A New Year

It's a new year, so I decided to start a new blog!  I hope to make this a place where I can reflect on life by sharing my goals, what interests I'm pursuing, bits about family life and whatever else strikes my fancy.  With a new year comes a renewed sense of hope and purpose, so along those lines I thought I'd set some goals for 2013.

Goals for 2013

1. Count over 1000 gifts from God by participating in Ann Voskamp's Joy Dare.  Through this I hope to recognize God's blessings all around me and live joyfully everyday.


2. Read 33 books.  I have always enjoyed reading and never make enough time for it, so I want to challenge myself to be more purposeful this year.  Why 33?  I'm turning 33 this year, so it seemed as good a number as any.


3. Exercise 30 min 3 times per week.  While I realize this isn't as much as "they" recommend, it's what I deem realistic, and some has to be better than none.  This can take many forms, such as workout videos, walking after dropping the kids at school, yard work, exercise classes at the gym, etc.  This will be the hardest goal.


4. Create art in a sketchbook at least once a week.  I really enjoyed art class in high school, but never pursued it since.  Sketching, painting, collages, anything goes in my attempt to learn to be creative.


5. Spend 10 minutes per day with God.  Reading my Bible and praying are two main ways to grow my relationship with Him, but listening to worship music, reading a devotional book or simply spending time in silence in His presence are also valid.


6. Take a photo a day for the whole year.  A project 365 if you will.  I have many, MANY photos from the first year or two of my kids' lives, more recently not-so-much.  I don't want to miss recording the memories we make as well as the small daily parts of our life.  This will be the second hardest goal, but missing a day or two doesn't mean failure.

So that is my ambitious list.  This blog will allow me to post about the gifts I'm counting, the books I'm reading, the exercise I'm doing, the art I'm creating, the time with God I'm spending and the photos I'm taking.  Should be a fun, full year!