Oh, Discipline

Discipline is like a four-letter, dirty word to me. I love to hate it and hate to love it, and yet I am called to it. It's been fairly easy to justify my lack of discipline over the past year, as I was finishing up a pregnancy, and then adjusting to life with our third daughter. You know how lack of sleep just takes everything out of you. But my newborn is almost 8 months old now with 4 teeth in her mouth, newly crawling, and sleeping through the night more often than not. That excuse is becoming less and less viable. I am constantly in awe of these mommy bloggers who are able to get something up everyday. Seriously, there are days that I can't even put a thought together, much less sit for a few moments and put together a somewhat cohesive thought. It makes me feel like such a slacker. But then, I already mentioned that I lack discipline. I am easily distracted, and spend entirely too much time on facebook. When I sit down at the computer, I think that I'll just take a quick peek to see what my friends are up to, and then a half an hour to an hour will pass by and I have nothing to show for it. Seriously, who cares what the latest status update is of an old acquaintance from elementary school is. It's been 15 years (ok, 18 years) since I saw them last, and now my precious time slips away as I peruse pages of people I don't really know. I am time waster of the highest order.

And now I am staring 2010 in the face with a noble list of resolutions and goals for this hopeful upcoming year. But I know in all reality that I will accomplish none of it without changing my dirty word into a lifestyle: D.I.S.C.I.P.L.I.N.E.

So, here I go. I dread putting things down in print, lest I feel foolish when I fail if I fail. I feel like I have become the sort of person who does not finish what she starts, as boredom sets in as the wanderlust passes and I move on to the next whim. I don't like that characterization about myself (did I mention I need discipline?), and so this year I am bound and determined to change it. So I have few guiding goals and resolutions that I setting out for myself. This will be a work in progress, so that I may add/edit as life requires, but this is my starting point:

1. Read the Bible in 90 Days (ambitious, no? join me! you can find out more about here, sign up to be a part of it here, and I'll try to post something about it more later today or so. I've meant to get something posted, but I seem to be quite the procrastinator as well. Did I mention I need discipline? Yeah, working on it.) Amy over at Mom's Toolbox is hosting this fantastic challenge and I am so excited to become part of that community!
2. Finish P90X with an ultimate goal of taking off, well you don't need to know all my business. Let's just say I have a goal to take off some lingering baby weight (ok, it's probably not baby weight anymore, but I'll still squeak some mileage out of that). I'm on day 4 now and my body hates me for it. I keep telling myself it will get better. I hope I'm not lying.
3. Revisit/update my 101 Goals in 1001 Days and get more things crossed off my list.
4. Play that poor, ignored guitar at least 20 minutes a day.
5. Stay off of facebook until my chores/goals for the day have been done. Not even a glance. That will be challenging but so rewarding. I think being a stay at home mommy leaves me really wanting to connect to the outside world sometimes...hence facebook. It's amazing how addicting that can be, though, and no longer productive at all. Imagine!

I have other goals that I have thought of up to this point, but that are not coming to mind right now. Even as it is, this post has been interrupted several times by the pleasant request of a sweet girl to have a book read, or a snack made, or the cries of a hungry baby or one refusing to nap....or any endless list of countless interruptions that make up a normal day in life of mommy. So the goals for finances, diet, organization and whatever else will just have to wait for now. Someday it will all get done, or it will never get done and we just continue to push on.

Ok, so I'm going to stop here just so I can get something up. My crawling baby has worked her way into a corner and becoming quite frustrated. Mommy to the rescue!

Books I Read in June

I thoroughly enjoyed reading "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert, as I love hearing about a person's raw journey into the discovery of God. She lays out her experience for the reader to journey along with her, and though I do not know if she knows Jesus, I do know that the God of Heaven pursued this woman as a hound on a trail refusing to lose the scent.

The book journals her trip starting with a terribly difficult divorce through the process of recovery and healing. She spends four months in Italy, four months in India, and four months in Indonesia seeking in a search for peace and restoration. It is an honest and raw journey into the quest of something bigger and better than what this world has to offer. I highly recommend it.

"Fireflies in December" is the first fiction book that I have read in quite a long time, and actually crosses off #25 from my list of 101 goals. This was a great read, very well written. I read this book through the Kindle application on my iPhone, which was fantastic! I found myself reading it while nursing the baby late at night (or early in the morning) and I would be reading it long after the baby had finished nursing and fallen asleep in my arms. I just couldn't set it down until it was finished. The book tells the story of a young teenage girl and her family during the depression era dealing with horrific racism, all the while learning what it means to stand out and make a difference. I definitely recommend this book!

What about you? What books are you reading these days? I would love to hear about them!

