SRT - John: Day 1

Today starts a new She Reads Truth plan - going through the Gospel of John.

Truth: His mercies are new each morning. It is important to remember this each and every day, not just on the first day of the New Year. Some great words of wisdom in the first chapter of John.

This struck me in particular this morning: 

"The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God." (John 1: 9-13)

Jesus came to earth, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, yet they did not receive him.

What would happen if I was around during these times? Would I have received Jesus if he was standing in front of me? I would love to think the answer would be yes, but friends, I tell you with sadness that I'm sure I wouldn't receive him either. I reject the Lord each day - choosing social media over time with Him, pressing snooze too many times and rushing out of the house without even saying "Hello" or "Good Morning" or "Thank You", acting too busy to spend time with our creator, trying to do things of my own strength (and failing).

Today, let's choose to receive Jesus together. For it says in his word that those who did receive him were given the right to become Children of God. All we have to do is believe - put our faith in him. Say YES to Jesus.

~amanda

2014 Goals

It's may be a little late to still be setting goals, but I still have 11 months in 2014 to do great things! My previous post was from Lara Casey's Goal Setting Series and this is one is as well. This post is going to contain two steps from her series: (1) My 2014 Vision and (2) My 2014 Goals.

My 2014 Vision:
2014 will be my best year yet! I will get out and do meaningful things. I will make memories that will last a lifetime. I will go on adventures and do things that fire me up. I will wake up each day and choose to be happy. I will pick the good out of each day and forget about the bad. I will spend my days doing things I love. I will grow and not stay stagnant. 2014 will be my best year yet!

My 2014 Goals:
1. Be healthier. Exercise regularly, eat less processed foods, fuel my body with good things.
2. Be more intentional. Set aside time every day to read my bible, spend time with God and pray for others. Be more intentional in my relationships. Be transparent and open so that others can encourage and build me up and so that I can do the same for others.
3. Be more reflective. Make a point to review my progress and evaluate where I am compared to where I want to be. Accept that I am human and will fail. Learn to lean on God because I can't do it all on my own. Try again - keep going.
4. Challenge myself in at least one area. It could be sharing my faith with others in my life, taking a risk, opening up to new opportunities, or doing something spontaneous. Allow myself to be afraid and then overcome my fears. It's okay if I don't succeed as long as I don't give up.

I have already set reminders on my calendar so I can do updates on my goals. Let's keep each other accountable for achieving our goals this year!

2014 will be my best year yet - I hope it is your best year too!
~Amanda

Taking a TRIP in 2014

Last year Mitchell and I made a list of our 2013 Resolutions. We did the same this year, and then I came across this blog from a post by a good friend. I have been going through Lara's 2014 Goal Setting Series and really loving it. She has such a unique approach to setting good goals for the new year.

I have nothing against sitting down and writing out a list of things that I hope to get better at in this new year, but in all honesty my process wasn't very thorough. I took what, maybe an hour, out of my "busy" life to write out some things that I hope to be better at this year. Then what? I hopefully stick to them for at least a month, jump back in with both feet around July and then review my list on New Year's Eve and probably cross off less than half? (Yup. That's about what happened in 2013.)

This series has been so, so good so far! My original resolution list was surface level. This series is forcing me to dig a little deeper and discover why I didn't meet all of my goals last year, and how I can make some changes this year. Over the last few days, I have been writing down all of my thoughts for Parts 1 - 3 and I just finished my favorite step so far. This step involved choosing a word for 2014.

I kept bouncing back and forth between words, but I finally landed on the perfect word for all I want 2014 to be: 

TRIP

Thankful for even the little things. Striving to thank God for all he has blessed me with.

Refresh. New, fresh, clean, rejuvenated.

Intentional in everyday life. Relationships, time with God, the way I treat others, my time.

Purposeful everyday, all day. In every facet of my life, purposefully seeking joy in all things.

I know, that's technically more than one word. I just couldn't choose one of these words over the rest. The way I see it, I can't wait to take this TRIP through all of 2014.

so many things.

Planning a wedding is no joke.

It looks all fun and games on Pinterest, but it is hard work. And boy I am exhausted!

