New Year's Commitments

As 2014 is drawing to a close, I find myself doing what a lot of us do...planning for a new year. The past several years I haven't done ANY resolutions, feeling like "What's the point? I never keep them anyway!". Well, this year I've decided to change all that. I need an attitude adjustment, and recently I've been experiencing one. I find myself beginning to make goals again, and for this year, I need to devise a system to keep me on track. I just need to become more focused. Much of the time, my health conditions and chronic pain issues keep me held back. I try to set goals, but keeping myself on task is difficult when I can't sleep right, eat right or exercise like I should. 

This is what my human nature says... 

But this is reality...

Just because I have a bad track record of following through with things doesn't mean that I should just give up altogether! Lately, the changes that have occurred in my life have begun to stir a desire within my heart to set goals for the new year. Of course, I have the standard "resolutions" on my list...

• Eat Healthier
• Exercise More
• Focus on my education....keep learning something new every day
• Strive to achieve more in my career.... Etc.

I've already begun making changes that I will continue in the coming year. Just this month, I was able to FINALLY stop smoking! Tobacco addiction has ruled my life consistently since I was 13 years old. One of my first acts of rebellion, and it has tried to rule my life for nearly 24 years now. Well I finally have broken the habit. They say it takes 21 days to make or break a habit, and December 28th was 21 days since my last cigarette, so I've accomplished that goal already! And I plan to continue! Not only will I be able to breathe better, but it will improve my everyday life and singing voice quality.

The goals I have set for the coming year are ones that I hope to be able to continue every day for the REST of my life. These are areas that I have struggled with for years! Day by day, God is showing me the path that HE wants me to take in life, and that is to help others. 

I've always been a very free spirit, and very connected to others and their energy. I've also always had a lot of health issues. Well, I'm finally beginning to see that God has given me the ability to HELP others too. I am beginning to make changes in my life that will enable me to begin a system of changes for the future. I have an amazing career in hospitality, and I am beginning to read and learn more about the gifts & talents that God has given me to better myself & potentially help others in the future.

So my "commitments" for 2015 have to do with Body, Soul & Spirit.

Body:

• Eat more whole, natural foods
• Do Yoga daily to stretch my painful muscles
• Learn how to ease my pain through Acupressure, Massage & Essential Oils
• Sleep more regularly & with improved quality
• Supplement with herbs & natural healing remedies
• Help heal others with what I've learned & applied to myself

Soul:

• Strive to make connections to other women with common goals - establish positive friendships
• Strive to connect with other couples through couples ministry
• Seek out time to fellowship through bible study or ministry areas
• Begin seeking directions for areas of leadership both spiritually & in my career
• Seek to establish a healing connection between body, mind & spirit

Spirit:

• Spend time daily with the Lord in prayer & personal bible study
• Establish a bible study group with other couples
• Seek to be more active in women's ministry groups
• Actively participate in praise & worship ministry

Finally this is my ultimate prayer....

• Understand that the only person I can fix is ME
• Pray for others, but don't try to "fix" them
• Become more understanding of my differences with others, and APPRECIATE our differences
• Learn to practice Grace, Mercy & Forgiveness in all my relationships with others, and toward MYSELF

I pray that 2015 is a year that we ALL can stop focusing so much on the day to day and learn to see the bigger picture. I hope that we can all begin to see where God is challenging us to change and grow for His purpose is greater than we will ever know. Friends, I pray that you will have a desire to make "commitments" for the coming year that are realistic and that you will keep. I pray that MY commitments are ones that I will finally focus on keeping. May everyone be safe and blessed in the coming year. 

All My Love, 

A New City & A New Start For Us

On October 1, 2014, I decided it was time for a new start. My husband & I had been dealing with a lot of problems where we were living in Arizona, so I felt a change of scenery & pace was in order. We had been preparing to move back to Clovis, New Mexico, where we lived when I initially started this blog, but for some reason I didn't feel that was where we needed to be just yet. So I drove...

1300+ miles later....I arrived at my sister's house in Missoula, Montana. This was the most difficult decision I'd ever made, but has turned out to be the best decision. After a month's separation, my husband flew to Montana to join me, and now nearly 2 months have gone by. Our marriage has been restored! We both still love each other tremendously & we are so glad we didn't give up on us!

What's more is that we have found a new church home that is amazing. One of the first things I did upon arriving to Missoula was Google 'Celebrate Recovery'. There was only one location that had it, and I began attending immediately. Since his arrival here, Mark & I began attending together. We then decided to try out Sunday services to see if the church itself was one we felt comfortable in. The spirit was so strong there that we decided to make it our church home. 

Mark has become an active part of the sound team and I begin officially singing with the praise & worship team today. I'm so excited! We have been greatly blessed already by this amazing church, and we invite you to come join us at the Christian Assembly Foursquare Church, 1001 Cleveland Street, Missoula, MT 59802. You'll find us actively serving there several days a week!