Intentions

I had every intention of writing an "end of the year" post reflecting on my life in 2011. I had also every intention of writing a "happy new year" post outlining resolutions for 2012. Well, you see how well that went! I have been thinking a lot about the resolution thing, though. The pastor at the church I attended in Nac before I moved had a very thought provoking sermon about resolutions. He threw some numbers out for us to consider: 50% of the population actually makes resolutions (those who do not do so because they know for a fact that they will never follow through) and only a very small percentage of those 50% (I forget the number, unfortunately) actually carry it through all year long. He talked about how real change happens not simply with effort, but with "grace-driven" effort. Instead of making God the focal point of our lives, we look to ourselves in all our fallen weakness. It is a daily choice to give ourselves to our Creator and allow Him to work true change within us. He provided an outline for an exercise for us to do with thoughtful time and prayer. Instead of resolutions, he refers to setting goals. Goals are reachable. Once a goal is reached, a new goal can take its place and so forth. In the outline, he specified four types of goals based on Luke 2:52 where it talks about how Jesus grew from a boy to a man and not just any man, but the Son of God. Those four categories are: Intellectual Goals, Physical Goals, Spiritual Goals and Social Goals. After setting goals in each of those four areas, he encouraged us to confide our goals with a friend or two who are willing to become our accountability partners. Though I have not sat down and focused on the exercise, it has been in the back of my mind ever since the sermon on New Year's day and a few goals have surfaced. They are:

Physical Goals:
1. Lose the 20 lbs I gained last year.
2. Practice more self control in my diet.
3. Become physically fit.

Spiritual Goals:
1. Spend time in the Word daily.
2. Actively STUDY the Word.

Social Goals:
1. Reach out to the members of my small group (as opposed to waiting for them to reach out to me since they are the "locals").

It is a work in progress.

I have since joined a gym that I pass twice a day - it is on my route to work. I have already been there three times in the five days I have been a member and I must say, I am freakin' sore right now. It appears I may have jumped into it a bit more intensely than I should considering how out of shape I am. However, I also feel so much better knowing that I am taking steps toward my goal of becoming physically fit. I am thankful for my cousin, Billy, and his experienced counsel in this area. We had a great chat tonight about ways to have a great workout and things I can do to adjust my diet and I am so excited to get started!

Friday I hosted a girls' night at my little "cottage" and was happy that several of the ladies from the small group came to "hang out". We had lasagna and slightly overdone garlic bread (oops!) for dinner and then a chocolate pie and cheesecake options for dessert. After much deliberation, the group chose to watch "The Help" and I am certain that everyone loved it. There was much laughter throughout the movie. So much fun! I hope to do this again in the near future.

Our church small group here in Longview is just starting Rick Warren's 40 Days in the Word study. It is actually something all the small groups in the church are doing, which is really neat. Anyway, the study is comprised of six ways to study the Word utilizing the devotional method of Bible study. I look forward to seeing how Christ changes my life through this study.

Well, that is all I can write tonight - it is well past the time I had intended to go to bed. It bites to start a Monday, a new week, sleep-deprived, but I really wanted to get this post up. I have been away from my blog too long. There have been many times I wanted to post, but have not. In some cases it has been a time issue, but I also think that I simply did not want to burden you with the drama in my life. Anywho. I hope you have a blessed week, friends.