Monday, March 31, 2014

March & April Goals

As I shared at the beginning of January, I’ve decided to have monthly goals this year in order to truly be diligent about making things happen. Before moving into April I want to revisit my March goals to keep myself accountable…

1. Limit my trips to Starbucks.

Success! I only stopped at Starbucks twice and both times were while I was traveling over spring break.

2. Learn more about adoption.

Adoption has been on my heart for a while now. Every time I hear another story something within me gets excited and I want to learn more. I started to learn a little bit more this month. I watched Stuck, a documentary focusing on international adoption. I’m barely scratching the surface, but I’m slowing becoming more aware.

3. Road trip to Florida to see one of my best friends.

Oh goodness. This trip was the best! I’m so thankful for the time I got to spend just hanging out with one of my best friends and her hubby. They opened up their home to me and I felt so welcomed. We explored Jacksonville and St. Augustine. We talked about anything and everything. We chased sunsets. We baked cookies and made face masks. Ahhh. It was just too sweet. We’re already talking about them spending some time with me in the mountains this summer.

{Exploring St. Augustine}

{Chasing Jacksonville sunsets}

4. Be intentional about giving at least one compliment every day.

This one is a work in progress.

5. Learn more about slavery.

There are 27 million men, women, and children still trapped in slavery today and that just in not okay. I need to become more informed about what’s actually going on. And I know that I need to be intentional about praying specifically every day. I’m not really sure about what this goal is going to look like. I just know that because I have been set free by Jesus I have a responsibility. You can learn more about the End It Movement as well.

I was not as intentional about this goal as I should have been. I did pray specifically, but it was not every day. I am still very unknowledgeable which is not okay.

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Now for April’s goals…

1. Eat more fresh fruits and veggies.

I notice such a difference in my skin and energy when I’m intentional about my diet. I’ll often leave fruits and veggies out of my meals which is no good. I plan on making sure to include lots of fruits and veggies in my diet this month.

2. Go exploring on mountain adventures.

I’m going home two weekends this month and I’m bringing friends each time. So fun! When I’m not at school in southeastern Tennessee, I go home to western North Carolina. I actually live right in the corner of North Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee so it’s a gorgeous area. I plan to explore new places and old favorites with some of my best girls.

3. Start making it a priority to manage my checking account with a register.

I’m awful when it comes to keeping track of my receipts. I never write it down when I use my debit card…I just keep track online to make sure I don’t overdraft. My mom convinced me that I need to start keeping a register as good practice. So I’m making it a priority from now on so I’ll be in the habit when I have a greater amount of money to budget in the future.  

4. Remind myself to speak life.

Words are powerful and I need to be using mine wisely. I need to think before speaking. I need to remind myself to SPEAK LIFE. When you’re intentional about speaking life, it’ll be hard to complain or speak negatively.

Speak Life! Love this song! Have I said that yet? Baha!! :){Source unknown}

5. No social media after 11PM.

I had this goal in January and it was so good to “shut down” after 11. I don’t need to be staring at a screen before I go to bed. However, after January ended I slowly started to ease back into my old routine of checking Instagram/Facebook before falling asleep. Without having it as an ongoing goal, I was not purposeful to keep the habit up. So I’m bringing this goal back for April.

Happy April, friends!

Monday, March 10, 2014

Creator, not Duplicator & Comparing Stories

Catching the sunset at Jacksonville beach over the weekend. I love watercolor sunsets.

I’m sitting in a corner at Panera in Jacksonville, Florida as I write this. It’s spring break and I came down to see my best friend, Janice, and her hubby. Janice is in class for a few hours so I snuck away with intentions of writing a little and exploring Jacksonville on my own. I’m having the sweetest time adventuring and simply getting to hang out. We go exploring. We bake cookies and dance in the kitchen. We go for beach walks. We talk about anything and everything. We have genuine conversation and I love it. I never imagined when we met in gym class in sixth grade that we would still be building our friendship ten years later. I’ve seen her romance with Stuart, her hubby, grow deep roots. I’ve see how excited she gets when we talk about kids and the future. I could go on and on.

I really want to share my heart and what I’m learning from the Lord right now. Being here has been such a fresh reminder that the Lord is faithful and that Janice’s story is not my story. I love seeing the way that Stuart looks at Jan. I have never seen her as happy as she is when they are together. They laugh and kiss and hold hands in the car. They know each other fully and love each other completely. They are best friends. But above all their marriage is rooted in Christ.

I remember when Janice and I first read When God Writes Your Love Story in tenth grade. We sat on her bedroom floor talking and dreaming. We started to realize just how much the Lord cared about this area of our lives. God isn’t stoic, distant, or detached…He is anything but! We started to realize that the Lord is in the details of all things. He has better stories for us than we could imagine ourselves. We started to dream about the men who would one day become our husbands. We didn’t have to settle. We also started to realize just how intimate our relationships with Jesus could be. The Lord used When God Writes Your Love Story to reveal just how much more He pursues me in a fresh way. Although I had believed in Jesus before that, I hadn’t really thought about how close and real He was. I could and do have a vibrant and life-giving relationship with the Creator of all things.

That revolutionized the way I approached spending time with Jesus. My identity is deeply rooted in Christ. I am a sinner in desperate need of the grace that He covers me in. I am messy and broken, but yet He still pursues me. This continues to draw me to want to know Him more. This year especially I’ve pressed into Jesus in a fresh way. I’ve been genuinely thankful for this season of singleness. My heart hasn’t been distracted and I’ve been given this time to be reminded over and over again that my roots need to be deep in Him. I’ll never be prepared for a future relationship with my man if I’m unaware that my security and significance can only come from being in Christ.

