Friday, January 17, 2014

Here's to 2014!

I know I'm a little late on this post but hey, better late than never, right?!

Honestly, I don't make new years resolutions because I usually fail at them.  After hearing my pastor's sermon a couple Sundays ago, I was motivated to make some goals.  You can listen to Pastor Andy's sermon here.  I also like what Jodie, our pastor to women, said about it here.

My goal in 2014 is to be more like my master, Jesus Christ.  While this is a daunting task, it is a realistic one if I break it down into smaller tasks...perhaps, more tangible tasks. 

I've also made some health-related goals that are unique for me. 

So I share my more specific goals with you, asking you to help keep me accountable:

1) Wake up earlier - I am a huge fan of sleep!  I think that getting 8 hours of sleep a night is healthy and just puts me in a better mood.  But I also am very productive when I wake up early and get things done in the morning.  It also will help me achieve #2 and #3!  So I'm attempting to get to bed early so I can wake up early every day.  Plus...Jesus did it and I'm striving to be more like Him!


 

2) Spend time with God daily - Even if it's just a short amount of time, I want to make a habit of this.  Sometimes I get down on myself for not doing it, but even 10 minutes is better than nothing!  Baby steps, Kelli, baby steps.  What a perfect way to enrich my relationship with my Best Friend and Father!  Shouldn't we want to spend time with our best friend to deepen our relationship?!  I'm finding this book to be an awesome way to do this!  Each day is short and full of wisdom.  Thank you for this book, IBC women's ministry!

http://www.christianbook.com/jesus-today-experience-hope-through-presence/sarah-young/9781400320097/pd/320097
 
 
3) Work out 2-3 times a week - I used to work out more often and probably should now, but I need to start with something realistic.  Even as a woman with no kids, I am SO busy and it's hard to find time to work out.  You know how most girls exercise like crazy before their wedding??  Yeah, I was the opposite.  I worked out much less because I was so busy!  Then we had the holidays!  Thankfully, my building at work just put in a new gym that I can use for free!  And I can watch Heroes on Netflix on their awesome iPhone hookup on each monitor!  That's motivation! Ha!  I also do my Advocare workout DVD at home when I can't make it to the gym.
 

 
Ok, let's pretend that this is me now, not my freshman year in high school...

 
4)  Eat "out" less often - Eating out costs so much money and you don't know what they put in your "healthy" meal, should you choose one.  We're aiming to eat at home more often - plus, I love cooking!  However, meeting friends for dinner is a huge part of our social life.  Relationships with others is a high priority for me so I'll still do this every now and then.  I'll just find a healthy balance!
 

 
5) Eat fewer tomatoes and fried food - fun fact about Kelli: I have acid reflux. Not so fun, right?!  It's actually pretty difficult to manage seeing as how I LOVE tomatoes.  The following foods are highly acidic and are bad for my stomach: tomatoes, pineapple, oranges, lemons, limes, red wine, coffee, spicy food, garlic, onion, vinegar, grapefruit, etc.  The following flares it up for other reasons: fried food (french fries!), alcohol, fatty foods.  Many of my favorite things to eat are on that list!  My obsession with tomatoes and french fries is probably what caused it.  Try to find a crockpot meal that doesn't include one of these...it's hard!  I'd like to get off of my medicine though so I'm aiming to be good.
 

 
6) Pray for my husband intentionally - there is nothing more powerful than prayer.  I want to be more intentional about praying for every aspect of Kevin's life.  It'll also help me to see him as God does.  I'm praying through this book currently:
 

 
7) Learn how to say "no" (and not feel bad about it) - I really struggle with this.  I'm working on not saying "yes" to all things and all people and I think I'm making progress.  Now that I have a husband, he's a priority, but I still value friendships very much so I'm learning how to balance that.  I've also limited my weekly commitments to only two things - where I volunteer as a budget counselor (New Friends New Life) and our young-marrieds small group at church (starting this Sunday!)  Here is a great post from Mix and Match Mama this week on this topic:
 
http://www.shullfamily.blogspot.com/2014/01/fifty-two-shades-of-shay-just-say-no.html

 
Don't be afraid to ask me how I'm doing on all of these!  I need accountability!



2 comments:

  1. I love that you want to focus on spending more time with Jesus. I feel the same way! And, I'm so not a morning person, but that is one of my goals too...just like very year. ;)

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    1. I'm not normally a morning person either! And I can't drink coffee :( so I rely on getting to bed early. I woke up pretty early 3 days out of 5 this week! That's progress for me! :)

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