A Look Back at February

It's March 1st and a time to take a look back at my yearly goals and see how I'm progressing on them. February seemed to be the month that would never end and I have a feeling that March is going to be the same way. Winter is always hard for me and this year is no different. While January was fairly mild and I was able to get out more, February has been the opposite. The one thing that does make me happy is that I can see the days getting longer. The extra daylight is wonderful!

My goals for 2019 are as follows.

Spiritual Development
1. Continue with daily devotions/Bible reading
2. Study at least 30 minutes a day for consecration
3. Pray each day for God's will in our lives and ministry, as well as concerns I have

I've done well with these and in fact, some weeks it seems as if all I do is the above. It's definitely a very different season in my life right now. 

Family
1. Connection time with Dan each week
2. Work on communication style with family
3. Listen more, pray more, speak less

This has been going well and #2 & #3 have improved tremendously. There are still days when I need a giant do-over, but for the most part it is getting better.

Personal
1. Take time to walk, pray, appreciate
2. More photography which inspires my writing
3. More movement

I'd say this category was an epic fail this month. There is very little walking, photography or movement happening at all. You can only take so many pictures of the same exact scene day after day.  I've noticed that I don't feel well at all when I don't have any movement in my day. So my plan for March is to get UP, get OUT, and get MOVING!  

After the past three winters with knee and leg injuries I'm kind of afraid to move outside. The other day, I walked outside to get a picture of the damage along the edge of our roof, stepped on the snow in our yard to quickly discover that it was a sheet of ice under a covering of the snow. I slipped with the knee that had the MCL tear and felt it pull which caused some pain the rest of the day. So even when I do move outside, I'm moving very cautiously!

But I know something needs to change so I'm figuring out a plan.

So overall, it was a good month. I started sewing again and I've churned out a batch of soap each day this week. I think I would like to participate in a local farmer's market this summer which is why I've been catching up on the soap making and sewing. Plus I need some balance. I find I need to vary things up rather than just sit and work at my computer all day long.

I've gotten into a rhythm with my days. I go next door in the church around 9 and work and study for a few hours, come back over for lunch, do some household chores, sew, make soap, then start dinner. Obviously, there are also meetings, services, Bible studies, etc. thrown in there. It's not been a bad pattern for each day.

So I'm moving forward into March and planning on keeping on track with my goals.