New Month, New Goals

Happy October! 
Where in the world did September go?
Wait, where did the whole year go?
I cannot believe it's already October.

With a new month, comes new goals!  
So excited!

Here's a recap of last month's goals and what I really accomplished.
I tried, really.

Relationship Goals:

• Write 4 different people cards or letters.  Woo!! Got it done!
• Get together with Kelsey and her husband, Steven! (This one has been on our list since Tyler and I moved to St. Louis!)  Yay!!! We did it!! You can {sort of} read about that here.
• Write Tyler a note.  Didn't happen.  Oops!!

Homemaking Goals:

• Meal plan on the weekends (every weekend).  It didn't happen this past weekend, but it did all the other weekends!
• Clean the house every weekend.  May have not be thoroughly, but I did it!
• Have  a 15 minute pick-up session every night.  Only happened in the kitchen.

Personal Goals:

• As I've been sharing (here and here), find a theme for each week.  Didn't happen...had more of a theme of the month.
• Write a blog plan (I have a rough idea sketched out, but I really want to get in the habit of blogging...as I've stuck with it for over a year now).  Yes! It happened...and I've been more active with my blog recently.
• Read my Bible daily.  One I had to admit...didn't happen daily, but I did read!

Craft Goals:  (yes, I have craft goals!  It's a hobby, and I have several projects to complete)

• Make some new items for my shop.  It's open!  You can find my shop here.  Be on the lookout for new things!
• Finish our wedding card book (yep, still have to do that...a year later.  That's what happens when you live in 3 cities the first year of marriage.)  Didn't happen.  One of these days it will.
• Finish my fall napkins and start a new project (TBD).  Got all of them done except 2 of them.

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Even if I didn't mark everything off my list, I got some of it done.

It's a start to living intentionally...for a purpose.

So as we go into October, here are my new goals:

Relationship Goals:

• Write 4 different people cards or letters.
• Write Tyler a note.
• Invest in my new friendships.

Homemaking Goals:

• Meal plan for a couple weeks at a time. (I want to get back in this habit.)
• Sell/give away clothes and other things we don't need.
• Make one new recipe a week.

Personal Goals:

• Keep eating healthy.
• Start on my birthday list.
• Take some time for myself...don't get too busy.

Craft Goals:

• Work on Fall/Christmas items for the shop.
• Start on a Christmas list for family/friends.
• Finish Fall napkins so we can use them at Thanksgiving!!

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So those are my goals for this month.  

What are some of yours?

What will you have accomplished by the end of October?

Weekend Fun

We had a good weekend.

It's been cool lately, and I'm not complaining.

I love being able to shut off the A/C and open the windows.

The best part is waking up in the morning and all you want to do is stay in the covers because it's sooo chilly.

Saturday started off right.

We slept until 8:30 or so {which was marvelous}.

I got to drink some hot chocolate out of my new mug.

I also did a little meal planning for the new week.

I think the most I did all day {besides getting my oil changed and buying groceries} was baking my awesome husband his favorite kind of cookies...

...snickerdoodles!

I was okay with that.  

We had a busy week, so all we felt like doing was lounging around the house.

Around 3:30, Tyler asked me what the plan was for the rest of the day.

We didn't have one.

So we found out that "The Great Forest Park Balloon Race" was going on, so we decided to head that way to watch.

We couldn't find a stinking parking spot in the whole entire park! 

It seemed like a million people were there!

We ended up driving around the park {which is beautiful}.

Then we headed to the Galleria to walk around the mall for a bit.

On our way there, we could see the balloons coming our direction.

I'm not really sure what the object of it is.

I know that the Energizer Bunny hot air balloon launches first.

The the other balloons launch and whoever throws a birdseed baggie closest to the bunny wins.

Of course, we didn't stay that long.

However, when we got to the mall, we could see them coming our direction.

It was so cool.

I've always wanted to ride in a hot air balloon...

I better put that on my bucket list.

Sunday is "Football Sunday," in our house.

That means that I get to do whatever I want to and not feel guilty. 

Last week I crafted and got my shop ready to reopen.

This week, I decided that I had probably better do some cleaning.

Thinking back to Proverbs 31, that woman was not lazy. 

So that made me get my rear in gear to get the laundry started and the bathroom cleaned.
I also cooked a pretty darn good meal {if I do say so myself}.

I don't want to be "lazy."  

I want to be someone who works as if I'm working for the Lord (Colossians 3:23).

I hope to keep working toward that goal.

What are you working toward this week?

Intentional Living

Happy September!

I've been thinking about writing this post for awhile, but the time hasn't felt right.

Until today.

A new month.

Yesterday, I linked up with Leslie, as she encouraged us to post what we were thankful for from the past month.  

It was the last day of the month.

A time to reflect.

A time to be thankful.

Today is the start of a new month.

For me, that means looking forward and preparing for what's to come.

I want to live intentionally.

What's that mean?

To me, it means to live my life on purpose.

My purpose?

Love God.  Love others.  (Luke 10:27)

I want others to see Christ in me.

I want others to be able to see that I work hard because God gave me the ability.

I want others to know they are loved by God by showing them that I love and care about them.

I want to become more like Christ on a daily basis.

For me to live intentionally, I have to start by writing some goals.

I've written goals in the past on a weekly basis and shared with you,

but this time I'm going to give you my September goals.

Crystal over at Money Saving Mom writes her goals on a regular basis,

and I decided that I really liked that she categorized them.

So I decided to categorize mine as I was writing them out.

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Relationship Goals:

• Write 4 different people cards or letters.
• Get together with Kelsey and her husband, Steven! (This one has been on our list since Tyler and I moved to St. Louis!)
• Write Tyler a note.

Homemaking Goals:

• Meal plan on the weekends (every weekend).
• Clean the house every weekend.
• Have  a 15 minute pick-up session every night.

Personal Goals:

• As I've been sharing (here and here), find a theme for each week.
• Write a blog plan (I have a rough idea sketched out, but I really want to get in the habit of blogging...as I've stuck with it for over a year now).
• Read my Bible daily.

Craft Goals:  (yes, I have craft goals!  It's a hobby, and I have several projects to complete)

• Make some new items for my shop.
• Finish our wedding card book (yep, still have to do that...a year later.  That's what happens when you live in 3 cities the first year of marriage.)
• Finish my fall napkins and start a new project (TBD).
  
  >>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Goals should be attainable.

They should help better you as a person.

They should help you strive to accomplish what you want to accomplish.

You should be intentional about them.

I love being able to scratch things off the list.

It's a good feeling.

It's an even better feeling when you know you've accomplished something that was difficult.

I hope to draw nearer to Christ this month.

I hope to sharpen my P31 skills.

I hope to shine for Christ.

What do you hope to accomplish this month?

How will you live intentionally?

You have 30 days to do it! :]

Sally the Singer

I bought a Singer today.

I named her Sally.

I'm excited to see what kind of projects she and I can come up with.

She's a beauty.

I already wound my first bobbin.  

I put my orange thread in.

I'm washing my material.

Tomorrow she and I will create.

**As I was driving home from Wal-Mart tonight, I was debating on a name.  I thought back to my momma (because she's the one who "taught" me [and I say that loosely...because I was a horrible student] how to sew back years ago).  She has her mom's sewing machine, and it was the one I learned on.  Her momma's name was Sally [I never had the privilege of meeting her], so I decided to name my new friend, Sally.  

Sally and I have some "connections."  She passed away on Mother's Day, May 13th, 1984.  I graduated high school on Mother's Day, May 13th, 2007.  I also graduated college on [Friday] May 13th, 2011.  I'm pretty sure we would have been friends.  She would have been an awesome grandma.  I can't wait to meet her someday.**

For now, she can be a part of me through my new sewing machine. 

:]

Prayer Changes Everything

Prayer has always been important in my relationship with God.  Most anyone who has a personal relationship with the Father will tell you that prayer is important.


Recently, I have just been convicted that I don't pray enough!  It's true.  I know God is there.  I know He listens to me, and I do pray everyday.  But how is it, in the busyness of life, do we forget about Him most of the time?


Frances Chan says in his book Crazy Love, "On the average day, we live caught up in ourselves.  On the average day, we don't consider God very much.  On the average day, we forget that our life truly is a vapor."


It's true.  It's our nature to be caught up in our lives and what's to come, rather than focusing on the moment.

James 4:13-14 says,

"Look here, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year.  We will do business there and make a profit.'  How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow?  Your life is like a morning fog--it's here a while, then it's gone."

My mom would tell you that I've counted down my whole life.  First it was to when I could get my ears pierced.  I had to be 13 years old before my parents would let me get it done.  So I counted down to that.  Then it was my driver's permit.  Then my driver's license.  High School graduation.  College.  End of semesters.  College graduation.  My wedding day.


Yes.  I like to count down.  But I don't have anything to count down for right now.  Wanna know something?  That's okay.  I feel so perfectly content in my life right now.  I'm trying to find the joy in each day, and just live in the moment all while praising my God who gave me that day.


Every morning on the way to work I pray.  I stuck a post-it note on my dash and wrote down the people and things that I need to pray for that week.  Every morning, as soon as I get on 270, I pray.  I thank God for my blessings and pray over my family.  This is the only good thing about my 25 minute commute.  I'm focused on praying for others and not the traffic getting upset about the traffic.  


It's helped me become a more thankful person.  I'm grateful for time with my Savior each morning.


Frances Chan goes on to say, "When you are truly in love, you go to great lengths to be with the one you love.  You'll drive for hours to be together, even if it's only for a short while.  You don't mind staying up late to talk.  Walking in the rain is romantic, not annoying.  You'll willingly spend a small fortune on the one you're crazy about.  When you are far apart from each other, it's painful, even miserable.  He or she is all you can think about; you jump at any chance to be together."


This is true.  When Tyler and I were dating, we'd make plans to be together when we were far apart.  We would go out of the way to see each other for only a few minutes.  When we weren't together, we'd be talking on the phone to each other.  


Why don't we do this with God?  The same is true...when you're far from God, it's painful and miserable.  We should be so in love with Him that all we can think about is Him!  We should be thinking about what ministry we could invest in, rather than investing in our 401 (k) or in worldly possessions with that extra money in our account.  We can't take those things to Heaven, but we can take people.  We should be making time to talk and listen to the One who created us.  I pray that I will always be yearning for that precious time.


I also have found that my attitude has changed when I'm praying for someone or something.


Frances again states, "The fact is, I need God to help me love God.  And if I need His help to love Him, a perfect being, I definitely need His help to love other, fault-filled humans.....Our prayers for more love result in love, which naturally causes us to pray more, which results in more love..."


It doesn't happen right away, and I'm still praying for a complete healing of my heart, but it will change.  The only way I can change is if God changes me.  We should always be striving to be better.  We should always want God to change us.


I pray that you will take time in your day to talk to Him.  He's the only One who can really help you and really change you.  Find the joy in each day.  Live in the moment.  Thank Him for the blessings He's given you.  Remember Him throughout the day.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says,

"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."