Beginning on purpose!

As corny as this introduction may sound, I really feel the things below.

Today marks the beginning of a fresh start.  A new year, filled with new opportunities, new experiences, new friends, new promises, and new beginnings...As I told a friend of mine last night, I am so glad to know that it is no longer 2013--that there is a chance that this next year will be better than the last has been.

So I'm trying to do what I can to start it off right.  And I feel pretty good about things so far (lol, even if we're not even 24 hours into the new year just yet).

I joined up with the winter wellness challenge (www.sparkpeople.com/resource/winter-wellness.asp) and would encourage others to do the same.  It's a thirty day challenge that seems simple enough.  Plus, it saves me the trouble of having to sit down and figure out my own day-to-day challenges for the month.  :)

Why reinvent the wheel when you don't have to, right?

I've weighed in and measured myself.

No exercising yet today, but I have tracked my food, so that's a start.

And I feel as though God has given me a couple of different things to focus on this year.

My Words for the Year
***Experience
***Intentional
***Joy

This year, I really believe that God is encouraging me to truly experience things.  To try things that I have never done before.  Perhaps go places I've never been before.  And to not shy away from things that have held me back.

Intentional is a carry-over from 2013.  I really don't think I learned what it was to be intentional about things.  To be in intentional in my relationships with others (particularly God), intentional with my time, and intentional about the things I do and say.

Joy has its root in the stuff that happened in 2013.  Joy is something that has been lacking in my life and I would really like to experience again--in spite of everything that has happened or will happen.

And yes, I put them in that order for a reason (Ha!  Look!  I'm already being intentional!).  I don't know if it's possible, but I would love to Experience Intentional Joy.

Physical Goals
***To lose weight (not very specific, I know, but this will be better defined as the year goes on)
***To be able to make it through a weekend without needing a nap

The main thing that has been happening lately is that I have felt as though I have no energy.  Usually, I get enough sleep at night, but it's either not very good sleep or something else is going on.  I suspect a lot of it has to do with the fact that I haven't been very physically active.  I know that I sleep better when I am physically active and don't feel as though I need to pause in the middle of my day to take naps (unless I've been up too late night at night and get up too early in the morning).

Spiritual Goals (NOTE: these are subject to change, depending on how the Lord leads)
***Go through A Woman's Guide to Reading The Bible in a Year by Diane Stortz as my Bible Reading Plan
***Read Daily Wisdom for Women as my devotional each day
***Learn more about Jesus and His character by reading books about Him and about the Gospel (and of course, by actually reading the Bible!)
First Focus: The Jesus I Never Knew by Philip Yancey)
***Focus on Prayer
January's focus is going to be using a calendar with different attributes of God and praying through each of those different qualities, making note of any pertinent Scriptures that God would bring to my attention).  This is in line with the study that we will be doing at Joy in the Evening this winter called Experiencing God.

I'm hoping to develop each of these things as the year goes on, defining them a bit better and sharing what God has been teaching me in each of these areas.  For now, this is a start!