52 Things in 52 Weeks and Listening to God

Hey friends!

First of all, thank you so much for all of the encouragement and support that I've gotten from all of you so far. I feel like I'm really putting myself "out there," and that is such a scary thing... so every bit of encouragement has meant a great deal. Keep it up! You fuel me. Haha.

I have changed a few things on my list, and there is one new one that I want to point out. It's the "in bed by 10 and asleep by 11." Meh... this was NOT my idea, and even as I type this, it is 10:02pm, and I'm totally breaking this rule for the second night in a row (and I only added it yesterday, which means I've failed twice and succeeded zero times!... so far). Let me explain.

So for the past couple of years, I've been on a VERY intensive healing journey (which I'm sure will be the topic of many future blog posts), and about a year ago, I very clearly heard the Lord tell me that a practical step in my healing would be to go to bed at 10 and be asleep by 11.

Like a mad genius, I decided that God was wrong, and I would be fine to continue on my merry way going to bed an ungodly (literally, now that I'm being directly disobedient to God, Himself) hour, and wake up late... day... after day... after day.

And the other day, I realized that I had spent hours wracking my brain, asking friends, reading blogs, and even polling Facebook to determine the 52 things that I wanted to accomplish, yet I didn't even think to PRAY! As soon as I realized this, I screwed my head back on, swept away the looming condemnation, and I asked God what He wanted me to do. Before I finished asking Him, I already heard His answer... "I already told you, Holly... You need to be in bed by 10 and asleep by 11." Wow... oops. So again, like a genius, I thought I would make SURE God knew what He was talking about. "God, are you SUUUUUURE this is really necessary? So much quality time with Jeremy is spent after this time... and..." God kindly cut me off with something along these lines, "Holly, you have 52 things on a list that you want to accomplish, yet you are wanting to forgo the one thing that is going to make those other 51 possible... please trust Me, and do your best to obey Me."

So... After hours of considering this, trying to talk God and myself out of it, and being so strongly convicted about my disobedience, I decided to humble myself, repent, and let God be Lord of my life. I reluctantly added it to my list. Why was this so hard? While talking to a dear friend yesterday morning, I realized that I am addicted to the feeling of being up at night. I'm not 100% sure what it is about the feeling... but it's more than just being a night owl. It's an addiction, and it's something that I've been putting before God. And so I'm letting it go.

Also, this same friend confirmed what God had told me by telling me that He had been saying the same thing to her (be in bed by 10 and asleep by 11)... and so did a YouTube video I watched about natural cures for depression (it was REALLY good. Let me know if you want the link).

Obviously, I'm not starting out that strong. But the year has barely started, and I have lots of time to get better at this. And I don't expect to be perfect in this area by the end of 2014. I just hope to be better. And I hope to no longer be blatantly disobeying my Heavenly Father.

I am going to need to pray my way through this one (if this seems silly to you, bear with me... it's an addiction. And no matter what we are addicted to, addictions are hard to break).

So far, my prayer looks something like this,

"Oh Father, please help me to do my best to obey you and treat my body well by going to bed on time. When I succeed, help me to give you Glory, and when I fail, help me to lean on You. And when my best isn't good enough, please let your grace be enough that I may still be successful. Thank you for your patience with me. Thank you that you love me. And thank you that with you, I always have hope. Amen!"

Hmmm... I hope that wasn't boring for you.

On another note, I am totally committing to my 5k run. May 31st in Cloverdale, I'm doing the "Color Me Rad" run with friends. (http://www.colormerad.com/)

I am so excited. It's hard to believe that I'm actually going to do a run! I'm going to have a number and everything! I am doing it, and it's going to be wonderful.

I'll keep you posted on how all of this is going.

Feel free to pray for me!

52 Things in 52 Weeks 2014

This was my facebook status yesterday:

Happy New Year, everyone!!!
So I haven't done a new year's resolution in several years, but in years that I have done them, I've DONE them! I don't make a NYR, and abandon it when I realize they're more fun to make than keep. I tend to keep them.

Having said that, I am SO ready for a good, VERY serious one this year. And I want it to be FUN! In fact, I've already committed to doing a 5k run this year, and started my training in December to get a head start (yep... I'm a TERRIBLE runner, and 5k is a VERY big deal to me - "like" this if you've ever seen me run and laughed or cried in embarrassment for me).

So I have been trying to figure this out since November, and I have yet to fully make up my mind on what my resolution will be (there are SO many fun things to choose out of). BUT today, I found a link to an awesome blog post (http://kincavelkorner.wordpress.com/about/52-things-in-52-weeks-2013/) and I loved the idea. So I'm doing it!

