I know we are over half way into our first month of 2013 already, but it's never too late to make goals for the upcoming year. It has been nice to reflect on 2012 the last few weeks and think of ways to make 2013 even better. I already got a good start on 2013 by celebrating my 24th birthday and cleansing my body with a good old head cold. But seriously, I want this to be a year of growth, learning, adventure, change, and love. I want to look back on 2013 and know that I am a different person because of my experiences and how the Lord worked in my heart. I want to be the best "ME" I can be this year.
Some of my goals I am striving to achieve this year:
1. I want to know the Lord in a way I've never known him before. I want to make it a point every day to spend time in His word. I want to practice being silent and listening to what He has to say. I want an intimate relationship with Him beyond what I have already. I know it will be a daily struggle -especially at first, but I know I can do it with help from Him. I found a Bible reading plan and I'm hoping to read some scripture daily so that I can read through the Bible by the end of 2013. I can do this!
2. I want to continue to learn more about my husband and grow with him daily. We decided to put aside one night a week for a date night with no phones, computers, or TV. I am super excited about this. We have been married two years now and have gone on dates throughout those two years, but we have one night now where we know nothing else will happen except date night. I am pumped for intentional time with my husband weekly!
3. I want to be healthy. After having my cold in the beginning of the month, I realized how important it is to do everything I can to keep myself healthy. I already take whole food vitamins every day to help my body get all the nutrients it needs, but I want to work out and eat healthy too. I have had a gym membership for a year now and I intend to put it to good use. I've been working out Monday, Thursday, and Friday mornings before work and I really like the routine I've started. I also have cut my sugar intake way down. It has only been a couple weeks, but I already feel better and I have more energy during the day.
4. I want to strive to be a morning person. The last couple of weeks I have been waking up at 7am. When my alarm goes off I almost get angry and think to myself is it seriously 7am already!? I want to develop a habit of getting up at the same time every day though because I think it will make it easier to get up the days I actually have to be up that early. I have done pretty well so far. I just wish the sun would come out earlier because I think that would make it easier to get up. I also have a lot more time in the am to get things done like devotions, a workout, and other apartment work. It really frees up time in my evenings when I get home from work.
5. Along with being healthier this year, I want to run another 5k or two. I've ran one in my life and that was back in summer of 2011. Last year I always said I wanted to run one, but when it came to signing up I always chickened out. A few on my list that I might check out are: The Monticello Riverfest 5K in July, The Color Run in July, The Monster Dash in October, The Turkey Day 5k in November, and The Reindeer Run in December. If anyone knows of any other fun runs in the Minneapolis area let me know! I'd love to look into a few different options that might be cheaper.
6. I want this to be a year of adventure. I want to take risks and try new things. I want to travel places and see new things. I want to be spontaneous and have fun and I want Andrew to be there trying new things, taking risks, traveling places, and seeing new things with me. I want to have stories to tell our future kids one day that start out with us saying, "Remember that one awesome time in 2013…"
7. I want to become more of a minimalist. This one will be especially hard for me because I have pack-rat tendencies. I always go into "spring cleaning" with the intention of getting rid of a lot of things, but instead I end up reorganizing my things so that I can keep everything because it "might come in handy one day." Well I am sick of having "organized clutter" and would love to live in a simpler environment. This will be a longer process, but I hope by the end of 2013 I can say that I've accomplished minimizing my things (especially my clothes).
8. Along with becoming more of a minimalist, I want to go through my entire wardrobe and get rid of at least a quarter of the clothes I own. I own way too many clothes and I don't even wear all of them. I love to go shopping and buy new clothes (clearance ones), but I have no where to put new clothes (and really no need for them). So after going through my clothes and getting rid of a bunch of them I am making a rule that if I want to purchase a new clothing item, I have to get rid of an item I currently own first. That way my wardrobe won't grow it will stay the same size.
9. I want to have a table at the Bethlehem Baptist Craft Fair this fall. Every year I always wish I would have had my own table to sell the things I love to create. This will be my year. I'm hoping to launch an etsy sight too around fall. I plan to sell knitted baby hats, washcloths, and headbands, hand crafted hair pieces and headbands, and baby quilts. Until then I will enjoy creating a whole bunch of merchandise to get ready and figuring out a name for my "shop".
10. I just want to enjoy life this year and live it to the fullest. I don't want to let the anxieties and stresses of life take over and rob the joy of living. I want to instead, lift those burdens to Christ on a daily basis so that I may be free to enjoy life and the little things every day.
Day dreaming about everything I hope to accomplish in 2013 makes me so excited to start the year! I can't wait to start organizing, creating, and accomplishing my goals for the year! Here's to a happy, healthy, productive year!