But then I came down to see Janice and Stuart and if I’m being honest I got a little jealous of what they have. I started to wonder when will I meet my man. When will I have someone to grab my hand as we’re walking down the sidewalk. When will I have someone pursue me with intention and honor all the days before and after marriage. When will I get to do everyday life with my best friend. I know that marriage is tough and challenging in a way that I can’t picture now, but I know that it is sacred and beautiful.

It may sound crazy, but I got jealous that I don’t have what Janice has yet. I’ve flashed back to dreaming in tenth grade of the stories that the Lord would orchestrate one day. Now I’ve seen each stage of Janice and Stuart’s relationship grow and develop. I have seen just how faithful the Lord has been with every aspect of their relationship from friendship to dating to engagement and now in marriage.

Sometimes singleness is just plain hard. Especially when I start to compare my story to others and take my eyes off of Jesus. Then I read a quote by Francis Chan that convicted me in the best way possible.

“Be careful not to turn others’ lives into the mold for our own…We have a God who is a Creator, NOT a duplicator.”

Y’all I needed to read that. My story is not Janice’s story and that is a good thing. My story is uniquely my own. The Lord is far too creative to script duplicate stories for anybody. And my goodness I am thankful for that! The Lord is Creator and He is faithful in all of the details. Janice’s story is uniquely scripted just for her by the Lord who loves and pursues her passionately. My story is uniquely scripted for me by the Lord who loves and pursues me passionately.

In Isaiah 43:19, the Lord says “Behold, I am doing a new thing!'” He doesn’t say that He is recycling something old, but that He is doing a NEW thing. That means we each have our own stories tailored just for us by the Lord of infinite creativity!

I am so thankful for how patient Jesus is with me. He is always growing me in the midst of my story. He is faithful. He is close and intimate. I’m beyond excited to meet my man some day soon and see how the Lord scripts every detail; he will be one of my biggest blessings and our marriage one of my greatest joys. BUT the Lord is reminding me that the absolute greatest part of my story is my relationship with Christ. He is the foundation of my story.

My heart pretty much just spilled out on the page as I sit here in Panera watching people come and go. May it remind you that the Lord is Creator and not a duplicator. Happy Monday, sweet friends!

Saturday, March 1, 2014

February & March Goals

As I shared at the beginning of January, I’ve decided to have monthly goals this year in order to truly be diligent about making things happen. Before moving into March I want to revisit my February goals to keep myself accountable…

1. Read two books.

I finished reading Jesus + Nothing = Everything and it was so full of truth. I kept coming back to how the gospel continues to impact every aspect of my everyday life. I started to read A Million Little Ways, but I’m only a chapter in. So I only half accomplished this goal

2. Go hiking.

This didn’t happen. I had planned to take a few friends home with me to the mountains over Valentine’s weekend, but we got snowed in at school. So hiking didn’t happen, but we are definitely making plans to go on a different weekend.

3. Be intentional about living in and embracing the ordinary moments.

I’m growing more in this habit daily so I would say this is an ongoing accomplishment

4. Have at least four coffee dates with friends.

I wanted to spend time with my girls and be intentional about continually developing rich friendships. I had exactly four dates although only one of them was actually over coffee (one was a lunch date and the other two were frozen yogurt dates). So this goal was accomplished.

5. Pray for my future hubby and marriage consistently.

I can’t say that I’ve prayed for him every single day, but I have been consistently praying for him. I’ve also started to pray more specifically and to pray scripture over him. This is a habit that I always will be growing in.

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Now for March goals…

1. Limit my trips to Starbucks.

I love coffee. I make coffee everyday at home, but I can also easily spend an additional $30 at Starbucks each month. I need to be more aware of where I’m spending money and Starbucks is definitely not a need. With the money that I would normally spend on Starbucks, I bought coffee from Just Love Coffee Roasters. When you purchase this particular coffee blend, 100% of the proceeds go to support America World Adoption. Making a difference starts with the small things.

2. Learn more about adoption.

Adoption has been on my heart for a while now. Every time I hear another story something within me gets excited and I want to learn more. I want to become more knowledgeable. I plan to read Orphanology: Awakening to Gospel-Centered Adoption and Orphan Care. There is also an adoptive mother at the preschool that I work at…I plan to ask her if she would be willing to have lunch with me. I want to hear her family’s story with all the challenges and triumphs of adopting.

3. Road trip to Florida to see one of my best friends.

Hello spring break! I’m driving down to Jacksonville to spend time with one of my best friends, Janice, and her hubby. I’m excited for lots of adventures and laidback moments.

4. Be intentional about giving at least one compliment every day.

There have been so many times when I’ve thought something, but then I didn’t tell the person. I’ve let moments pass where I could encourage someone. Words can be life-giving and I plan to be intentional about giving genuine compliments.

5. Learn more about slavery.

There are 27 million men, women, and children still trapped in slavery today and that just in not okay. I need to become more informed about what’s actually going on. And I know that I need to be intentional about praying specifically every day. I’m not really sure about what this goal is going to look like. I just know that because I have been set free by Jesus I have a responsibility. You can learn more about the End It Movement as well.

"The blood of Jesus covers every inch of my mind, soul, and body. Because I have been painted red by His blood, I go out to set others free..." -Christine Caine // It starts by raising awareness and shining a light on the fact that slavery still exists.

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