Obligatory New Years Post

Wow.  It's New Years Eve already!  And the day is already almost over... 2014 is literally just hours away.  I'm still waiting for the Christmas Spirit to hit me, let alone my emotional preparedness for NEW YEARS! Geesh.

2013 has been a good year -- the best part is that it's been fairly stable.  My relationships have stayed the same.  My job has stayed the same.  My home has stayed the same (thank God! A year without moving).  Only one friend has moved away in 2013, but she moved for a job promotion and to fulfill one of her lifelong dreams.  I was able to see my family more than I had before, and I was able to gift to them in a much more appropriate manner.  My church bought a building, and it has been so nice to be able to contribute more regularly to tithes/offerings.  Probably the biggest events in 2013 was getting engaged in Feb and then buying my first new car in March.  Those were pretty awesome events.  The weight gain in 2013 wasn't too awesome, but oh well.  2013 had spurts of spiritual growth followed by periods of spiritual laziness -- not my proudest.  But the end of 2013 has produced some passion and some pretty awesome dreams that I will be pursuing in 2014...

~ Complete the ACE CPT home study program and pass my exam by April.
~ Enroll in the Metabolic Effect Nutritional Education class by November
~ Pay off my credit card

I also want to:
~ Be 70% adherant to my BeyondFit Meal Plan until I return to a size 10. This also includes completing weighted workouts 3x/week, and running/cardio/dance workouts at least 1x/week.
~ Begin reading more Christian based literature, including books that enhance my spiritual life and ways of living
~ Read 1 chapter in the Bible 3x/week

2014 is also going to be pretty awesome because I'm GETTING MARRIED! :) :) :) :)  Although I'm stoked for this, I realized last night that this means I will be moving away from a church I LOVE, a Bible Study group that I literally can never find again, a job, and some pretty awesome friends I have... It brought me to tears to just think about this...

So thanks 2013 for some much needed stability... 2014, I'm looking forward to the memories! :)

My Motivational Totem

Sitting in traffic earlier today, I was reflecting upon my mindset exercise which I completed last night. The exercise was intended to explore my motivation and the attributes of my heroes that I wanted to emulate. 

The last piece of the exercise called for my to review "my chosen words/attributes" and to choose one word that spoke to my soul, or to find one word that summed those words up nicely. 

Last night, I was unable to find this one powerful and personal word. 

But as I said, I was sitting in traffic today reflecting on the words and attributes I had chosen and had been inspired by. And all of a sudden, THE WORD came to me. 

My motivational totem word is DEVOTED. 

I chose devoted because it accurately sums up: woman of faith/God, good wife/future mother, strong point of view, compassionate, hard working, goal oriented, and striving for success. 

As soon as that word popped into my head, my heart swelled up and my skin got goosebumps. I knew i had it. 

:) 

Now to get it engraved on a necklace as a constant reminder...

I'm a Dreamer who Makes Lists

I'm a list maker.  There's no way to deny it or describe it any other way.  And I'm also a dreamer -- a goal maker, a live-life-to-its-fullest kind of gal.  And I'm okay with it (even though it's resulted in me living life pay check to pay check).

And there are a lot of dreams stirring in my young brain...  So many things I want to do and accomplish and experience.  And I don't know where to start!!

- Take the ACE CPT course/exam (and pass it of course)
- Finish saving up for and paying for my wedding (withOUT a loan or use of credit cards)
- Oh yeah, pay OFF that stupid credit card that I've been wrestling with for a few years now
- Go to Yosemite and Yellowstone
- Go to the Great Sequoia National Park
- READ MORE
- Keep plugging along with my fat loss journey
- Re-dedicate myself to the Dave Ramsey method of living
- Return to DC and experience MORE
- Take biblical classes to immerse myself further into the Word, the Truth, and the Life so that I can be a better Christian, a better woman, and a better vessel of God
- PRAY MORE
- Learn more about American History

Thought Provoking

A friend of mine posted this video on their facebook profile the other day, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it...



What would you do with the time you have left? What if you had half of that time? A quarter?

Talk about stopping me in my tracks.  Talk about making me rethink my priorities and how I spend my precious free time.  What do I want to accomplish in this life?  What do I want my legacy to be? How do I want to change others and the world around me? What are my talents and am I using them appropriately?  Am I limiting myself?  Am I staying focused on my priorities/goals?

Church -- Where is my heart?

This morning was an amazing day.  The weather was GORGEOUS -- mid 60's with low humidity and not a cloud in the sky.  It was a welcome change from the endless dreary skies and drizzle we've had to suffer through the last week and a half.  And church was just as wonderful -- worship was high energy and they did a couple extra songs (which I LOVEDDD -- worship is the glue that centers and focuses me into the lesson) and then the lesson was spot on.

Dave preached on Isaiah 58, and how the Israelite's celebrated Sabbath with the right actions but the wrong heart.  And how important it is for your heart to be in sync with your actions (and vice versa).  Dave emphasized that we need to evaluate where our heart is and what our heart is asking of us, because God doesn't just inspect our actions but he inspects our hearts more -- just like when he was selecting King David.  David did not look like a King (unlike his brothers), but he had a King's heart, which is why God chose David to be King, and not one of his brothers.

So where is my heart?  What is it calling me to do?

My heart is certainly after my job -- I am in the right career, just maybe not in the right position.  I feel unconnected and disinterested with acute care, but this last week when I was in Rehab, my heart soared for not only the job but for my patients and my coworkers.  I was in better moods and was more motivated than ever (even though I was working harder and longer than I would have been if I were in acute care).  So I'm on the right path with my job.

My heart is not content with my lifestyle.  It's ill at ease with the things I feed my body with... Yet I feed it those terrible things anyway.  My heart is yearning for change in this department, and I'm excited to report that I'm on my way in this journey.  And that's all I'm going to say about that right now.  :)

My heart is not pleased with my financial state.  Not at all.  I've let the world enter and take over my actions, and I've put things before goals.  Time to re-focus my decisions on money.  (Pulls out the old budget folder...)

My heart is anxious about marriage.  Anxious in a good way -- anxious ready.  However also anxious nervous, not so much about the getting married part, but about the uncertainty of where we will live.  Daniel's had a rough couple of weeks that may have put in jeopardy everything he's worked for in his job, which adds even another layer of concern.  Mostly because I recognize that Daniel's heart is not in his current position, as he yearns for another one.  His heart is not content which affects my heart.

But one thing my heart is definitely begging me to do is to spend more time with God; to deepen the relationship I have with Him and to enrich it through devotion, prayer, and study.  This is quite possibly one task that is the most intimidating to me.  Not because I don't think God cares, but because I know he will see the hidden side of me, the things that I'm not proud of.  Andy Stanley said once that the bigger our fall, the greater the grace.  And boy is that amazing and in-comprehensible all at the same time.

Holy Moly it's OCTOBER!!!!!!!!!!!!  I've got 11 months until I get married.  Two months until Christmas (eee!).  Cooler temperatures are on their way (can't wait to pull out the sweaters and comfy clothes and boots and scarves and hats and coats).

MumFest is this weekend (Kelley is visiting!).  The Bridge Run and the State Fair are the weekend after that.  Then about a month later will be Leah's graduation in Quantico (which also means a side trip to DC!!!! Hope the government shutdown is over by then...I've got memorials and museums to see!).

And amongst all this? Work work work work!  Have I mentioned that I'd love to have a third job?  I might be crazy, but I love to work. :)  I love to make progress towards financial goals.  And I have a lot of financial goals!

This is my life.  One event after another with work weeks in between.  Wouldn't have it anyother way!