2012: A Fresh Start To A New Year

Considering I have not posted since my very first blog post (which was almost 7 months ago), I'm pretty sure I have not been living up to the name of my blog. But hey, it's a new year (even if it is already January 26th), and I'm going to give it another try. I am naturally a goal setter, and every New Year's, I make several resolutions - one being to have a daily priority time. This is an area of my life that I have struggled with since I became a Christian 20 years ago. I have all the right intentions and the head knowledge of why I need a priority time daily, but somehow, I have yet to establish it as a permanent part of my daily routine. Well, 26 days into the new year, I am proud to say that I am succeeding. My pastor, Chris Conlee, at Highpoint Church challenged our whole church to read through the New Testament with him in 1 year, and he will blog (@ chrisconlee.net) his thoughts and insight into each chapter as well as his prayers. First of all, I am so thankful to be part of church with such a strong, convicted spiritual leader. He is not one of those "feel good" preachers who tells you how to make Jesus work for you. He lives out what he believes and is transparent, radical, humble, practical, passionate, and inspiring.

This may sound ridiculous, but I had to set some ground rules with my iPhone if I was going to keep my New Year's resolution of having a daily priority time. Since I got my iPhone back in April 2 years ago, it has been a true blessing and a curse at the same time. It is an excellent resource that can make my life much easier, but it also makes it way too easy to waste time on things such as Facebook and Pinterest. I really have no idea why I feel the need to check Facebook statuses every day, but it somehow became a habit. So I made a rule that I could not check Facebook until I had done my priority time. Admitting to this is a little shameful, but I'd bet that I'm not the only one who needs an intervention in this area. When I sit back and think about it, "Why would I care to hear what anyone on Facebook has to say before hearing what God wants to say to me that day?" Plain and simple, God is WAY more important so my time needs to reflect that. The only way to break an addiction is to replace it with another addiction (in my case this would be replacing my Facebook addiction with an addiction to God). I just looked online, and most websites say it takes 21 days to form a habit, and I'm already on Day 26 :). I pray that 2012 is the year that I FINALLY get my priorities straight and spend time in God's Word and in prayer daily.

It is getting late, and I definitely have lots more to share about what God has been teaching me in my priority time, but I'm going to have to do it in another post (which will hopefully be sooner than later).

Am I Really Doing This?

It is 2:22am on a Sunday morning, and I have decided to start a blog - sounds crazy, right? Let me first explain why I am awake. I took several naps today since I have been feeling pretty awful for the last 3 days with fever, chills, muscle aches, and a sore throat. About 8pm last night, I started feeling much better, and now I have so much energy that I cannot sleep. I'm sure I will regret not going to bed earlier in the morning. So on to why I am starting this blog. Well, if you know me well, then you know I am not very outspoken and I am a pretty private person in general. I have always considered myself to have pretty "deep thoughts," but I rarely share them, and I have not been able to successfully keep a physical journal (although I have tried numerous times). I have also been thinking a lot about how God can use my life and my experiences to help and inspire other people. Then it just occurred to me that I should start a blog that I can share my faith, my struggles, and my spiritual journey. I will also mix in some of my personal life, my favorite things, and just random thoughts that I think others might find interesting. The name of my blog pretty much speaks for itself. If I can inspire just one person out there or even cheer up someone's day, then my goal in writing this blog will be accomplished. I cannot promise to blog daily or even weekly, but I will try to blog at my own pace and see how things go.

Before I tried to go to bed (which was several hours ago), I was reading the book Grace Based Parenting by Dr. Tim Kimmell. I only read the first chapter, but it really blew my mind. I have only been a parent for a short 9 months, but I constantly feel like I am doing this parenting thing wrong. I ordered this book after recommendations from friends and my church, and I have already been inspired after reading the first chapter. Here's some things that stood out while I was reading.

• "You've been handed a piece of history in advance- a gracious gift you send to a time you will not see- and you play the biggest role in how that history will ultimately be recorded."
  
• "The real test of a parenting model is how well equipped the children are to move into adulthood as vital members of the human race."
• "The primary word that defines how God deals with His children is grace."
• The 3 driving inner needs a child is born with are a need for security, a need for significance, and a need for strength.
• The way to meet these needs is by giving your children 3 valuable gifts: love, purpose, and hope.

I can only pray that I parent my daughter with grace as she grows up. When I have a rough day or am having a hard time seeing past the present situation (which is more often than I'd like to admit), I just need to remember the word grace. God gave me this beautiful child as a gift, and I can raise her up to seek glory for herself or to bring glory to God. Of course, I hope for the latter.

Well, I am feeling tired now so I am heading to bed. My first blog post is finished!!!!