I love New Year's Resolutions

New. Restart. Second chances. Fresh start.

Who doesn't love those things? I know I do. New Year is a chance to make a promise a keep it. That is what I hope to do.

I always make several resolutions, and I admit, I never keep them all, but I usually keep a few.

Here is the list for 2014:

 

1. Make a budget and stick to it.

I am using the Dave Ramsey cash envelope system. Check it out here.

 

2. Read 30 NEW books.

So far I've already read 4 so this shouldn't be too hard. I am going to keep up with each of them along with a small review in this post.

 

3. Run a 10k.

Last year my goal was to run a 5k and so I'm increasing it a bit.

 

4.Teach myself design software.

I have become increasingly interested in the design world. I hope to learn the basics of the Adobe Creative Suite by teaching myself through YouTube tutorials in my spare time. Do you have any favorite YouTube teachers?

 

5. Stop going to food for comfort.

I'm bad at this and I have been going through this devo series which speaks to the spiritual aspect of overeating.

 

6. Limit screentime.

Spend less time watching tv, surfing the internet, and on my phone.

 

7. Thank God for something everyday.

Gratitude builds joy.

 

8. Go on a date.

It's may be a weird New Year's resolution, but its something that I want to happen this year. #judgeorjoin

 

9. Learn to be content or be active in changing my circumstances.

Life is too short to stay unhappy.

What are your New Years resolutions?

Change.

Change is never easy.

I feel that many times I resist change and the unknown instead of embracing my new situation.

I do not want where I am in life now to be one of those times.

I love the Jim Elliot quote:

"Wherever you are, be all there."

It inspired my remodel of my blog and also my outlook on this year.

Where I am right now is exactly where God has me or I would not be here. Its time that I start to put down roots. This year I want to take time to explore exactly what that means.

Serving.

Loving.

Leading.

Learning.

Growing.

Those are all action verbs. And that is what I want to do this year, take action.

Please join me as I begin this journey and welcome change.

2011 in Summary.

On December 31, 2010 I prayed that God would direct my steps this year and that he would show me how I can best live in his will. I prayed that I would be able to enjoy this year fully and that my relationships grew even deeper.

All of those prayers were answered and more.

January.

Passion.

"Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your truths, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desires of our hearts." Isaiah 26:8

Black & White Affair

February.

Preview Weekend.

Women's Retreat

March.

Chicago Road Trip.

Spring Break. Daytona Beach, FL.

Winning free Chick-fil-a for a year.

April.

Senior Night/Royal Wedding Party.

May.

Hiking.

 

Dollywood.

 Lauren Graduating High School.

June.

Taylor Swift.

Summer Project in Fort Collins, CO

My grandparents 50th Wedding Anniversary.

July.

The end of Harry Potter.

Went home after spending 7 weeks with these wonderful people.

Saying Goodbye to Lindsey Hendrix, my amazing friend, mentor, and discipler during my time in college.

August.

Starting college with my little sister!

New Roommates.

September.

Turning 21.

Last Fall Retreat. [And the two best emcee's ever]

Roadtripping to the Florida game with about 30 of my best friends.

October.

Backpacking.

Halloween.

November.

Last football game.

December.

Christmas parties.

Graduating College.

Got a new car.

Last encounter.

I was truly blessed beyond measure this year, and though many things came to an end, that just means there are so many new beginnings to be excited about.

more than we can ask or imagine...

As another year comes to a close, my junior year in college to be exact, I like to reflect on how God has blessed me in the past year. This year I was lucky enough that I don't even think I could count all the blessings I've received, and if I tried to put them all in a blogpost no one would ever read it because it would be so long. Instead I'd like to share with you all the "biggest" blessing, or at least the one that always comes to mind first, and that is the house.

Back in February/March of 2010 when trying to decide housing for next year we decided to look for a house to live in instead of an apartment. What we found was an 8 bedroom, 8 bathroom house that was pretty rough around the edges. It was dirty and gross at the time but we decided we wanted it anyway. We started trying to find 8 girls to fill it with us, which was nearly impossible, but at last we had 8. I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous about living with SEVEN other girls, who wouldn't be? And to top that, I barely knew more than the names of three of the girls.

It's safe to say that we moved in as strangers, literally, some girls met others for the first time the day they moved in. We quickly started getting to know each other and there were always other people over first semester. The house became a huge blessing for Cru at UT too because no matter what there was always room for more, unlike in an apartment we could have a movie night and no one had to be excluded. I remember the first party of the year the boys (and some girls) made a 5 story pyramid in the living room. We also held the Cru Halloween party there which had over 80 people and there was still room.

This displays how large our living room is

The Rave-o-ween

The real blessing wasnt the extra space or everyone having their own bedroom and bathroom or anything like that, the real blessing was the people. I knew it was going to be another hard semester for me because all of my closest friends were in dating relationships. When you're surrounded with that its hard to stay content and patient, but God gave me something I didn't even know I needed, single friends. I'd barely knew Allix and Beka before we moved in, but they quickly grew to become two of my best friends in that time and I am so thankful.

Beka and Allix

The second semester started and we hardly ever had people over at first, probably because all 8 of us had become such good friends that if I came home and any of my roommates were home I was perfectly happy with hanging out with them. All 8 girls that lived there did for a reason and it wouldn't have been the same without them. I'd lived with Amy, Misha, and Brittany before and I loved getting to live with them again. Amber was the house masseuse and counselor, you could just go lay on her bed and she'd give you a massage and some wise advice too. Victoria, Vix, Vixie, Vixen, etc. always served as the comedic relief, and there was never a dull moment when she was around. Beka became one of my closest friends and she was our beautician always willing to do anyone's hair or nails. And of course, Allix... She became my partner in crime, whether it was bumming rides off everyone or terrorizing Vix by "saying Jan in a midwestern accent" millions of times. The ninth roommate was a male (not casey or scott, sorry) but Dooley, our little poopface dog. Though he peed on my carpet, my bed, and myself he was always so fun to have around. Last but not least, #hashtag, yes that's our betafish's name. I wouldn't have traded any of them.

If only #hashtag made it in this one

The perfect group

Half the house has moved out now and its not what it was a month ago, but I think that anytime I look back on this year or college as a whole I will remember how blessed I was to live there and all the good memories we had together. Like I said we moved in as strangers, but now that we're all moving out those girls are like my sisters. I didn't even know that was something I needed, but God did and he blessed me with them. Next year is going to have a hard time topping this one.