Adventures with Yaya: It's A Wrap

It's just about time for 2013 to be a memory. I would have to say that as I look back I can honestly say that it's been a pretty good year.   This is the first year that I can remember actually sticking to many of my resolutions. Sadly, I didn't keep them all, but that's what New Year's day is for. Time to start anew!

I set out to get healthier and I think I have done that. I gave up diet drinks and anything with NutraSweet or aspartame. I also stopped smoking at the end of August and have not even snuck a smoke. That's the one that is the most amazing to me. I am still using my ecig, but less and less every day.

I want to keep the changes I've already made and then add a few more in 2014. Maybe that's the best thing to do, just make a bunch of resolutions and then come closer to keeping at least a few of them. So anyway, here's what I am thinking about for 2014:

I think ~~everybody~~ lots of folks say that they want to be more organized every year as a resolution. So I am saying it too, but I am going a little further than that. I'm wanting to put some kind of a plan in place. By plan I mean I would like to set down and plan my meals ahead of time on a monthly basis. I know monthly is a bit of a lofty goal, but I really want to do this! I feel like it will help me budget better for groceries and also save me a ton of time after school. As bad as I hate math I ran some numbers and this is what I found: If I cut out the after school shopping trips I usually make during the week (at least 3 or 4 a week) I ought to save 24 hours a month!!! I can think of a ton of things that I would rather do with that 24 hours, and maybe having that time back will let me get some more stuff done during the week.

That leads me to resolution #2. I want to make a budget and keep to it! Johnnie and I earn plenty of money every month. To quote him, "We poof off a lot of money every month". It will be interesting to see what happens when the money is really accounted for. We've lived on far less than we are making now and to the best of my memory, we didn't live much differently than we do now. That tells me that there is a lot of waste going on. I just want to see if I can stop the waste. I have some ideas and will share them once they are set into motion.

Resolution #3 has to do with health. Now that the artificial sweeteners and cigarettes are gone, the plan is to take it a step further. Johnnie did better than I did because when he rid himself of diet drinks he changed to unsweet tea and water. That's what I want to do! I am afraid to do away with caffeine altogether, but I do think that I can limit mine to coffee and tea, or at least that is what I want to do.

Resolution #4 is simply to increase my activity level. I think that in many ways I have done this already, but it needs to be pushed to the next level. Just like meals and money can be organized, so to can exercise. That's what I want to do. I haven't decided if this needs to happen at a gym or at home but it needs to happen. I want to look back in 6 months and be one of the success stories.

Finally, I want to continue to strengthen my spiritual life in 2014. One resolution that I am saddest about not keeping was the one in which I wanted to read my bible all the way through in 2014. I'm going to try to do that again and I'm gonna try harder than ever to be successful at it. I know that my spiritual life has improved over the past few years, but in this area there is ALWAYS room for improvement.

I don't want my relationship with God to be an afterthought. I don't want to think about myself as a Christian simply because I obeyed the Gospel 25 years ago. While I am forever grateful to my uncle Phil for sharing that good news with me all those years ago, I am ashamed of myself that I haven't done more with the information I was given.

I try to live my life so that people can see Christ in me, or at lest I hope that I do. I just want to take it a step further. I  hope that we can find a church home that we can grow in. I have thought about having a more active spiritual life for a while now.  I really have enjoyed going to church in Shreveport and West Monroe, but in the back of my mind I am still wanting more. I don't want to just be a Sunday morning Christian. When I look at where my life is now and the life that Johnnie and I have built together I know that the blessings are from God. My best laid plans have never come close to this life that I am living now. I owe the praise and glory to God! I want God to use me to the best of my abilities, and not simply be a Sunday morning Christian. Johnnie and I have talked about finding a local church home and I really hope that this is the year that we will do it!

As I look back on struggles this past year, and in all the years before, I can see that my greatest worry and heartache came as the results of me wanting what I wanted, when I wanted it. I planned for things (either in my mind, or with others) and then if the plans didn't fall into place exactly as I had envisioned them I was left irritable and anxious.   This led to anger and frustration and second guessing and all kinds of feelings that are meant to do nothing more than tear a person down. I have spent nearly the entire first half of this school year with some internal turmoil that has caused me to question everything I have worked for during the past few years. It brought me to my knees!

You'd think that's where the story ends..... but if you did, you'd be wrong! When I was brought to my knees the answer came! Prayer is the answer! I came to understand that it wasn't about my planning at all. It needed to be about my praying!

I have learned this lesson over and over and over again and yet when I find myself in stressful situations it always seems to take a few lumps before I remember it. Philippians 4:6 is simple and to the point: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God". So, rather than trying to do all the planning myself I will do my part, but then give it to God and leave it there. He's always given me what I needed and all I had to do was ask.

So that's where I will start my new year. I want to be prayerful about every situation. It really is just that simple.  Plans are fine, but they need to be combined with prayers.  Without exception everything that I have ever tried to plan on my own has failed miserably. On the other hand, when I have truly humbled myself and asked for God's help the results were blessings that were greater than I could even think to ask for.

Here come the Photos from Christmas: