New goals for a new year

As I ring in the New Year from Mexico (currently sick and in bed, but hoping to celebrate with my missions team and new Mexican friends later) I am reflecting back on the resolutions I made a year ago and where I want to go from there. As you can see here, my New Years Resolution for 2014 was a big checklist, and as much as I love checklists and goals, this strategy brought more stress than it was worth. I completed all of those goals (except eating healthier... oops), but they were mostly done in a last-minute, catch-up sort of way. This obviously defeated their purpose of starting new habits.

I'm trying to set my 2015 goals in a new way, a way that might still inspire me to move forward but without the guilt of forgetting to keep track or not meeting certain numbers. These goals are general and I can't measure them, but they are things that I feel will help me grow as a person in ways I know I've been lacking this year.

1. Prioritize people. This goal comes from two realizations I have made over the last year. One is that I tend to take advantage of having really great friends, without consciously investing in them. I have become close to some really fantastic people over the years and am very thankful for those who love me so well and count me a part of their circle. That being said, I also know I have nearly always put my homework or other tasks before being with them. Now that many of them live so far away from me, I am realizing more than ever that I need to invest in the people I care about if I want to keep what we had. The other realization is that there are sometimes seasons where I just need to step out of my comfort zone and work my way into relationships that I'm not used to. Being a 5th year at Lawrence has made me realize that, because my primary group of friends has graduated and moved away. I still have many friends here but I am not used to being within their groups. It will take some work but I am determined to start putting in these new roots with new people.
2. Take time for health. Being healthy is not something I do easily when I am busy and stressed out, so I am intentionally lightening my load so that I can pursue what my body need this year. Some particulars are:
• avoiding sugar. Sugar might be the cause of some of the general fatigue and sickly-ness I feel most days, so I'm hoping that limiting it will give me some new energy.
• physical therapy. I've had a really helpful scoliosis physical therapy routine for years now, but I rarely do it despite how much it relieves my back pain. I want to let it become a regular part of my life this year, so that it doesn't feel like such a burden anymore.
• work on flexibility. I wonder if some of the pain I have just comes from not being able to move the way I once was. This year I want to work on increasing my flexibility so that I can hopefully be more comfortable, more often. (feeling like an old lady as I type this.)
3. Write more. Writing - whether in my journal, in letters to friends, or on this blog - is an outlet for me. I'm not good at verbally expressing myself, and writing allows me to slow down my thoughts and process them as I get them out. Writing more will keep life from running away in my busyness as I stay connected with myself and with God.

Merry Christmas from Simba!

This is Simba's second Christmas, and he would like to show you how he celebrated!

First, he went to see Santa, but it took a while to get him to settle down and sit on Santa's lap like a good little boy:

Then he helped the family decorate our tree!

For a while he kept us entertained with some french horn playing...

Then he got to unwrap his presents!

And got his own, simba-sized tree :)

Merry Christmas!

Serving where I'm not gifted...

Long time, no post! I try to save all my writing for school these days, I sure have enough of it to do there... Anyways, I've gotten out of the groove of blogging but am going to try to start it up again!

It's winter break, and for the week after Christmas I'm going on a mission trip to Múzquiz, México. Somehow I ended up being in charge of the dramas/skits and singing on the worship team. I have only ever acted in one, very minor, play. I also am not a very good singer. Yet, there were holes and I reluctantly agreed to fill them.

I have to admit that I had a bad attitude about it up until a few days ago. I put off planning the dramas until the night before our team meeting, and only did it then because of a last-minute panic. I complained about it to my family and friends, telling them how I had no idea what I was doing and didn't want to put in the effort to figure it out.

Finally, our last trip meeting came and I met the drama team and the worship team. A side conversation with the person leading the worship team revealed that she didn't think she knew what she was doing either, but she had a completely different attitude about it. She had the heart of a willing servant - giving everything she had to the work she had been assigned for the glory of God. She might have been apprehensive about how to proceed, but her dedication showed. Instead of complaining she came with a plan for how to encourage the whole team with a well-planned worship set at the start of each day in México.

I was encouraged immediately by witnessing this and now I hope to do my job the best I can. Sure, I still have no idea what I'm doing, but whatever happens will find me with joy that I get to contribute to the various ways in which we share the hope of Christ with these people. And as far as singing goes: I may not have a beautiful voice, but I realized that I have something to contribute to our worship with the Mexican people - I speak Spanish. So I pray that I'll be able to get across the beautiful messages in the songs I chose and that these people will be filled with hope rather than despair about their circumstances.

I learned this past weekend that regardless of whether we feel equipped or called, sometimes there is just work to be done and God might be challenging us to step outside our comfort zone in our service to Him. I regret the sour attitude I had in accepting this challenge and hope that He will help me to see opportunities like this as chances to thank Him for what He has done for me.