Monday, December 31, 2012

Thoughts About the New Year... and the Old

A new year is upon us. A fresh beginning. A new chance for change, for making yourself better, for making your home and life better. Maybe you'd like to make new friends this year? Maybe you'd like to have a baby? To get a better job? To lose a few pounds?

As I begin this new year, I can't help but think about the old. How did I grow in my walk with God this past year? How did I treat my children? My husband? Others? Myself?

I stopped making New Year's Resolutions a long time ago. I was never able to stick to them. I'd make them on December 31st while waiting for the new year to arrive, I'd work on them the first few weeks of the year... but by the middle of February, I'd forget about them again. Things come up, I'd get sidetracked, I'd never go back to it. So this year, I decided to do things a little differently.

I got myself a notebook. A pretty one I wouldn't mind having near me all year. On the first page of this pretty notebook, I wrote my goals for this year. (Not resolutions, goals.) These are general. For example, "Lose weight and keep it off." See? Not too specific.

The next pages are dedicated to plans to help me accomplish these goals. Using the above example, I'd write things like "Replace 1 cup of pop with water," or "Work up to 20 minutes a day on the treadmill," or "Make healthier eating choices."

The rest of the notebook is for progress notes. Each goal has a different section for notes. (I thought about getting a divided notebook, but I thought Pos-It Flags would work out better for me.) So, following our example above, the progress notes might read something like "Walked briskly for 5 minutes on the treadmill today" or "I'm up to 6 glasses of water a day!" or "It's been over a month since I've had chocolate."

I thought this way would be better to help me accomplish my goals. I've written them down so I don't forget what I wanted to accomplish this year. I'll keep the notebook at my desk so I don't forget about it. The larger goal is general enough that I can make changes or tweaks if I need to. The smaller plans are like step-by-step guides. It's a lot easier to accomplish a smaller goal than a larger one. And once I have all my smaller plans accomplished, I've accomplished my bigger goal. Yay me. :)

By the way, the example used above is not from my notebook. Those goals are very personal to me and I don't choose to share them with anyone at this time. I hope you understand. :)

So... all that said...

I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year! I hope and pray for nothing but the best for all of you!
And don't forget to go through your checkbook and write 2013 on all your checks. ;)

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

A Very Blessed Christmas to Everyone!

I certainly realize that this is only my third blog post and I probably don't have anyone following me at the moment, but I did want to take this moment to wish everyone a very happy, merry, and blessed Christmas! In all the hustle and bustle of the season, let's not forget the reason we have this most holy of all holidays:



Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Fresh Air Review

Fresh Air is about keeping your relationship with God fresh. Breathing fresh air into what might otherwise be a stale walk with the Creator.

And it is. Oh, my, it is. This book truly is a breath or fresh air. (That's it, promise. :P) Often when I read a book about how to have a better life with God, I think "Well, that sounds good, but how do I apply it to my life?" or "This is all fine and well for someone strong in the Lord, but what about me?" or similar doubts. But this book is different. I was engaged in the book, and I had no problem applying the principles to my life.

This book is amusing with its humor-filled stories which keeps the reader's interest, but it's spiritual and scriptural elements make the book relevant and purposeful.

I will definitely reread this book several times. Highlight. Make notes in the margins. Buy extra copies to give as gifts. And thank God for giving Chris Hodges the inspiration to write this book. :)

I received a free copy of this book from Tyndale in exchange for an honest review.

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

So... This is my New Blog!

I've tried blogging before, but nothing felt right. I think this one might stick. Incoherent ramblings. That's what I'm about. I have thoughts, ideas, opinions. Just like everyone else. I try not to offend anyone (though I realize that's impossible). I have trouble thinking of the words I want to use. I forget what I'm talking about mid-story. So I tend to ramble. If you're listening to me talk, you'll get bored. But the beauty of a blog - assuming you're at all interested in what I have to say, you can just skip past the ramblings and get right to the point. Which is a good thing. You'll see. ;)

So - about me. Well, at the time I'm writing this, I'm 34 years old. I have a wonderful husband, Troy, who happens to be the pastor of my church. :) We have 3 wonderful boys - Josh is 8, Matty is 5, and CJ is 3.

Josh is homeschooled. He's in 3rd grade. Matty and CJ go to public preschool. They'll go to kindergarten and first grade (I'm not patient enough to teach them to read), then they'll be homeschooled as well.

I really do thank God for my life. I recently wrote this on my Facebook page:
i love my life. my husband and i are far (FAR) from rich. we don't live in a big, fancy house or drive an expensive sports car. but we love each other. very, very much. and we live in a home lovingly made by my wonderful husband. we have the 3 greatest kids anyone could ever hope for. we can't go out and buy whatever we want whenever we want, but we have everything we need. i am able to stay home and raise our boys as best as i know how. i am truly, truly thankful. ♥
^This pretty much sums up my life. 

Oh! And we have a dog (Jack), 2 cats (Oreo and Molly), and 2 rabbits (Fester and Bella). 

I review books for The Tyndale Blog Network from time to time.

That's about it for me. I love to meet new people, so if you've a mind to, please to leave a comment. 

Thank you for your time! God bless! :)