Happy New Year ... a few days late!!

So, I kind of felt like a failure with New Years this year ... I mean, it was a Sunday (so it just seemed like a normal Sunday) ... and then I had a fun lunch with some of my favorite people ... and then, it was 2 pm and then I still had to pack for this pseudo-move to Augusta ... and then, Gavin made black eyed peas for dinner ... and then it was January 2nd ... and I had not been reflective or thought about goals or blogged ... or started fresh with all the new habits I planned to re-adopt in the new year.

So, I decided I'd get the U-Haul to Augusta, go back to work and start New Years NEXT week.  Doesn't work that way?  Well, I mean, who said so??!!

I am, as I type, sitting on my hand-me-down sofa (that almost lost me some friends moving it in the apt), in my next "temporary" home in Augusta.  So nice to be IN town ... just a few minutes from campus and the office and my life here.  And thanks to Jackie hanging with me yesterday, it's really all in place.  I went for simple but comfy and although I am in a constant battle for the "one more thing" that will make this "complete" ... I am already enjoying it 1000 x more than where I was before. 

SO ... I am finally back in the office and feverishly trying to get done in two days when I wish I had two weeks for ... whoever decided school should start pre-MLK day was nuts!  And, with that being more of a marker for me than the new year ... and being that I am semi-settled into my second residence ... I am ready to tackle the new year.

And this little kick in the pants from Ann Voskamp helped get me there ...

Taking up the dare all over again — the dare to slow down and wake up and receive all God gives for what it is — a gift. Take the the Joy Dare. Isn’t that what Aristotle said– “We are what we repeatedly do.”

Then Christianity isn’t an act — but our faith is expressed only in our habits.
A habit of not complaining, but the habit of giving thanks; the habit of not worrying, but a habit worshipping. The habit of repeatedly giving God praise that our lives might become a prayer. Small is always the leverage of large. It’s one moment after the other, the small moments that turn a life. It’s the small actions that can change a life.

It’s habits that can imprison you and it’s habits that can free you and when thanks to God becomes a habit, so joy in God becomes your life.

Amen, sister.  I am so in need of those freedom-bringing habits.  And since I am a huge fan of setting myself up for success, I am keeping it simple this year in terms of goals.  I LOVE, LOVE the newness of January.  Love being able to almost re-invent myself.  Love new starts, new calendars ... I am a "new" junkie, I suppose.  It's like a blank canvas with all the potential in the world ....

And if I am intentional with what I put on that canvas, I am praying it will be a thing of beauty, restoration, grace, and strength when December rolls back around!

This is where my brush is starting ... TODAY ... (and I think I need to go to Michael's and paint something for real ...)

1. Be a part of a small group community.
2. Exercise regularly (and yes, I am defining "regularly" as more than once a month!!) and eat healthy.  Gonna log into myfitnesspal EVERY day.  I CAN do that (GB help me!!) and get back to my WW goal by summer!
3. Count gifts daily and focus on enjoying where I am THAT day ... with my dual life, I often find myself missing what is happening where I am because of wanting to be where I am not.
4. Invest well in the awesome friends God has given me.  I used to get ill with Gavin when he told me that he dealt with what was right in front of him, not what was most important to him.  In my idealistic mind, we make time for what is MOST important to us and while I still firmly believe this, I, too, have fallen victim to paying attention to what is right in front of my face first ... often to the detriment of those relationships MOST important in my life.  I don't know how this will look from week to week or day to day ... but gonna invest well in those MOST important in my life!
5. Spend time with God daily ... in an intentional, uninterrupted way.

What about you?  Where is God calling you to realign your life?