101 Goals in 1001 Days

So, I first saw this over at Katie's blog and was immediately intrigued. I love the idea of setting goals and planning for the future. More and more these days, I have been searching for the things that I am truly passionate about, so that I may pursue them now, rather than waiting until the end of life, looking back, and wishing I had spent the time differently. So, this was a great way for me to put down on paper the things that I truly desire pursuing, plus a few fun things thrown in there.

The list itself took a bit of time to complete, as 101 goals is actually quite a lot. Nonetheless, I am excited about getting it all done. I will come back periodically to update my progress. If you would like to create a list of your own, check out this website for hints and guidelines. So, onward and upward, here I go!

**Update: The goals in green are in progress. The goals in blue have been completed.

1. Run a 5K race
2. Run a half marathon
3. Lose 20 pounds within 9 months (0/20)
4. Get weight under 170 by end of 1001 days
5. Complete a triathlon
6. Finish a marathon
7. Swim laps 3 times a weeks for three months
8. Attend a yoga class two times a week for one month
9. Complete P90X (4/90)
10. Exercise 3 times a week for three consecutive weeks (1/3)
11. Fast from fast food for one month
12. Keep a food journal for one week
13. Wake up at 6am everyday for 30 days
14. Read through the Bible in its entirety (Bible in 90 Days, to be completed March 31, 2010)
15. Memorize 24 Scriptures in 12 months (1/24)
16. Join a small group (completed 10/09)
17. Attend a women's conference (completed 3/30/10)
18. Volunteer at feeding ministry once a month
19. Teach Bridges for Women in a new country
20. Fast once a week for four weeks
21. Find a prayer/accountability partner
22. Complete the apprenticeship course through Christian Writer's Guild (to be completed 9/2011)
23. Submit an article for publication
24. Get paid for publication of an article
25. Read a fictional book (completed 6/27/09)
26. Write for at least 20 minutes a day for 10 days straight (1/10)
27. Write 10 poems
28. Attend a writers' conference, such as She Speaks
29. Participate in a photo meme for two months
30. Post something on blog at least three times a week for two months straight
31. Take a guitar class
32. Complete sketch workbook
33. Make a list of unread books in personal library to read through
34. Read two books a months
35. Make a will
36. Go on a date with my man at least once a month
37. Start a "Sundae Night" for family fun once a week
38. Attend married couple's fellowship for 6 months
39. Do not raise my voice at the kids for one week
40. Send monthly updates to supporters by 5th of every month
41. Read at least two stories each day with my girls
42. Go to a drive-in movie
43. Go to a concert
44. Get family health insurance
45. Get life insurance
46. Eat sushi with my husband
47. Fundraise for full support as missionaries
48. Build emergency fund to 3 months' worth of income
49. Institute allowance for girls and teach about tithing, saving, and giving
50. Set up college savings accounts for the girls
51. Stick to budget for 3 consecutive months
52. Figure out how to generate income from the blog (got my first check 3/24/10!)
53. Save up enough money for a Canon Rebel (completed 6/28/09!)
54. Pay off home equity loan (in process)
55. Refinance mortgage (in process)
56. Start investing
57. Return to Ghana
58. Return to Ethiopia
59. Return to Kenya(6/3/2010)
60. Take a girls' weekend getaway
61. See the Grand Canyon
62. Visit Amy in NY
63. Quit my job and become a stay/work at home mommy (completed 7/1/2009!)
64. Complete menu plans for four weeks worth of rotations
65. Follow menu plans for one month
66. Follow Flylady's plan for one month
67. Create housecleaning schedule
68. Follow the housecleaning schedule for four weeks
69. Finish crocheting red afghan
70. Compile all the recipes that I use or would like to use into one recipe book
71. Clean up front yard
72. Finish Costco shopping list
73. Build Flylady control journal
74. Move all three girls into one room (2/3)
75. Turn baby room into guest room
76. Install a disposal
77. Mop floors once a week for four weeks
78. Fix vacuum cleaner (or replace it! 8/09)
79. Hang photos in the hallway(3/25/2010)
80. Repaint kitchen(4/12/2010)
81. Bake 5 loaves of bread
82. Get curtains for kitchen window (completed 11/09)
83. Get curtains for bathroom window (completed 11/09)
84. Get a henna tattoo
85. Get a professional massage
86. Grow a tomato plant
87. Get a bike
88. Learn 50 words in Swahili (10/50)
89. Get potted plants for back porch
90. Clean up papason for use
91. Put hammock on back porch
92. Mail 20 cards to friends just for fun
93. Plant an herb garden
94. Go ice skating
95. Attend a poetry reading
96. Get a blog makeover (done 8/09)
97. Do one week media fast
98. Teach girls to swim (completed over summer 2009)
99. Deliver homemade dinner to 5 families
100. Bake cookies with the girls (fun and messy! completed 10/09)
101. Get a pedicure(5/15/2010)

If you've created a list of your own, let me know. I would love to take a peek at your goals!

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