myself, there is a purpose hole.  I feel that there is something missing in my life that I need to be who God made me to be, and that until I am, I will not feel complete.  


I am blessed.  Of that I am certain.  I have a wonderful child and a fabulous husband.  If I die tomorrow, I will be forever grateful for what God has given me.  But what have I given God?  What is my act of worship?  What has He created me for?  What are my talents?  Seriously, all of this hits me all the time.  Today especially.  

I feel like there is something more and I am not there yet.  It is almost maddening at times.  In fact, at times I am blue, because I there is a part of me that is lacking.  I can't quite pinpoint what it is, and I most likely am rambling right now, but truly I just need to suss out my thoughts.  One of my goals for this year is definitely going to be to nail down who I am in Christ and who God made me to be.  I think that for so long everyone else told me what I should do and should be that who I am got lost in the shuffle.


I'll have to think on this.

Just Checking In and Today's Verse Galatians 6:9

Today's Verse:


Galatians 6:9


Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Not giving up is hard.  It is certainly hard for me.  I am not saying that I give up easily but it can happen in a breath.  Because I really, really want to make something out of myself I am writing right now when honestly, I'd rather jump into bed.

It was a rough day.  

My alarm went off at 5:00 am.  I didn't freak out or anything.  I just listened for my son.  This is what I do every morning from Monday through Friday.  I listen to make sure that he gets up and gets into the shower.  Once I am sure he has done just that, I drop back to sleep until my alarm goes off again at 5:30 am.  At that point I get up and do the shower thing.  When done I wake my son up (yes...after he showers he goes back to sleep - we love sleeping) so he can finish getting ready and then we continue on with our daily routine until it is time to drop him off at the bus stop.  

The first part went as expected.  My alarm went off, I listened and heard my son get in the shower, and I fell back to sleep.  I slept great and had a wonderful dream of a place that I dream about occasionally.  More than occasionally really.  I dreamed about a town that I go back to all the time.  So much that I recognize the total landscape...the hotels, restaurants, hills valleys and other features of this town.  It is some little dream place of mine.  Sorry...I am not staying on point am I?

Where was I?  Yes.  I fell asleep.  I just drifted along in this wonderful dream, but then I felt this need to wake up.  It seemed impossible, but yep, I overslept.  It was 7:00 am.  NIGHTMARE TIME!  I had to literally leap out of bed and get in the shower.  On the way I rapped on my son's door and told him to get ready in a flash because I was going to have to take him to school.  Once washed I quickly got a sandwich ready for him for his lunch and another for him to eat for breakfast.  While he ate, I got dressed, poured myself an iced coffee (I would have preferred hot coffee but time was of the essence) and somehow got us out the door.  I got my son to school on time, and got myself to work 15 minutes late.  That stunk, but it really could have been much worse.  

I honestly thought for a moment about just letting my son stay home so we could avoid all the chaos.  That would have been a bad thing to do.  It is one thing to miss school when you are sick, but missing school because your mom woke up late...not good.  It would have been a bad message to give my son. It would have been easier to do rather than race about, but again, the message would have been a bad one and it would have been  a lesson that would be hard to unlearn.  


And now I am totally exhausted and really am ready to get some rest.  But first, what does this verse,  Galatians 6:9 mean to me?  Here it is again:  


Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.


Today meant doing good by getting my son to school even though it would most likely make me late.  It meant moving even though I could probably justify not doing so.  By doing good in taking my son to school he saw that he is a priority in my life.  I was not going to let his needs drop because I didn't want to be a little late for work.  His education is a priority.  If he sees that it is a priority for me, he will understand that it should also be a priority for him.  He also saw that sometimes you have to push yourself and just not give up.  We pushed and we made it.  


It was a rough start, but it was a good day. 

Verse for Today - Galations 5:16

I have not been entirely sporadic in my posting of my verses.  Still I am behind in my reading at youversion.com.  I read every day, but some days, I am reading my devotionals at Proverbs 31 Ministries so these scriptures may take a center in my study at a later time.  If I do not focus on a verse for the day, that is not to mean that I have no intention of reading.  Studying His word is very important to me and a place where I feel I am lacking.  


There really are so many things I want to work on.  My spiritual side (well actually my relationship with God puts it more accurately) is the most important.  


So back to my verse.  Today I focused on Galatians 5:16


So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. --Galations 4:16

Joyce Meyer delves into that more in the devotional that joins this verse:


Relying on God

I believe every time we feel frustration, it means we've really stopped relying on God. That might sound like a bold statement to you, but think about it: God's given you and me His Holy Spirit and His grace to help us walk through anything that comes our way. Frustration hits when we stop depending on Him and try to make something happen our own way.

Understanding this really helped me. Every time I became frustrated, I reminded myself that what I was really doing was trying to take the place of the Holy Spirit. I was trying to be Holy Spirit Junior!

Do you struggle with an independent spirit? When you refuse to depend on God, in essence, you're saying, "Okay, God, I appreciate that You're around, but watch me do this." Depending on God for everything may be difficult, but it's the key to the victory we need every single day of our lives.

When God saved us, He didn't help us and then say, "Ok, that's it. You're on your own now!" He's eternally saved us, which means if we depend on Him, He will guide us and help us.

Galations 5:16 urges us to "walk and live [habitually] in the [Holy] Spirit...then you will certainly not gratify the cravings and desires of the flesh".... Notice that it doesn't say "conquer the flesh independently...then you will certainly not gratify the desires of the flesh." No, it says to live in the Holy Spirit.

Choose to stop living independently, and rely on the Holy Spirit. I promise you won't regret it!

Prayer Starter: God, You are all I need. Help me not to trust in myself, but to put my trust in You and to rely only on You.

I don't know if I am focusing more on what I need to do and less on God and asking Him to be my strength.  I think in a way I do.  I do not like to give up the reins.  This isn't because I don't want to give control of my life over to God.  I think that I tend to try to pretend that all is well.  I do get frustrated though.  There are things that I truly desire and that I am just not sure if I can do on my own.  I know that I need His strength and that I will do God's will and be all He has created me to be in His time, but am I hindering God?  Can you hinder God?  I know I don't want to hinder God.  I certainly do not want to get in His way, but my own actions could be doing just that.  

Here is what I am working on right now.

I am still having my snotty issues and my irritation when I drive.  It is truly amazing how many horrid drivers one can come in contact with in a few short blocks when one is asking God to change them when on the road.  I can say that I am continually asking for His forgiveness, and I am trying.  Yesterday I continually sang His praises when I realized I was just getting too grumpy.  At times I was kind of screaming out "Hallelujah," but I must say that it really did help.  I know that I am not evil because I get a little impatient or offended by bad and selfish drivers on the road, but it definitely takes me away from peace.  I want peace.

I am also trying to catch myself when I speak negative things to myself.  I am really my own worst enemy there.  I continually bash myself or allow myself to get in a gloomy funk where I say that no one wants me to do any more than I already am.  That I will not be given opportunity.  But the fact is that God is more powerful than any man on this earth.  And if God wants me to advance and God wants me to move...I WILL MOVE.  If God wants me to learn a lesson where I am right now...I WANT TO LEARN THAT LESSON.  I want to be what He has designed me to be.  I just hope and pray that I can figure it out.  I don't want to get my desires in the way of His plan and purpose for my life.

The nice thing about prepping for the year ahead, my year of change, is that I have plenty of time and a mighty God.