I’ve mentioned several things via FB live regarding the New
Year, but there is something therapeutic about putting pen to paper and writing
out a reflection of the old and a hope for the future. So here we go!
2018 was a fantastic year for us. It was a quiet year – a year of reflection and
growth for me. A year of quiet moments
and rest! And I so needed the rest. I needed to sit in the quiet and just be, it
was an amazing blessing. There were also
emotions that ran high and low, a bout of depression in the summer that ate
into the fall. There was a fantastic
trip to the Grand Tetons/Yellowstone and a few weekend getaways here and
there. Jack was home much of year and I
was happy his job didn’t have him traveling more. Books were read, shows were binge watched
and movies consumed. I did a Covenant
Precept Bible Study, one on Prayer, a study into Ruth and then begin diving
into Romans. I had weeks of consistent
prayer time followed by times where I barely prayed at all. Times where I felt close to God and times
that I barely thought of him (guess what – He never moved other than to reach
his arms out for me)! We detoxed from sugar
and discovered Young Living Essential Oils.
We ate healthier and further refined our diet and wellness goals. We worked out and were lazy. We argued and made up. 2018 was incredible, but 2019 is going to be
AMAZING.
In 2019 I’ve chosen a word to focus on for the first
time. Many people do this, and I wanted
to join the party. The word I choose is INTENTION! I want 2019 to be a year of intentional acts,
intentional thoughts, intentional prayers.
I want the things in my life to have meaning – I want them to make my
life and the lives of those around me better.
I want to be intentional in how I spend my time, intentional in my
relationships, intentional in my Bible Study and Prayer Life, intentional in my
giving and my volunteer time. I want it
to mean something – not just busyiness – Quality! Life with intention is my goal.
With that I do have some plans. I do not want to call them resolutions as they are a
process – one we have been working toward and will continue to work
towards. There will be days I fail, but
in 2019 it will be my INTENTION to get right back up again!
I want to focus on wellness in 2019. I want to make sure all 4 legs of my wellness
chair are strong – Spiritual, Emotional, Fitness & Nutrition.
For the spiritual chair leg, I plan to continue digging into
God’s word. I plan to continue going to
church and being active with our small group. I plan to try and deepen the relationships within that group. I plan to continue serving and look for other areas I can be of service –
where the service is quality and not just busy. I want to interact with those around me and
show them the Love of God in everything I do.
I want to be mindful of my words and my attitude – making sure it is always
a reflection of God. And YES I know how
lofty of a goal that is and that I will fail, but that is ok. The point is to keep trying – to be better
today than I was yesterday! I want to know
more about God, I want to listen to him more and try to follow the steps he has
laid out for me. I want that leg to be
the strongest leg – The entire Backbone of my life!
The emotional chair leg is trickier. Emotions are fleeting and fickle and I firmly
believe you SHOULD NOT live your life based on them. God never promised you would be happy, he
promised he would be with you. That
being he also didn’t call us to live in a state of fear or depression. In fact, in John 10:10 Jesus said that “I
came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” Depression and anxiety are not my definition
of an abundant life.
So how do we fix it?
Well first and foremost prayer.
However, God also gave us tools to rectify some emotional issues as often they are caused by chemical imbalances in the body. I am personally using Young Living Essential
Oils to get off the emotional roller coaster and so far I highly recommend. it Jack and I are both seeing results and
couldn’t be happier with what the oils are doing for me. Proper exercise and nutrition is also key to keeping your emotions healthy and we will be talking about how we are strengthening those legs in a moment.
Depending,
on your level of emotional issue (and we all have them) there are also medicines and medical professionals able
and willing to help. There is absolutely
NOTHING wrong with asking for help. So,
if you are depressed or struggling emotionally, reach out! Don’t sit alone – It won’t get better that
way.
For me in 2019 I plan to strengthen my emotional chair
leg through Young Living essential oils, proper nutrition, exercise prayer, and through trying to
develop deep friendships with individuals that will help lift me up and vice
versa.
The friend part is going to be the trickiest – I struggle to
make friends. Many women my age have
small children, or they are so busy that we can never seem to connect. Don't get me wrong I have no issue with kids, but I find that many times it makes it difficult to really connect
because I can’t converse about the most important thing in their life. I have no frame of reference…. I also get tired of always being the
asker. I know – it’s not about who ask
who to dinner/coffee/etc...,but after a while the friendships begin to fill one sided when you are
always the one reaching out. So that
will be my personal challenge this year on this leg, because, I do feel that having
at least a couple close friends is important.
I would absolutely love to find some couple friends for me and Jack – a couple
we could go out with regularly – that would be the gold ring right here.
The nutrition leg – this is the easiest to plan for and
maybe the hardest to stick with 😊 We
plan to do the 21 Day Sugar Detox again starting this week. We did it in June/July last year and it was
just amazing, I want to get back to not needing the sugar in my life. I didn’t completely add it back last time,
but I want more of it GONE! After that
detox we plan to eat a natural diet where we eat real food that is healthy and
not processed. We plan to introduce some
natural sugars back (honey and fruit) and watch our portions. Humans weren’t made to eat the average portion
size in America – we were made to eat maybe 1/3 of it! I
also am moving us to organic produce/products and while I’m not quite jumping
to grass fed beef, etc.. I am choosing meats with no added hormones when
possible. Jacks goal is to lose a
significant amount of weight as well so I will be supporting him in that journey.
The Fitness leg may be the hardest for me… I know it’s the
absolute weakest at the moment. I hate
to work out, I really do. But it’s
important for your body to move, we weren’t designed to be stationary. So, Jack and I are kicking off Beach-body 21
Day Fit again this week. It’s a good program and is only 30 minutes a day – you
can do anything for 30 minutes a day right?
In the spring we plan to get outside
more, kayaking – biking – walking. I
can’t wait for the spring to get here… I want to be outside this year! I want to be intentional about my exercise and
do things I enjoy. I also know I need
to get my cardio endurance up and I need my upper body strength to
increase. My upper body strength being
weak causes me numerous issues, including pain, so we have to work on this.
And those are the 4 legs of the wellness chair that I plan to
intentionally work on this year – I want it stronger than it has ever been this
time next year.
2019 will also be a year of faith - of stepping out of my box! I jumped off the ledge and have become a
distributor for Young Living Essential Oils.
When considering going back to a traditional office job my heart just
sank. I couldn’t find any joy in the
prospect, no excitement about the next adventure, nothing. It caused me heart palpitations and stress
that was tangible. Thankfully, I’m blessed,
and I don’t have to jump back into the corporate world. Instead I’m jumping into entrepreneurship. I just LOVE the oils and well all of Young
Livings Products – I love what they do for me and Jack. I love what they can do for us in the future. I love the company, the quality of the products, their seed to seal guarantee, their environmental footprint, their charitable giving, their heart, I LOVE THEM! I fully, 1000% believe essential oils are a gift from
GOD and through them lives can be changed for the better! Chains can be broken! And I’m excited to be a part of it! I’m also excited that Jack is on the journey
with me – we are building this business together and I LOVE IT!
So, yea, 2019 is going to be amazing! It’s going to be a year I look back on and go
“oh yea – that was life changing”! Want
to join me on the journey to wellness?
Want to strengthen your chair? Drop me a comment – I’d love to cheer you on!
