February in Review

March is here!  Even though the weather has not changed and snow is still flying, I always am excited at the beginning of the month because Spring is right around the corner.  The end of winter is in sight! 

It's also time to revisit my 2014 goals and see how I'm doing.  Am I on track?  Do I need to make changes?  I'm liking coming back and rechecking each month so I can make sure I actually accomplish what I set out to do in 2014.  I'm updating in blue.


2014 Goals

Spiritual 
►  Skip one meal a week to fast and pray.
►  Have consistent quiet times each week.

I am having consistent quiet times with the Lord.  I love getting up when the house is peaceful and still to spend time in prayer and Bible study.  I still haven't done any fasting so I need to consider doing a modified fast because of blood sugar issues.

Marriage Relationship
► Encourage my husband through my words and supporting him in ministry
► Have a date night twice per month 

The date "day/night" hasn't really happened this month (I think once).  That is mostly because Dan is tutoring right now and the time that was convenient for us to go is now when he is tutoring.  Still working on the first one.  There are days when I'm great at it and other days when I should stay in bed with a muzzle clamped over my mouth.  :-(

Health & Nutrition
I think I want to worry less about losing weight, though I need to do that, and more about changing some bad habits.

► Some form of exercise at least 5 days per week and at least 30 minutes each time
► Get outside in the fresh air at least 20 minutes each day instead of staying cooped up in the house
► Cut back on fatty foods & sweets
► At least 3 meatless meals per week.
► One salad per day  

I definitely need work in the eating department.  If there are sweets in the house I have a hard time saying, "No."  However, I've been doing great with exercising.  I've been going to the gym with Dan and enjoy my time there.  Unless you count walking to the car and back into the house, then the getting outdoors thing hasn't happened.  Mostly because it constantly looks like the photo at the top! lol  Meatless meals and salads are okay.

Financial 
► Set aside $100 from each paycheck in a separate "emergency fund" account.
► Save $100 each paycheck in general savings.
► Curtail going out to eat or ordering out to twice a month.  We wasted so much money this past year because I was feeling lazy and didn't want to cook or didn't plan ahead when I had an event going on.  I always feel sick inside when I think of how that money could have been better used.
► Work on building up craft & book business 

Because we are helping Stephen out with his room and board, the laying aside money from each paycheck isn't happening right now.  Though, now that I think of it, I do believe that we are putting abit aside this paycheck.  We did great in February on not going out to eat.  The things that add up very quickly are the little snack stops here and there.  $3 here and $5 there add up very fast! 

Household Organization
► Come up with household organization journal
► Deliberate cooking lessons with Emily  
► Garden put in this spring.  There are two large garden beds all set to go here and after no garden last year, I'm looking forward to it!

If you call one day of doing a cooking lesson with Emily, success then yes, I did it!  lol  But other than that, I need to work on this section of my goals.

Ministry
► Pray and figure out what the Lord wants me to do and then be ruthless about not adding to that.  This is a huge mistake I made in our last church.  I took on more and more and all that did was make me feel overwhelmed and burned out and never allowed others to be able to use their gifts.
► Send out cards of encouragement on a regular basis.
► Invite a family over for dinner at least two times per month. 

We had people over 4 times this past month, have a small group that meets here every other Wednesday with a meal, plus hosted an open house of 30 so I'm doing good with that.  The cards didn't happen, other than thank you cards. 

I'm still working on the first point.  I haven't taken on any more since I last updated but I'm still trying to figure out what my role and niche is here.  It's such a different church and much more structured so it's not as easy as saying, "Let's do this." and then I do it.  Don't get me wrong, that is a very good thing!  It actually makes me slow down long enough to think, "Is God really calling me to do this or am I just doing busy work."

Personal
►  Spend time doing the things I love and am gifted in - crafting, photography, creating, writing.  I struggle so much of the time with a weird sense of guilt assuming responsibilities that aren't mine to assume.  What happens is I run around feeling a bit joyless because I'm not working where I'm gifted.
► Work on living in the moment with my family, and not always stuck behind a computer screen.  In other words, when they are home - engage!  Spend my computer time for the times they aren't around or are busy.
► Work on the next book.  It's in the process. :-) 

This month, I truly have not done much creating of anything.  No crafting, sewing or photography.  It's hard to feel creative when all I see is a wall of white and not sun.  I've been doing some writing but not as much as I could.  I'm hoping this month I'll find my inspiration again. 

I have to conciously work on living in the moment.  One thing that has helped is my computer is crashing and facebook hardly works at all on it!  That certainly seemed to take up a lot of my time even though it was a moment here or there.  I've been posting less and been much less distracted and love it!

Again, reviewing each month really is helping me to see what I need to work on and where I'm doing well.  I'm determined to have a great month and hopefully, March will go out like a lamb!  :-)