Character Development 2012
One-twelvth of this year has already passed. A good portion of the people who set a New Year's Resolution have already given up on it and returned to their old ways by now. Most people think that once they break their resolution once, it's over. Done. Hopeless. But I'm a believer that you've got the whole year to work on the resolution. That's why I call it 'character development' - it's an ongoing process spanning the entire year, and when you fail, it's just an opportunity to get back up and keep working towards your goal.
2. Crocheting: I'm working on my first 'big' project, and it's taking longer than I thought, but it's gonna be beautiful!! (Pictures to follow when it's complete.)
3. Leisure reading, one book a week: Haha..... I've barely touched a book of leisure reading in the past month, but I do think about it when I've got a spare moment, so hopefully I'll get to more of it soon.
4. Try a new recipe, at least once a month: January - check! I made my sister-in-law's vegan stroganoff, and it was a hit! My life is so busy that it's just easier to make the same quick-n-easy recipes that I always make, but I'm trying to break out of the ordinary and try for some extraordinary!!
5. Consistent exercise! ......January was a rough month for exercise. I think I only made it to the gym 2-3 times, but I tried Zumba, which I really liked, as well as an Afro-robics (an African dance/exercise class) which was great! I'm hoping to hit the gym a little more consistently and seriously this month, as well as get back to a more rigid running schedule.
6. Memorize scripture, 5 minutes a day: This was inspired by my friend Julie, who I spent New Year's with down at GYC. She does this, and I really liked the idea of memorizing bite-sized portions each day, however, I haven't begun working on this yet......but soon!
7. Be thankful for at least 5 things each day: When I remember, I try to think about my 5 things to be thankful for as I fall asleep at night, but I want to be more purposeful and actually write it down so that I can look back and remember all the blessings when I'm having a hard time finding things to be thankful for. Life is SO good right now that I would not want to miss the opportunity to save these abundant blessings for a time in the future when the blessings seem harder to recognize.
8. Open & close the Sabbath properly: I've kinda gotten into a bad habit of just allowing Sabbath to happen. Instead of welcoming it and honouring it properly, it often seems to just come and go. When I have kids of my own, I want Sabbath to be a celebration, something to treasure and look forward to. So I need to start those traditions now by at least taking some time at the start & finish of the Sabbath to sing, have worship and/or pray. January started off better than it ended in terms of this goal, but I still have 47 more Sabbaths to go! :)
I've set some pretty lofty goals for my character development this year - some, I've been working at; some, I've attempted, but broken several times already; and some, I haven't even started yet! Here's what I'm working on (in no particular order of priority):
1. Prayer journaling & Bible study: Prayer journaling is something new for me. In the past, it always seemed to take to much time to journal everything that I want to pray for, but I've found that it keeps me focused so I actually end up praying for more than if I just do it mentally. I've done this consistently every day so far (some days more than others), however, right now there's been more prayer journaling than Bible study, but hopefully it'll balance out eventually.
2. Crocheting: I'm working on my first 'big' project, and it's taking longer than I thought, but it's gonna be beautiful!! (Pictures to follow when it's complete.)
3. Leisure reading, one book a week: Haha..... I've barely touched a book of leisure reading in the past month, but I do think about it when I've got a spare moment, so hopefully I'll get to more of it soon.
4. Try a new recipe, at least once a month: January - check! I made my sister-in-law's vegan stroganoff, and it was a hit! My life is so busy that it's just easier to make the same quick-n-easy recipes that I always make, but I'm trying to break out of the ordinary and try for some extraordinary!!
5. Consistent exercise! ......January was a rough month for exercise. I think I only made it to the gym 2-3 times, but I tried Zumba, which I really liked, as well as an Afro-robics (an African dance/exercise class) which was great! I'm hoping to hit the gym a little more consistently and seriously this month, as well as get back to a more rigid running schedule.
6. Memorize scripture, 5 minutes a day: This was inspired by my friend Julie, who I spent New Year's with down at GYC. She does this, and I really liked the idea of memorizing bite-sized portions each day, however, I haven't begun working on this yet......but soon!
7. Be thankful for at least 5 things each day: When I remember, I try to think about my 5 things to be thankful for as I fall asleep at night, but I want to be more purposeful and actually write it down so that I can look back and remember all the blessings when I'm having a hard time finding things to be thankful for. Life is SO good right now that I would not want to miss the opportunity to save these abundant blessings for a time in the future when the blessings seem harder to recognize.
8. Open & close the Sabbath properly: I've kinda gotten into a bad habit of just allowing Sabbath to happen. Instead of welcoming it and honouring it properly, it often seems to just come and go. When I have kids of my own, I want Sabbath to be a celebration, something to treasure and look forward to. So I need to start those traditions now by at least taking some time at the start & finish of the Sabbath to sing, have worship and/or pray. January started off better than it ended in terms of this goal, but I still have 47 more Sabbaths to go! :)
9. Practice guitar, weekly: This kinda goes hand-in-hand with #8. I plan to double-up and practice guitar while welcoming the Sabbath. I think I only accomplished this twice in January, but that's probably twice as many times as I played in all of 2011, so I'm off to a great start!!
So, there you have it - I've got a long ways to go, but I'm looking forward to the challenge of achieving all these things. "What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals." ~Zig Ziglar (emphasis added)
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