Week One- CHECK!

Well, the first week of our 5 Week Challenge has come and gone. And I'd say that overall, my roomie and I did pretty good! I did ab workouts 4 times, cardio 3 times, and stretched 2 times. I flossed and rinsed 6 days (mom... you know how good that is!), and practiced guitar 4 days for a total of an hour and 15 min. All my spiritual goals were met every day as well! Bedtime was a little sketchy what with being on duty and hanging with friends, but we definitely did better than previously! And the dessert rule was broken twice this weekend since we were at a retreat and the only snack during snack time was cookies. Otherwise, the food plans have been right on track!

So the only thing we are changing is that bed time will not be our number one priority. For example, if we have some friends over and are having a great time of fellowship, we might not kick them out right as the clock strikes 11. Another thing is we will not shorten our nighttime quiet times because it's "bed time." This was tempting to do at the beginning, but if we are having a great time with the Lord, what's a few lost minutes of sleep?

If we can do it, YOU CAN TOO! (Believe me, we really don't have very good perseverance!) :)

5 Week Challenge

READY?! Okay, so my roommate and I have decided to challenge ourselves over the next couple of weeks. We feel that change is needed in our lives, that habits need to be formed, and that with lots of strength from God we can do it! We decided to focus on mainly two aspects of our lives- spiritual and physical. There are a couple other things thrown in there as well. The things we decided to change/work on, are really quite normal, and are habits that should already be formed in our lives, but aren't. We aren't proposing anything outlandish such as sticking to the Atkins Diet, running 5 miles every day, or reading the whole Bible in a month. No. But we are proposing change in our lives, and as most of you probably know can be pretty difficult in general. But, we are confident that all things are possible through Christ!

So, here are the areas of our lives that we are going to be more intentional with:

Spiritual

Quiet Time: 30 min/day every day

Prayer

·      Pray together to start day (Mon, Wed, Fri when we get up together)

·      Pray impossible list every day

·      Pray for peers

Memorization: 1 verse/week

Giving: 10% or more, bless others

Physical

Exercise

·      Ab routine 5x/week

·      Cardio 2x/week

·      Stretch 2x/week

Diet

·      Drink water (water bottle or with meal)

·      NO dessert

·      Pasta no more than 3x/week

Dental

·      Floss 5x/week

·      Rinse once/day

Bed time: 11:00pm

Other

Facebook

·      30 min/day or less

Guitar

·      Practice 3x/week

And we have decided to do this until Thanksgiving break, so November 23... FIVE weeks from today! However, we do reserve the right to alter this plan, if need be, after one week's time. 

Last Day Plans

Well, it's weird to say, but I only have 4 more days of summer here at UWEC this year. So how am I going to spend them, you ask? Tonight my good friend Jenny from TeenServe is going to be in Eau Claire! So I think I will be spending some time with her, them tomorrow we are going to breakfast at 8am. I normally work at 9, but I'll just go in late. I'm so excited to see her! Then Wednesday I will probably be watching my summer show- So you think you can dance. Sooooo good! :) Thursday night my friend Becca is visiting Eau Claire and staying over in my room. Then Friday Danielle and I are headed to the cities! Woo! Sometime this week Danielle and I are planning on going tanning once before the wedding. And I am slowly working on organizing/purging my room somewhat so it will be easier to move over to Murray when I get back in August!

Reading goal for the week is to finish Forgotten God by Francis Chan. Should be more than doable since I only have a chapter left. It's been a pretty good read about the Holy Spirit.

Cleaning goal is to vaccuum, do all my dishes before I leave, clean out my fridge, and obviously pack for Friday.

Money goal is to put 90% of my paycheck (get paid Friday) into savings and give accordingly.

Ahhh, and now my week is so much clearer!

Intentions

A new look for a new me! Yes, I do realize that it's a bit late for new year's resolutions.... however, I've been doing a lot of thinking lately and the name of the game is intentionality. I am going to start being more intentional with my time and my relationships. This means less procrastination, watching hours of television, and ambling around on facebook and more conversations, meals, and time with JESUS! My life of putts-ing around is over! And on that note, I'm off to do the hours of homework I have left for me on a Sunday afternoon. :)

Early Reflections

well, here i am, sitting warm and snug in my cousins room in seward, nebraska. its been a blizzard out for the last two days, we've been getting some drifts up to 3 or more feet! we were scheduled to leave for home tomorrow morning, but seeing as this snow and wind hasn't given us any respite, i'm not so sure that will be happening. it's a safe feeling, though, being snowed in on christmas night with the family. 

i know it's not quite new years yet, and as aunt rebecca would say "you've still got 6 whole days of headlines!" but i feel very contemplative at the moment (much credit i'm sure i can give to you, kara!). when we return home i'll start digging through the endless piles of stuff from my life- high heels covered with goose poop from sophomore homecoming, hello kitty stickers from my 6th grade birthday party, my old adventures in odyssey bible, and much, much more. it will be a journey, i'm sure, to relive all my memories as i decide to throw, sell, or keep everything i own. but i'm looking forward to it, seeing as i've always wanted a real excuse to go through everything and purge.

another thing that's been on my mind is next semester. it will be a semester of new beginnings... i'll be living in a new building with a new roommate and new people. i will be in charge of a whole floor of girls and will be responsible for much more than i am now. classes will be long and trying (23 hours in class each week) and my schedule will be jumbled up to a slush of 8 am classes and 2 am rounds. so, i'm very much looking forward to all the change, but also dreading it in the way of being scared for hard things, as well as being out of the comfort i have finally been able to cozy into this last semester. 

GOD has blessed me SO much this year, it's hard to believe it's coming to an end! i look back on this last year with many fond memories- finally fitting in with 7th S girls, working with teenserve, florida with the navs, vacation to the grand canyon and las vegas with my family, finishing off my 3rd semester of college... and some trying memories, but ones that if i have not already seen god's perfect plans and timing, i'm sure that will be revealed soon! god is so GOOD!

Procrastinating studying:)

I can finally see,

that you're right there beside me,

I am not my own,

for I have been made new

Please don't let me go,

I desperately need you.

-Owl City, Meteor Shower

I was struck by these lyrics hard core today! It's such a great reminder that we ARE'NT our own, we are Jesus', for him to use as he likes. I love the honesty in these lyrics... I desperately need you. Wow, great song. Please listen to it... I'll even make it easy for you >>> Listen to Meteor Shower