Restart

What I love about the holidays is the “Restart Button Effect” in which I get to reclaim the parts of me I’ve given over to work and other activities. In those glorious free moments of getting enough sleep, reading books for fun, writing, taking pictures, and spending real time with my husband, I somehow catch up with myself and gain new energy.

I think from that energy comes a restored perspective on the hope that exists in a new year. As our pastor said, when people have hope, they are more likely to make plans. And planning is one of my favorite things :)

Resolution One: Eat better/exercise more

I’ll start this one by saying that I don’t need to go on a diet, but I have three main reasons for wanting to eat better. 1) My favorite jeans don’t fit. This is a problem that needs to be remedied. This is a path that leads to nowhere good! 2) Similar to #1, I’ve recently see people I know who I thought could NEVER gain weight…gain weight. Sure, God has given me one solid metabolism, but I’ve been wasting that gift by being irresponsible with what I put into my body. 3) My grandpa died this summer, most likely of a heart attack. I have a special affinity for salty foods, and I don’t like to drink water. Those things together spell out potential disaster if I don’t make changes. So I’m not going on some kind of crash diet, just trying to change my thoughts about food and its role in my life. I want to create lifestyle change, so I have to do things I can live with. For example, I can’t say I’ll quit eating carbs because I can tell you how long THAT would last! Also, I don’t like running, so that kind of exercise is not going to get me to the gym each day after work. Instead, I’ve found a really cool program that allows me to be in and out in 30 minutes with no treadmill in sight! The last part of this healthy lifestyle is the whole water thing. Let me just say, NOT. A. FAN. But I’ve been drinking 75 oz. per day for the last 2 weeks, and I feel SO much better as a hydrated person!

Resolution Two: Prioritize my spiritual life by investing in my relationship with God

Long title : ) One of the things I see in my life is a lack of focus at this point. As a usually goal-driven person, this doesn’t sit well with me. One area where I’ve lost focus is in my relationship with God. I go to church, pray for people, read my Bible, etc., but I haven’t thought in a while about WHY I do those things. It’s almost like my work life is separate from my spiritual life, and I’m not thinking about how God wants to use me in my work. I often end up frustrated at work because I don’t think I’m doing a good job, didn’t feel like I had the right words to say to a kid, or feel like I’m lacking positive reinforcement from co-workers. All of this stems from a lack of seeing God moving in my work. He has called me to this work, so He will equip me. He will give me the words in various situations. And if I am doing my best based on God’s standards, I shouldn’t crave the praise of my co-workers. In order to work on this resolution, I’ve started doing my Bible study in the morning before work. This helps me set it as a priority so that it doesn’t get shuffled behind other activities, and it gets Biblical truth on my mind before the day has a chance to run away with itself. Other ways this resolution will be met are by, again, reminding myself that God loves me, and I don’t have to be imprisoned by fears about what others may think of me and by asking God to help me recognize lies I’m believing about myself and my life…and then replacing them with Truth. Books I’m reading/planning to read: Lies Women Believe by Nancy Leigh DeMoss and Get Out of That Pit by Beth Moore.

Resolution Three: Relax, have fun, and work on my hobbies.

I’ve been known for being way too serious…about EVERYTHING. I want to learn how to relax and enjoy life instead of always planning the next move or worrying about what may or may not happen. Meeting this goal will be aided by meeting goal #2 because when my priorities are right, there is time and energy for the fun stuff! One thing I am working on is doing what needs to be done, whether I feel like it or not. In the long run, doing the dishes tonight saves a lot of time over saving them until tomorrow because I didn’t feel like doing them. Just an example :) As far as hobbies go, I’m going to keep trying to always have a book to read. So far, so good! Also, I’m taking a photography class so that I can hopefully learn how to take reallllly good pictures, which has been an interest for a long, long time! Oh, and there is also the Summer Vacation Planning that must happen soon! So many fun things to look forward to!

I’ve read that the average resolution lasts between two weeks and the first week of February. I think this is because we get caught back up in the toil of daily life and lose sight of the hope factor. My hope is to keep the “me” I often give up, and with it the energy to make plans and stick to them—not just for the sake of making resolutions—but because the things I want to accomplish will make my life a better place to be.