A Couple of Things...

I've been looking at my blog and thought a couple of things could use some more info. First of all, if you didn't realize the picture at the top is me. This is me sitting on a bench at my favorite spot in all of Palm Beach. I've had a lot of memories there, even on that bench. You see the view in front of me, but what you don't see is what is behind me. Here's another piece of the puzzle that you are missing.

It's the biggest, most beautiful tree I've ever seen in my life. To get a better perspective on how big it actually is here's another picture.

Yeah, that's me sitting on one of the outstretched roots. It sits behind a beautiful church and is next to the oldest house in Palm Beach and the Flagler museum. There is a walking/bike trail between the tree and the bench where I am sitting. The bench overlooks the intracoastal waterway to downtown West Palm. Absolutely enchanting, really.

Another thing I wanted to draw your attention to is my music playlist at the bottom. If you're anything like me you probably have your own music turned on and rush to turn off my playlist as soon as you pull up the site. Well I'd like you to give it a chance. I put thought into my selections, and you might find something you like. The songs don't get changed that often, just every so often I'll find a song that inspires me and I'll add it. So you only have to listen every so often. That's not too much too ask right? I just discovered this indie singer JJ Heller. She's not new to the music biz, and I'm no music expert. But I found her, and I like her. You should check out her music at www.jjheller.com. She even has a blog, so I may add her to my blog list.

That's really all. Feedback is always welcomed. If you think my music sucks, I won't change it, but I would like to know. And then I'll give you full permission to turn it off. :-)

Fulfillment of a promise

I promised you resolutions, and here they are. I like to categorize.

Physical--
1. The one on the top of everyone's list: Lose weight and exercise! It makes the list every year after all of those wonderful Christmas parties. This year my sister and I are tag-teaming it and have a whole accountability system and weight loss plan...we'll see. I love food. But so far so good. My theme song? "I like to Move It"
2. Stop with the sarcasm. It only gets me into trouble. I started this program for one of my classes this past semester, and it was forgotten as soon as I got home. My goal was to replace sarcasm with genuine and kind words. I'll try again.

Mental--
3. I got a stack of books for Christmas...and they should be read before 2010!
4. Take notes on the things I learn and want to remember from what I read.

Emotional--
5.I like to let others talk about themselves but am slow to mention anything about myself without being asked. I resolve to talk to someone every week about how my life is going, even my insecurities.
6.Be more vulnerable. I shudder at the word. I've decided to try to open up more this year. I think it's a vital part of being real with others, like I say I want to be. I can't fuss about someone else's life being shady, when no one knows much about my own.

Spiritual--
7. Really study God's Word. I try to read my Bible every day, but I would be lying if I said I really knew what those words meant half the time. I know I have taken His words out of context many times, and that is irreverent and irresponsible of me. I need to go deeper and always be intentional about what I read.
8. Get uncomfortable. That's the title of my Bible study right now, and I want it to stick. I don't want to miss out on opportunities to be where God is at work. I want to be His hands and feet.
9.Do new things. I like to do new things. It's not always an uncomfortable thing for me. But I think it is necessary for my growth. It's just something I have to resolve to do.
10.Spend more time in prayer for others. I can be such a selfish pray-er.
11.Use the gifts God has given me in a tangible way every day.
12. Weekly Scripture memorization. I have fallen down in this area over the past year. This is so necessary.

Well, that's all. Nothing too astonishing. Maybe I gave you some ideas to add to your resolutions? Remember, every day is a new start. It's a long time until 2010.

Happy New Beginning!

Welcome to the New Year! With graduation, Christmas, and New Years behind me, my life as I once knew it is starting to fade quickly in the background. It’s scary, but I’m doing whatever I can to look positively at the new phase of life in front of me.

I really love making New Year’s resolutions. I’m sure part of it is my strange love for making lists, and part is that it feels good to look at all the things I could do and be and imagining myself as this better person. The other part is the refreshing feeling of getting to start over. Of course, you can start over every day, but something about a new year seems full of endless possibilities. I don’t have to be anything that I was in 2008.

I’ve been on the ball with it this year in kind of a backwards way. Usually, I write them down then come up with a plan of attack before stepping into the war zone. This year I went straight to work doing things that I needed to get done and pulling the lists together in my head. Of course I will write it all down in the next few days, but my busy and motivated self is content to doing and being for the moment without paper and pen. I promise to share as soon as I do.

God is a God of new beginnings. The death of His Son signaled the ultimate in new beginnings and is waiting now to offer you yours. Talk about a clean slate!