What fires me up…& January goals.

I’ve never been huge on making resolutions and this year isn’t much different. However, I knew I wanted to make a list of a few of the things that fire me up to remind myself to pursue what inspires me.

Joy-filled classrooms…Without a doubt my heart is in the classroom. I want to continually learn more and more about creating such an environment in my future classroom

Coffee dates…This is all about being intentional with the friends in my life.

Mountain adventures and exploring…Y’all my love for the mountains knows no bounds. Going to school in Tennessee and coming home to North Carolina on breaks makes it easy to get out and explore. I plan to do lots of it too.

Praying for future hubby and marriage…THIS gets me fired up! I know that one of the ways I can honor my future hubby before we even meet is by praying for him {read more about how I specifically pray for him here!}.

Encouragement…My words should be used to build others up and I want to be more intentional about doing so.

Snail mail…I mean who doesn’t love receiving sweet cards or handwritten letters in the mail?!

A marked up Bible…Being able to look back on what the Lord has taught me is special. I’ve started to read through the Bible chronologically and I want to see and reflect on what the Lord is teaching me.

Becoming stronger at running…I slowly started to get into running last semester and I really love it. It feels so good to notice my stamina and endurance improving.

Writing down the simple joys…This is about cultivating gratefulness {Psalm 100:4}. I started my list of 1,000 gifts in 2011 and lost count somewhere around 500. So I’m starting from the beginning and writing down the simple and ordinary moments that really do make life sweet.

Embracing this: “Wherever you are, be all there.” {Jim Elliot}…Not much explanation needed for this one.

I’ve also decided to make a few goals each month that I’ll share to keep me accountable. Instead of having goals that are unrealistic and that I quickly forget about, I’m focusing on small and practical goals that I plan to accomplish. It’s all about making things happen.

So my January goals…

1. No social media after 11pm.

Personally, this is a tough one. I have such a habit of grabbing my phone once I’m in bed. I’ll scroll though Facebook and Instagram and before I know it 20 or 30 minutes has passed. I don’t want what’s on my newsfeed to be what I’m focusing on before falling asleep.

2. Write down simple joys each day in my journal.

I mentioned this in more detail above. I really love this habit because it has made me SO much more aware throughout the day of all the “gifts” that I used to miss.

3. Send five letters snail mail style.

I’ve already sent two this month…three more to go!

4. Clean the entire house for my parents.

While I’m still home for Christmas break I want to do this to serve my parents. My mom has also been out-of-town taking care of my sick grandpa so it would nice for her to come home to a clean house.

5. Be intentional about speaking to store cashiers when checking out. {AKA say more than just “How are you? Good.”}

This may sound like an odd goal, but I usually try to engage in conversation with store cashiers. I learned this from my mom growing up and it’s the neatest to see them light up. I don’t want to be just another customer who passes through their line without even making eye contact.

May your Monday be so filled with joy. It’s currently 15 degrees outside and there’s snow on the ground so I plan to stay warm and cozy inside by the fireplace!