So far, I have organized my list into three sections "Body, Soul, and Spirit." And as much as I have tons of ideas that I'm so excited about, I'm not even half way to 52 things.

So... do you guys have any ideas I could sift through? Feel free to share your own resolutions, daily routines, goals, etc. Also, keep in mind that ANYTHING that makes for a healthy living is good. This includes doing a 500 piece jigsaw puzzle. I love puzzles, and therefore, doing one will be healthy for my soul. Also, including chia seeds into my morning routine every day of the year. And everything in between.

Please share! I'd love to hear your ideas. No matter how easy, or hard. I can always revamp it according to my needs/doability (yep... making up a word).

COMMENT! Thanks. Love you all. 

So I've worked really hard since I posted this, and I have nearly finalized my list. I will share it now, but leave myself room to hear from the Lord, and refine a few things here and there as needed.

I changed my organizing system slightly (my soul list was looooong, and it made sense to break it up a bit).

52 Things in 52 Weeks

Healthy BODY

• Only allowed chocolate on days AFTER I exercise (1 cheat day/week) - (___/312)
• No chocolate after 7pm avg 5 days a week - (___/260)
• Do a 5k run
• Learn a healthy bread recipe I can actually make and like
• Eat something I grew myself
• Make healthy granola to replace cereal in our diets
• Eat chia seeds avg 5 days a week - (___/260)
• Learn to make yogurt that I like
• Pick our own berries to freeze
• Make 1 big zeroxeno choice per month (see zeroxeno.com if you're wondering what this is) - (__/12)
• Get adjusted at the chiropractor MIN 3X/month - (__/36)
• Drink 730 Litres of water (avg 2L/day) - (___/730)
• Get off all meds
• Finish all 3 levels on traction block
• Make 6 make-ahead foods - (_/6)

Healthy ROUTINE

• Awake with hubby avg 1 morning/week - (__/52)
• In bed by 10 & asleep by 11 avg 5 nights a week - (___/260)
• Do one kid-centered activity out of the house per week - (__/52)
• Do one NEW craft/activity with kids per month - (__/12)
• Blog at least once per month about 52 in 52 progress - (__/12)
• Follow the budget using mint.com
• Get oil changed BEFORE due each time
• Make habit of cleaning kitchen every evening BEFORE lounging
• Make scheduled routine that works and serves me
• Tidy for 10 twice a day - (__/730)

Healthy SPIRIT

• Finish Behind the Mask
• Read 33 books of the Bible - (__/33)
• Write a new worship song
• Write out & memorize my spiritual promises & Scriptures - (__/4)
• Watch minimum one sermon per week - (__/52)
• Serve Recovery Church for at least one event
• Make and Maintain a prayer list
• Go to early morning church prayer three times - (_/3)
• Worship God in my own way once a week - (__/52)

Just Cuz I WANNA

• Give blood
• Read 3 non-fiction books - (_/3)
• Read 3 fictional books - (_/3)
• Make a photobook
• Kill a spider
• Play or read something at Open Mic Night
• Make and hang burlap drapes
• Revamp one of the 52 to something doable when I realize I've bitten off more than I can chew
• Purge 52 items - (__/52)
• Sell 52 items - (__/52)
• Go out of my way to bless 12 friends - (__/12)
• Make a new family tradition
• Finish medical transcription course

Must... do... more... CRAFTING

• Give myself an airbrush tattoo
• Create a piece of airbrush art that I am proud of
• Sew something that I am proud of
• Make myself a functioning craft corner
• Make a Christmas present

So I think I'm going to have a busy year. I anticipate that some of these things are going to be really easy, and others are going to be very difficult (killing a spider... baaaah!). And I also anticipate that I will really surprise myself by which ones I achieve and which I don't. And I think my biggest concern overall is how I'm going to feel when I fall short somewhere along the way. I hope I'm proud of myself by this time next year. And I hope that this time next year, I'll be posting my 2015 list.

I really tried to be honest with myself as to what is achievable for ME. And also, notably difficult, I tried not to choose things simply to impress others. (I originally had listed "Read 52 books of the Bible." Then thought that made it seem like for some reason, I didn't WANT to read the whole Bible in a year - there are 66 books total. But knowing that the whole Bible in a year is an embarrassingly large leap from my current Bible reading routine, and knowing that I'm already taking on a lot this year, and knowing that God prefers when I look at my Bible reading as a joyful thing, and not a condemning, failure experience, I decided to give myself a break. I dropped it from 66 to 52, and then further again to 33. I think this is a perfect number for me. It's half the Bible, and I can do the other half next year! It's more than I probably would have read without this particular goal, and not so much that I am setting myself up for failure. And I resisted the temptation to look impressive.)

We'll see how it goes. Wish me luck!