Don't get me wrong - some of it is fun. We went to a bridal show today. There were so many people and things to look at (and fantastic samples of cakes and cheesecakes), it was fun but oh so overwhelming. I've never felt so underprepared for a huge event. I can't wait until we nail down some of the big things on our to-do list - it will feel like we are accomplishing things. And we will finally have a date to tell people when they ask (which today was every 2 minutes).

Then we can really get down to some of the fun stuff - dresses, decorations, cake....mmmmmm. :)

Here's to staying sane during these next few months!

Feast and be Satisfied

New Blog Name!

I have been stewing over this one - I just didn't like the original name I had. I figured with a fresh start to blogging I could use a fresh name!

As I was thinking about a name that would encompass all I wanted to accomplish here, I was really stuck. Then I stumbled upon this verse in Psalms:

"My soul will feast and be satisfied,
and I will sing glad songs of praise to you.
As I lie in bed, I remember you;
all night long I think of you,
because you have always been my help.
In the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.
I cling to you,
and your hand keeps me safe."
~Psalm 63: 5-7

It was perfect.


My soul will feast and be satisfied.

In the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.

Your hand keeps me safe.

Reflect on that today.
<3 Amanda

Hello Old Friend

It's been a while blog world - it's nice to be back.

Life has been crazy busy...and that is no excuse. I've really missed writing and reading some of my friends' blogs has recently made me want to jump back into the blogging atmosphere. I can't promise any sort of commitment - but I will try to be more present here.

I'm honestly not sure where summer went this year. It's practically 2014! We have had some gorgeous Fall weather lately that makes it a little easier to say goodbye to summer.

I had a fantastic trip to North Carolina in September to visit Michelle. It was a much needed break from reality and just an overall fantastic, crazy, hilarious time! There was no shortage of good food that weekend either. From Food Truck Friday to Burgushi at Cowfish to amazing fish tacos - I was one happy camper.

Last week, Mitch and I celebrated 3 years together by going to a cooking class at Sur la Table. The theme was a Taste of Thailand. It was super fun and not like anything I had ever done before. I cooked and ate mussels for the first time and they were surprisingly delicious. We also made a fresh papaya salad with a delicious dressing made with a mortar and pestle. It was so crisp and delicious - I would definitely make that again.

I finally got out my fall decorations last night and now it really feels like Fall in my apartment. I'm excited to embrace this season. Let's just hold off on Winter for now ;)

Until next time 

~Amanda

To do this Week

Hello!! I'm feeling pretty alive at the moment (not sure where that came from). I went to the Brewer game last night (they won! yay!) and I was up until almost 11:30pm. That may not seem too bad, but that's late for me!

I couldn't get up this morning. It's a good thing I didn't have class, I slept until 10:30.. that's the latest I've slept in a long time! Anyway, so I'm posting my goals even though it's Wednesday. Deal with it. ;)

My goals from the last week or so:

Personal:
-Cook at least 3 times this week
-Find my sister a birthday present
-Find time to read a book just for fun
-Learn how to cut hair - Mitchell is going to be my guinea pig ;)  (I did it, it was very difficult, but I think it will go better next time. On the upside, it looked pretty good!)

Financial:
-Clip coupons and deal hunt for grocery shopping this week
-Organize my coupons - cuz they be a mess!
-Finish Budget for June (eh... kinda)
-Go to bank
-Pay WE Energies
-Finalize info for Car
-Call Insurance company
-Figure out benefits/insurance for new job

Blog:
-Blog twice this week (Fail.)

School:
-Read book review book and complete presentation
-International Finance presentation & Homework
-Study for and dominate Managerial Econ Exam  (Didn't quite dominate.. more studying next time!)

Home:
-Clean Living Room and Dining Room
-Keep my room organized

My Goals for THIS week:

Personal:
-Make Dr. Appointment
-Reserve a U-Haul for moving
-Make a meal plan for next week
-Research benefits for work

School:
-RSVP to Honors Ceremony
-International business project
-Scholars Final Paper
-Mgmt. company portfolio

Financial:
-Clip coupons/plan shopping list
-Set up credit card payment
-Finalize budget with new expenses

Home:
-Clean the bathroom
-Keep my room organized

Blog:
Pizza post from two weeks ago now...

Happy Wednesday and Good luck with your goals! :)